RECIPES
This is the space where I will post the occasional recipe that I make and the family actually eats. I will try to add photos of the finished recipe food item.
Originally posted: 3/26/2020
~*~
Originally posted: 3/12/2020
~*~
Originally posted: 12/12/2019
~*~
Sweet & Sour Pork (or Chicken)
Originally posted: 11/4/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 9/12/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 8/8/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 6/13/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 4/11/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 3/28/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 3/14/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 2/14/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 1/10/2019
~*~
Originally posted: 12/13/2018
~*~
Originally posted: 10/11/2018
~*~
Karen’s Cabbage Soup
Originally posted: 8/9/2018
3 cups cabbage cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup kale (stems removed)
1 cup spinach
1.5 cups carrots diced or sliced
1.5 cups celery diced or sliced
1 cup onion diced (used 1-2 Vidalia onions)
1 head garlic peeled and smashed (use more if you like)
14 can diced tomatoes (1 cup or more)
1 (32 oz) carton fat-free chicken broth (Fit & Active)
3 cups water
1/2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 Tbsp Parsley Flakes
Cut everything up ahead of time and measure the veggies into a big bowl and set aside.
Put carrots, garlic, and onion directly into the pot and cook on med-hi until browned or tender. The onions will become transparent. Stir almost constantly and add some of the water if needed to keep it from scorching on the bottom of the pan.
Add the rest of the veggies and stir/fold them in. Add the tomatoes, broth, and water. Stir. Add seasonings. Stir.
Let boil on med-hi heat for about 30 minutes or until cabbage and carrots are tender. This will cook down a lot. Stir frequently and do not let it boil dry. This soup is delicious. Makes about 8 (2-cup) servings at 106 calories each.
See original post for additional photos.
~*~
Green Beans, Ham & Potatoes
Originally posted: 7/12/2018
64 ounces total frozen cut green beans (or 4 pounds fresh)
1 pound ham cubed with fat trimmed off (you can use more or less or even leftovers)
4 medium-sized potatoes, washed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup instant chopped onions or fresh onion diced to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Just get a big pot (I used an 8-quart pot) and dump in the frozen green beans, the ham, and the onions. Add enough water to cover everything and get the rolling boil going.
While it is getting up to a boil, scrub the potatoes and remove any eyes growing out of them. No need to peel them the skins are good for you. Cut the potatoes into quarters lengthwise, then cut those long quarters into about 1-inch cubes. Bigger is fine, but they take longer to cook through. Leave the skins on, that is why you scrubbed them, and where the nutrients are.
Now, add a generous amount of ground black pepper. I’m not sure you can use too much, but if you are not as confident go easy on it, you can always pepper your serving after you taste it.
Let it boil until you can easily cut the potatoes with a spoon or fork, but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over or boil dry. You want it to cook down some. I usually let mine cook for 30-45 minutes. You can turn it down to simmer and keep it warm if you aren’t ready to eat yet. When we were growing up we ate buttered white bread with this, but you really have everything you need except dairy in that pot, so do whatever sounds good to you or just have this, that is what we usually do.
I made 5 large servings about 24-32 ounces from this big pot, but you could add loads more potatoes to stretch it. You could also add more ham or green beans if that sounds better. If you are doing vegetarian or vegan, just skip the ham.
See original post for additional photos.
~*~
Chicken Noodles & Veggies
Originally posted: 6/14/2018
4 (12.5 oz) cans of chicken breast
2 (24 oz) bags of frozen noodles
2 (29 oz) cans of mixed veggies
2 (32 oz) cartons of stock
I started with the pot and poured the liquid off the veggies and chicken into the pot along with the stock. I let it come to a boil then added the noodles and let them cook for the 20 minutes specified on the package. You have to stir it and kind of scrape the bottom of the pot every so often or lots of those yummy noodles will end up stuck to the bottom of the pot. Once the 20-minute timer went off, I turned the heat way down so it was just simmering and tossed in the veggies and chicken and giving it all a good stir. It is now ready to eat as soon as you give the veggies and chicken time to warm up, I brought it back to a boil and then just turned it off. This made for a very nice thick soup that ate more like a meal than a soup or stew. It was delicious with some fresh ground pepper on it.
Now, there are loads of ways you could change this up. If I had it to do over again, I would have chosen mixed veggies that did NOT have potato chunks because I think the noodles were enough carbs. I could have used leftover chicken or turkey, but this is what I had on hand. I could have started with raw chicken breasts and boiled them in water and made my own unsalted chicken broth that way, I have done it many times. Serving size is 2 cups and has 346 calories.
See original post for additional photos.
~*~
Easy Ravioli Lasagna
Originally posted: 5/10/2018
Here are the 5 ingredients needed to make a 9×13 cake pan full of delicious easy ravioli lasagna.
2 jars pasta sauce of choice
2 bags ravioli of choice
1 pkg turkey sausage crumbles or meat of choice
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
a generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning
Step 1: Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Step 2: Carefully place the frozen ravioli in neat rows and columns on top of the sauce.
