Vegetarian Penne


Ingredients
2 cups uncooked penne or medium tube pasta
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 small yellow summer squash, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
 
1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onion, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic in butter until tender.
2) In a bowl, whisk the flour, seasonings and cream until smooth; add to the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Drain pasta and add to vegetable mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until heated through
 
This is a really easy quick recipie. Took total about 20 mins including prep, and even my 2 year old loved it.

Red beans and rice

 Ingredients:

16 oz. red beans, soaked
1 tablespoon of bacon grease (can substitute canola or olive oil if you prefer) 1 bell pepper, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 pound of smoked sausage, cubed
1/2 cup of parsley, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of dried thyme or 1 sprig fresh
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
Cayenne, salt and black pepper to taste
2 smoked ham hocks
8 cups of chicken broth or water
4 green onions, green part chopped (save the white for another use)
6 cups of cooked rice

Method:


After cleaning and sorting, soak your beans in water overnight.

 In a large pot on medium heat, sauté in bacon grease the onion, celery and bell pepper for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sausage to the pot and cook for two minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot except for the green onions.


Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 20 minutes and then turn the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 40 minutes.

 After 40 minutes, take off the lid, stir the pot and continue to let it simmer for two hours. You might check back on it every once in a while to make sure there’s still enough liquid in the pot.

 At this time, test your beans—they should be soft, but if not, continue to cook on low until they are.
 When the beans are ready, with a wooden spoon smash a few of them against the side of the pot—this will make your beans extra creamy.

Pour the beans over rice, and garnish with the green onions. A few shakes of some Louisiana hot sauce such as Tabasco or Crystal is a good addition as well.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened 
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (if you are using unsalted butter)
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
 
1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2) In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3) Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

These are our favorite cookies, just chewy enough and not too much Chocolate that they are overpowered. And they are very, very easy to make. Plus with such a simple recipe it’s open to changing. Like white chocolate chips and dried cranberries? Go for it, you can put in M&M's, pull out some raisins and cinnamon, or even peanut butter.

Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked lasagna noodles
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 pound firm tofu (drained and crumbled)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry
 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce
1 small onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
 

Directions
1) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 5 to 8 minutes, or until just slightly underdone; drain and rinse.

2) In a small pan saute the onion and garlic with 1 Tbsp olive oil till onions go clear.

3) In a large mixing bowl, mix together grated cheese, ricotta cheese, tofu, frozen spinach, onions, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese.

4) Lay out a noodle. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on the noodle, then add a thin layer of sauce. Roll the noodle up, and place seam side down in a 13x9 pan. Repeat for other noodles. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese.

5) Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 30 min, or until hot and bubbly.

This makes 18 wraps, so depending on the person it should serve around 12 people. If you have a small family like mine you can either make the rolls and freeze them on a cookie sheet till solid and them save them in a bag or cook them in two pans and freeze the second pan to pull out for a quick meal. I would either thaw it and bake for the required 30 mins or bake from frozen for 45 mins or till its 165 degrees in the center of the wraps.
 While the prep took a little while (about 30 mins) it was a simple recipe and tastes really good. You can't even taste the tofu. But if you don’t like tofu then feel free to add a pound of ground beef, turkey or any other meat you would like.