Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

6 slices bacon
4-6 Medium tomatoes
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped onion
1/4 C. Grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 C. Seasoned stuffing (dry)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Cook bacon until crisp, then crumble. You can use the pre-cooked "bacon bits", but I think freshly cooked bacon is better. Cook the onions and green peppers in a little oil or bacon grease over medium heat until tender. While things are cooking, wash the tomatoes and slice off the tops. Carefully scoop out the pulp, leaving a 1/2 inch wall. Finely chop the pulp and place 1/3 of it in a medium mixing bowl. You can discard any remaining.
Mix the bacon, onions, peppers, cheese and stuffing into the tomato mixture. Salt and Pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture into the hollowed out tomatoes. Place stuffed tomatoes into a prepared baking dish. I like to use 4 tomatoes, which will leave a little bit of the stuffing mix left over. I think just spoon this into the baking dish as well. The kids eat it better outside of the tomato. If you don't want to do this, use 6 tomatoes. Sprinkle the tops of the tomatoes with a little parmesan cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until heated through.

Veggie & Noodle Stir-fry

I haven't made this recipe yet, but I plan to try it as soon as my garden gets going. I found it in a magazine I was reading.

Cut two zucchinis into long, thin sticks. Heat 4 tsp. sesame oil in a pan; add 1 onion, chopped, and saute for 2-3 minutes, until it softens. Add 1 tsp. grated ginger, 1 crushed garlic clove, zucchini, and 1 cup green beans; cook 3-4 minutes. Mix in 1 Tbs. reduced-sodium soy sauce and a little chopped parsley. Toss in 3 cups of cooked Chinese egg noodles or linguini.

Serves 4.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

This is my new favorite dinner recipe. It is so delicious! I found the original recipe on Allrecipes.com, but have made a few changes. You can see the original here.


Ingredients

DOUGH
1 C. Warm Water
1 package yeast
2T. Olive Oil
1T. White Sugar
1/2t. Salt
1/4t. Dried Rosemary
1/4t. Garlic Powder
3 C. Flour

SAUCE
4T. Butter
1/4t. Salt
1 dash black pepper
4T. Flour
1 C. Milk
3/4 C. Parmesan Cheese

GARLIC BUTTER
2T. Butter
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
1 pinch dried Rosemary
1 pinch Salt

TOPPINGS
1 Chicken Breast Half, cut in small pieces and cooked
Season with Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic powder, Salt and Poultry Seasoning. Or, you can season the chicken however you want.
1 Red Pepper, cut into slices
1/2 C. Mushrooms, sliced
1 Roma Tomato, diced
1/4 C. Fresh Basil, diced

DIRECTIONS
1. To Make the Dough: Pour the warm water into a small bowl and stir in the yeast until dissolved. Allow to rest until the yeast foams, about 5 minutes. Mix the oil, sugar, salt, rosemary, and garlic powder together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the yeast mixture, and gradually stir in the flour. Gather into a loose ball and knead until a smooth ball forms. Cover, and let rise 1/2 hour. If kneading in a KA, use the dough hook and knead for about 6-8 minutes.
2. Carmelize your red peppers by cooking them on low/medium heat in about 1T. Butter. I start these at about the same time I do the dough and let them cook until I'm ready to put them on the pizza. Make sure to stir them often so they don't burn.
3. To Make Sauce: Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Blend in salt, pepper and flour, then stir in the milk and Parmesan cheese. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
4. To Make the Garlic Butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Blend in garlic, rosemary and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is tender but not browned. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
5. Preheat over to 400 degrees F. Spread dough out on a pizza pan. Top with cooled garlic butter, cover the entire crust. Next spread the Sauce on top, leaving crust edges. Top with the chicken, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and basil.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until bottom crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let set for 2 to 3 minutes before cutting.

Soft Pretzels

1 1/8 cup warm water

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

3 Tbs corn syrup

3 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 quarts water

1/2 cup baking soda

Mix yeast and water and let sit. Add corn syrup. Mix in flour and salt. Kneed for about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl and let rise until double about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 8 balls. Roll each into a 20 in long rope and form into pretzel shape. Let rise about 5 minutes.

In sauce pan bring 2 quarts water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzels two at a time into boiling water and boil for 10-15 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon or spatula and let drain on a clean towel.

Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake at 415 degrees for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Spritz or lightly brush with butter and sprinkle with your favorite topping, garlic salt, cinnamon and sugar, salt etc. Serve warm. Pretzels to not keep or reheat well so eat them while they are hot!

Shrimp Scampi and Artichoke

Ingredients:

2 TBS Olive Oil
1/4 C Shallots, chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 to l lb shrimp, shelled and divined
11 oz. frozen artichoke thawed
1/3 C. dry white wine (I used white grape juice)
1/2 lemon

Directions:
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat,
add shallots, cook for a minute add garlic cook for 2 - 3 minutes careful not to over cook.
stir in shrimp, mix through
add artichoke, stir through
add wine and juice from lemon
let simmer 3 to 4 minutes until shrimp are cooked through

add 2 TBS chopped parsley for color and flavor

serve with simple salad and hunk of whole grain italian style bread

simple salad
Open bag of prepared salad

Dressing:
in small dish mix:
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS red wine vinegar
Pinch of: Basil, salt and pepper

pour over salad and serve

Mini Beef Wellingtons

Ingredients:

8 small beef tenderloins steaks, cut 1-inch thick (4 oz. each)

4 TBS olive oil

1 lb. mushrooms, finely chopped

6 TBS dry red wine (I used cranberry juice)

6 TBS green onions, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed

1 tsp. salt divided

1 tsp. pepper divided

12 phyllo dough sheets, defrosted

cooking spray

directions:

1. Heat oven to 425

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add mushrooms; cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender.

3. Add wine; cook 2-3 minutes or until liquid is evaporated.

4. Stir in green onions, thyme, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper. Remove from skillet; cool completely.

5. Heat same skillet over medium heat until hot. Place steaks in skillet; cook 3 minutes turning once. (Steaks will be partially cooked. do not over cook.)

6. Season with salt and pepper, as desired

7. Create 2 stacks o 6 phyllo sheets on flat surface, spraying each sheet thoroughly with cooking spray.

8. Cut stacked sheets lengthwise in half, then crosswise in half, making 8 equal stacks.

9. Place about 2 TBS mushroom mixture in center of each phyllo stack, spreading mixture to diameter of steaks. Place steaks on mushroom mixture.

10. Bring all four corners of each philly stack together; twist tightly to close, lightly spray each bundle with cooking spray; place on greased baking sheet.

11. Immediately bake in 425 oven 9 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. let sit for 5 minutes. serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings

Found on Jenny Craig site - loved it anyway.

cut recipe in 1/2 as there are only 2 of us.

Korean-Style Beef Bowl

This recipe is super easy and easily one of Kurt's favorite dishes I make. It's from the Pampered Chef 29 Minutes of Less cookbook -- which is even better for me, because I'm really bad at planning ahead. :) However, if you do plan ahead the steak would probably be even tastier if you started marinating it earlier in the day.

Steak & Marinade:
2 green onions w/tops, divided
1 lb skirt steak - also called flank steak (we've tried other cuts of meat and they don't work as well)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil (I used Olive oil)

Rice & Vegetables:
1 cup uncooked jasmine rice (I usually use our Japanese white rice, either would work)
2 medium carrots
2 cups bean sprouts

1. For steak & marinade, thinly slice green onions, reserving 1 tbsp of the tops for garnish; place remaining green onions into bowl.

2. Cut steak crosswise into 2-in (5-cm) pieces. Slice each piece into thin strips, cutting against the grain; add to bowl. Press garlic over beef. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper &; sugar; mix well. Cover & refrigerate until ready to use.

3. As beef marinates, cook rice.

4. Meanwhile, for vegetables, peel carrots; discard skin. Continue peeling carrots to make long ribbons. Place ribbons into ice water until ready to serve

5. To finish steak, add vegetable oil (or what ever type of oil you want to use) to (12-IN/30-CM) SKILLET; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add beef to skillet in a single layer and cook undisturbed 2 minutes or until beef is brown. Stir; cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Remove from heat.

6. Divide rice among serving bowls and serve with beef, carrots and bean sprouts. Garnish with reserved green onion tops.

Yield: 4 servings

US Nutrients per serving: Calories 410, Total Fat 20gt, Saturated Fat 7g, Cholesterol 70mg, carbohydrate 29g, Protein 28g, Sodium 790mg, Fiber 2g

US Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 starch, 3 medium-fat meat, 1/2 fat (2 carb)