Oven-Roasted Pasta Primavera with Real Beef Hot Dogs

This popped up when I was looking through my Rachael Ray Magazine and it looks so fresh and delicious, so I tried out the recipe from Johnsonville.com. Sadly, the sausage didn't make it on the grocery list (a mystery yet to be solved), so we used our beef hot dogs to fill in the gaps. It turned out AWESOME! My husband says he probably wouldn't have liked it as much if it hadn't been for the accidental slip. He didn't even know they were hot dogs! We also couldn't find zucchini. Both stores were out or had not received a shipment. Make it hard to cook healthy when stores don't provide healthy foods.


Ingredients

• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, quartered
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium orange (or red) bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 pkg. (14 oz.) Kelement's Chicago Brand Beef Hot Dogs (cut at an angle)
• 12 oz. uncooked Cavatappi Pasta or pasta of your choice
• 1 cup grated pecorino cheese
• grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms, tomatoes, onion and bell pepper. Add the oil, salt and pepper; toss to coat.
3. Transfer to a greased shallow baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the sausage and pecorino over vegetables. Bake until sausage is heated through.
5. Meanwhile, cook linguine according to package directions; drain and place in a large bowl.
6. Add sausage mixture and toss. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Blackened Chicken Tenders

Ray (my husband) made this as one of his recipes he wanted to cook for the week, as he ventures into the world of twice-a-week meals. He said it was a little different than the one I will link to here, but it turned out really well. It would have been better if he followed the recipe linked here from Relish. So that is the one I will share, as the only difference was the amount of condensed milk used. The recipe went really well with scalloped potatoes.


Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 - green bell pepper, cored and chopped
• 1 - red bell pepper, cored and chopped
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 - (5-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Directions

1. In large resealable bag, combine paprika, chili powder, brown sugar, pepper, salt. Add chicken, shake to coat.  
2. In large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, heat olive oil over medium heat, sauté chicken 5–7 minutes or until browned and done. Remove to a plate.  
3. In same skillet, add green pepper, red pepper, onion, scraping bits from bottom of pan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender.
4. Add evaporated milk, stirring, one minute or until heated and bubbly. Serve chicken with sauce, sprinkle with green onions, if desired.

New Year Meatloaf

New Year Meatloaf
Serves 8-10

I am always trying to strike that balance between what my husband loves about meatloaf and what I want to get out of meatloaf. So I browsed recipe after recipe. I looked through different articles talking about how to replace this with that to make a healthier recipe. What I came up with is below and did an amazing job hitting the mark on all accounts. So I called it a New Year Meatloaf to include that idea of healthy foods, without misrepresenting the idea that it is healthy. Gluten Free, by the way. I just included healthy options in the loaf, so for me, it's a healthier loaf than what I've known before. For my husband, it was exactly what he wanted.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup egg whites (or 2 egg whites)
• 3/4 cup rolled Oates, minced in a blender until they resemble fine bread crumbs (or use a hand chopper)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 TBSP coriander
• 1 TBSP chili powder
• 1 packet Onion Soup mix
• salt and pepper as preferred

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a bowl, mix the meat, carrots, bell peppers, onion, egg, egg whites, Oates, Parmesan, curry, coriander, chili, onion soup mix, salt, pepper, and garlic.
3. Mix with hands until thoroughly combined.
4. In a non-stick baking dish, form meat into a loaf shape.
5. Bake for 45 minutes.
6. Pull out, take off foil and spread the ketchup on top.
7. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
8. Serve with Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Mash.