Step 3: Spread the fully cooked sausage crumbles evenly over the first layer of ravioli. (Note: You can certainly skip the sausage or substitute for other meats such as ground beef, chicken, turkey, or sausage. Consider pepperoni if you want to give it a more pizza flavor. You can’t do it wrong, really. Just pre-cook and drain the meat so it won’t add too much liquid to the pan.)
Step 4: Add a dab of sauce over each ravioli. You don’t want too much sauce here.
Step 5: Add another layer of ravioli. (Note: Make sure you stick to the same pattern as the first layer for ease in cutting and portioning later.)
Step 6: Sprinkle about 2 cups of shredded cheese of choice. (Note: Since I used cheese sauce and cheese ravioli, I likely could have skipped adding more cheese, but really you can never have too much cheese. Any kind you have on hand is fine and it could even be sliced instead of shredded.)
Step 7: Add another layer of ravioli. (Note: Make sure you stick to the same pattern as the first 2 layers for ease in cutting and portioning later.)
Step 8: Add the remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese.
Step 9: Add the 4th layer of ravioli, again, stick to the pattern.
Step 10: Pour the rest of the sauce from both jars over the 4th layer of ravioli. It will make its way down through the layers as it cooks but will keep the top layer of ravioli from drying out.
Step 11: Sprinkle generously with Italian seasoning. (Note there were 4 leftover ravioli so I added them to the top as decoration. I should have covered them with sauce or cheese to keep them from drying out.)
Step 12: Bake for about 60 minutes in 350°F oven.
Makes 12 servings at 414 calories each.
See original post for additional photos.
~*~
Karen’s Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
Originally posted: 8/31/2017
3 pkgs. (20oz each) Ground Turkey 93/7
3 large Eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups old fashioned Oats
4 Tbsp Dried Minced Onions
3.5 cups (entire 10oz bag) frozen chopped Green Bell Peppers
3 tsp. Minced Garlic
1.5 cups diced Carrots
1.75 cups diced Celery
1 cup Open Pit Original BBQ Sauce
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Generously grease muffin pans.
Mix all ingredients with clean hands. (remove rings first)
Fill muffin cups to about 1/4″ from the top.
Bake at 400°F for 17-20 minutes until internal temp is at least 165°F.
Allow to cool, then pack into freezer dishes with foil in between layers, allow to cool then freeze. This helps with portion control, counting calories and easy reheating of single portions.
I used frozen green peppers because that was easy and I had them already. I was out of frozen onions, so used dehydrated instead. Fresh could be used in both cases.
See original post for additional photos. Makes 36 muffins at 120 calories each.
(My adaptation/combination of several different turkey meatloaf recipes)
(A Karen Beidelman Original Recipe Adaptation)
~*~
Chicken Pot Pie
Originally posted: 5/9/2014
2 chicken breasts
2 (10 ¾ oz.) cans Cream of Chicken Soup
frozen mixed vegetables to fill the empty soup cans
2 already pie crusts (from the refrigerator section)
Boil chicken in a pot of water for 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken and let it cool. In a microwave-safe bowl, mix together soup and vegetables. Microwave for 5 minutes or so. While that is in the microwave, take the chicken off bones if they weren’t boneless, and tear or cut into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to soup mixture and stir together. Unfold one pie crust into a glass or ceramic deep-dish pie plate, and add filling. Put second pie crust on top and pinch the two crusts together at the edges. Cut slits in top pie crust to vent. Bake 1 hour in a 350° F oven. Cut into quarters.
Serves 2-4.
This is also a great recipe for using up leftover chicken or turkey.
Can also use canned veggies, but drain them first.
(A Karen Beidelman Original Recipe)
~*~
“PIZZA QUICHE” (PEPPERONI CHEESE PIE)
Originally posted: 5/7/2014
Crust:
1/2 pkg. Pillsbury All-Ready Pie Crusts
(Note: If using a frozen shell, use Deep Dish size.)
Spread one crust into deep dish pie plate and set aside.
Filling:
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green pepper
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 pkg. (3 ½ oz.) sliced pepperoni
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp. flour
1 ½ cup milk (skim works fine)
4 eggs. Beaten
salt & pepper, a dash of each
Cook onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Cut 2/3 of the pepperoni slices into fourths. Toss onion, green pepper, pepperoni, and cheese with flour. Add milk, eggs, and seasonings. Pour into prepared pastry shell. Gently place remaining pepperoni slices around edge of pie. Bake in a 350°F oven 40 to 45 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings. Serves 2-4.
(Source: from the back of a box of Hormel Brand Pepperoni)
Nutrition Info: ¼ pie (leave out butter, use 1/3 cup each frozen green pepper and onion, and substitute turkey pepperoni): 512 calories, 29g total fat, 13.6g sat. fat, 0.9g polyunsat. Fat, 4.9g monounsat. Fat, 254.9mg cholesterol, 1115.6mg sodium, 6.6mg potassium, 34.2g total carbs, 0.4g dietary fiber, 5.2g sugars, 24.4g protein, 17.3% vitamin A, 1.5% vitamin C, 35.6% calcium, 8.1% iron
~*~
I hope you will let me know if you make any of these recipes for your family. Please contact me and share photos. I love to hear about readers making the same recipes I make and how their families liked them.