I got this recipe for my wonderful sister Candice and have run with it ever since. It’s the kind of recipe you use when you’ve got veggies in the fridge and need to use them up.

1 lb chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs

3 regular sized carrots

4 stocks celery

1-2 leeks

1 tsp salt

1 package mushrooms

1 lb bean sprouts

1 package rice noodles (you can also use plain rice)

1 1/2 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cup sugar or honey

1 tbs ginger

Chop your carrots, celery and leeks into bite sized pieces then put into a hot pan. Salt veggies, then let them fry in 2 tbs. olive oil for about fifteen minutes, stirring to make sure they don’t burn.

Take a moment and either make rice to go with the dish, or prepare the rice noodles according to the packed instructions.

Cut chicken into desired pieces. About 1-2 inch chunks, then add to the veggie mixture. When chicken is almost cooked through, add the mushrooms.

At this point you’re going to want to make the sauce. Put sugar and soy sauce together in a small pot with the ginger spice and stir. Add soy sauce or sugar until it’s the right combination for you, then add to the veggie mixture when the sugar is completely melted and mixture is smooth.

Finally, when your meal is done, add your rinsed bean sprouts. cover the pan for just a minute for the sprouts to get warm, then add the noodles, or dish out over rice.

Like I said, the veggies can be exchanged. Add onion instead of leek, or broccoli instead of celery. just use what you have and enjoy!

Yummy addition to most meals, and a must have if you’re making spaghetti or ravioli.

1 package of ground turkey (you can use ground beef too if you so desire)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or 1 piece of white or whole wheat bread

1 egg

1 tsp. oregano, basil, and salt

1/2 tsp. pepper and sage

1 tbs. garlic powder, and onion powder

First thing’s first. Dump your meat into a bowl then add the egg and bread crumbs. If you don’t have bread crumbs, put your piece of bread in a blender or food processor and blend  until its crumbed.

Add your seasonings, then revert back to childhood and get your hands dirty! Squish it all up until thoroughly blended, then make into one inch balls and place in a hot pan. If you’re using ground turkey meat, you’re going to want to add a tbs of olive oil to the pan so it doesn’t stick.

Cook about ten to fifteen minutes until brown, only flipping the meatballs periodically. Then enjoy with your favorite Italian dish!

By special request, I’m posting my ravioli recipes. This is Shawn’s favorite, but it’s also a little difficult to get the noodles under control. This is the kind of recipe to do if you’ve got 3 or 4 hours to set aside to make.

First is first, the noodles.

3 cups flour

2 eggs

1/3 cup water

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

On a large flat CLEAN surface, such as a counter top, or a table, as what I use, scoop the flour out and make a big well in the center with the measuring cup. Add all the other ingredients and begin to mix into the flour. It gets messy and sticky, but it’ll gather as you mix.

Knead pressing your palm into the mix  toward the table and out, then fold in half, quarter turn to the right, and repeat for 8-10 minutes. It’s a good workout! Just saying. If the dough continues to be flaky, dip your fingers in water and keep kneading until it is gathered into a play dough-type of consistency.

Wrap in plastic wrap and stick it in your fridge for at least an hour.

Once you’ve let it rest, pull it out of the fridge and cut into eighths. This is the point in which you will really really wish you had a dough roller. But, if you’re like me, you don’t so you have to use elbow grease. Roll out the dough until it’s really thin, about a 1/2- 1/4 inch thick. I know I’m done rolling when I can see the table through the dough. make it as even as possible, and as rectangular as possible.

Once you have your dough sheet, about a foot by two feet… (hopefully it rolls out that well for you) plop your filling in the center, about 2-3 inches apart. We’ll talk about filling options in just a little bit. Before you can close your little ravioli, you need to make a quick egg wash. Just mix up two eggs with a fork in a bowl. Try to fluff it a little, and it’ll make it easier to handle. With your fingers or a brush, trace one side of the dough making three corners around each filling pile then fold the dough lengthwise to make your ravioli pouches.

Carefully press out any air bubbles and smash the two sides together with your fingers. When you’ve got it smashed and ready, use a pizza roller and cut out your squares.

Drop your raviolis into salted gently boiling water for about ten minutes. The cooking time will depend on how thick your dough is.

Finally, scoop out your cooked pockets of heaven and put in a bowl.

The only way to make it better? Butter sauce. Just melt one stick of butter in a pan, add sage or other spices you like that go with the filling you made, and brown the butter. Now, there’s a difference between browning and burning the butter, so keep the temperature low and keep stirring until it’s browned up to perfection. It requires a bit of patience, but it’s o-so worth it.

Fillings

I’ve made this recipe twice now with two different fillings. The first was a butternut squash filling, and the second a ricotta spinach filling.

For the butternut squash, just cut the squash in half and roast it in the oven at 350` with a pat of butter in the wells where you dug out the seeds. In a tinfoil pouch in the same pan, place half an onion, sliced, with about a tablespoon of butter in it. Close it up and let it bake with the squash. It took about an hour for mine to soften. Wait for it to cool enough to scoop out the soft flesh into a blender or food processor. Blend it until it’s smooth, adding salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, or any spices you like until it tastes good to you. Tasting your food is the best policy.

The ricotta spinach was easier, only requiring a container of ricotta, one bunch of adult spinach, and half a minced onion. Slice up your spinach into ribbons. Immerse them in  water, then drain to get out all the sediment stuck to the leaves. place the spinach into a hot pan with the minced onion. Cook it until the onion is soft and brown and the leaves are completely wilted. Let it cool before mixing it into the ricotta, then add spices like salt, pepper, basil and oregano to taste. Remember, keep tasting!

So, as newly weds we have a small food budget, which at times requites us to eat cheap, like mac n’ cheese. We bought a case of 30 boxes at 17 cents a piece, a bargain I know, but the stuff gets to be nasty after a while, and you just get sick of it.

So, this post is wholly devoted to spicing up the old favorite into new ones.

Chili Mac

Just add a can of chili to your boxed goodness, or, add a pack of ground beef or turkey that you’ve cooked to two boxes, and add chili powder spice to taste. it’s that easy.

Peas and Tuna Mac

Just cook up your noodles and strain, then cook up your cheese sauce. Add a drained can of tuna, mix it up well so there aren’t any big chunks. Add the peas just right before you add your noodles, mix gently as to not crush the peas, then enjoy!

Bacon Mac

It’s as simple as it sounds. Fry up your bacon, chop it up on your cutting board, or wait til it cools to crumble it into your sauce, then mix it all together.

Really, just adding any kind of meat to it makes it delish, or even just adding some frozen or canned veggies. The point is to mix it up, cause your body needs variety, and so do your taste buds!

So, I’ve been failing miserably getting this blog up and running, so here’s the first shot. Shawn and I had Taco Salad last night for dinner, so here’s a simple, tasty, stick-to-your-ribs salad.

1 chicken breast cubed into one inch cubes

1 cup of beans (can be pinto or black. I make mine from scratch from dried beans. They’re worth the time and effort)

1 cup cooked or leftover rice (brown or white)

1 cup frozen or canned corn

1 pack taco seasoning mix

1 head romaine lettuce

1 head iceberg lettuce

1 tomato diced

*Tortilla strips (optional but delicious)

Shred lettuce and dice tomato, then set them aside.

In one tbs. olive oil, sautee your chicken until it’s golden brown on all sides of the little cubes. It shouldn’t take more then 5-7 minutes.

Pour in your taco mix, add water as the instructions say, then add your beans, rice, and corn.

Once that’s simmered about 5 minutes for everything to get warm, dish out your lettuce and tomato into servings.

Pour your taco mix over the top and mix quickly. You’ll want to eat right away before the lettuce wilts too much.

* Bonus tortilla strips

Heat 1-2 cups of oil in medium sized pot until waves form in the oil. (or you can stick a tortilla strip in and it begins to fry immediately.)

take small taco sized corn tortillas, as many as you’d like, (I usually use half a package cause they are popular in my house) and cut them into strips.

Carefully put strips into the oil, letting them fall away from you as you set them in. Only put in one layer of strips or they will not fry properly.

Move around in the pan until they are fried and crispy.

With a slotted spoon scoop them out and put in another batch. Repeat until you’ve fried all your tortilla strips.

Add some salt over the top and you’re ready! For the taco salad I like to add some chili powder on the strips as well for a little more flavor.

You can use this same method on triangularly cut tortilla pieces to make chips!