Preserving the Good Life

Five ingredients at 375° for 30 minutes makes one delicious main course!

• 2 lbs of chicken tenders
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of Rotel (or salsa)
• Taco Seasoning
• Shredded Cheese

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Place the chicken tenders in a baking dish and sprinkle with taco seasoning.

Top with beans, then Rotel.

You’ll notice one of my boys isn’t a fan of tomatoes; therefore, I leave them off his portion.

Bake for 20-30 mins until the chicken is done.  Add a sprinkle of shredded cheese and place back in the oven until the cheese melts.

This was delicious with Mexican Style Corn and Spaghetti Squash.

I have to admit, sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts did not sound appetizing at first, but I thought I would at least give it a try.  I’m SOOOOO GLAD I DID! My boys loved it.  It’s nutritious and delicious and it’s even great the next day.

Preheat oven for 400°.

• 2 – 12 oz bags of frozen Brussels Sprouts, Thawed
• 3 – Medium Sweet Potatoes, Diced
• 3 – cloves of garlic, minced
• Thyme, fresh for garnish
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1/3 cup – Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp – Red Wine Vinegar

Dice the sweet potatoes and put them in a large bowl.  You can peel them if you choose, I don’t peel mine.  The peeling is where the nutrients are hidden.   Add the brussels sprouts to the bowl.  Add the minced garlic and olive oil, stir.  Add the cumin, garlic salt, salt, pepper and stir to coat.    Spray a roasting pan really good with nonstick spray.  Pour the veggies on the pan and roast for 40-45 mins.

I do stir mine occasionally while roasting.  The veggies are done when they’re tender enough that you can slide a fork into them easily.  Once done, put the veggies in a large mixing bowl and toss with the 2 Tbsp of red wine vinegar.  Garnish with Thyme, if you prefer.    This makes a great side dish!

This is probably one of my all-time favorite summer recipes I absolutely love tomato pie.

In this picture I have Duke’s mayonnaise, I prefer to use the mayonnaise made from olive oil.  And I always buy block cheese and shred it.  Have you ever taken the ingredients on a bag of shredded cheese and googled them to see what you’re eating?  When you do, you’ll never eat shredded cheese again.

Preheat oven 350°.

• 5 Tomatoes, peeled, sliced and drained
• 1/4 C Basil (fresh or dried)
• 1/2 C Green Onions sliced then
• Garlic Clove, chopped  (optional)
• 3/4 C Mayonnaise
• Salt
• 1 C Cheddar, grated
• 1 C Mozzarella, grated
• 2 T Parmesan Cheese, grated

Peel and slice tomatoes and place in a strainer.

Sprinkle with salt and let the tomatoes drain while you shred the cheese and get the other ingredients ready.  Chop the onions and basil.  Shred the cheeses, set the Parmesan aside.  Mix together the mayonnaise, cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  Divide the tomatoes, basil and onions in half and layer tomatoes, basil, onions, repeat.

Top with the mayonnaise and cheese mixture and then finally add the Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.  Enjoy!

I’m always looking for creative ways to fix zucchini.  So I thought I’d give these a try and needless to say, I will be fixing these more often!!!

• 2 Large Zucchinis
• 5-6 Chicken Tenders
• Olive Oil
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 2 T Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce
• 2 T Basil
• 1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 2 T Parmesan Cheese

Preheat the oven to 400°.  Cut the Zucchinis in half and put them on a baking sheet in the oven for 25 minutes, until tender.  I have found it is so much easier to scoop the seeds out if you bake the zucchini first, then scoop the seeds out before you fill them with the filling.

While those are baking, grill the chicken tenders with a little bit of olive oil.  Once grilled, chop the chicken.  Combine in a bowl: chicken, garlic, marinara sauce, basil, and mozzarella cheese.  In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, set aside.  Scoop the seeds out of the zucchini and fill with the chicken mixture.  Top the zucchini boats with the bread crumb, parmesan cheese mixture.  Put back in the oven for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

I’m spoiled and I admit it…..spoiled to having grown up on a farm and knowing the true goodness in home grown, home ground cornmeal. Cornbread made from cornmeal on the farm is my absolute favorite.   I can make a meal on cornbread and milk.  My Daddy still grinds cornmeal with his Grist Mill (made between 1914-1924) like my ancestors did and sells it at the local markets.

If I have to buy cornmeal, Martha White’s Self Rising is my favorite but I prefer Dad’s any day!  Preheat the oven to 350°.  While the oven is heating, I place my cornbread pan with a little bit of oil in the oven.  This “cornbread” pan is a cast iron pan that I use for nothing other than cornbread.

Getting that pan hot plays a key in the outside of the cornbread having that crunch to it.  Your cornmeal mixture will literally sizzle when you pour it in the pan.

• 1 1/2 cup Cornmeal
• 2 T Self Rising Flour
• 1 t Baking Powder
• 1/2 t Salt
• 3 T Oil
• 1 cup Milk  (if you keep buttermilk on hand, use 1/2 c milk, 1/2 c buttermilk)

Mix together all the ingredients.  If you ask my father how to make it the right consistency he will tell you that you add the milk a little at a time and mix it until it “plops”.  His original recipe didn’t have a measurement for milk.

See how it sizzle a little bit around the edges. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

These are super nutritious, delicious and lower calorie than red meat burgers.  This isn’t something that my crowd enjoys on a bun, but we do love them with corn on the cob and black beans as sides.

•  1.25 lb turkey burger
• 1.5 cup kale, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup oats
• 4 T Allegro Marinade (or worcestershire sauce)
• 2 T Parsley
• Salt & Pepper

Chop the kale and onion really fine and put all the ingredients in one mixing bowl.

Mix together the ingredients listed above.

Form patties and grill.

Enjoy!

Fried Squash – only better!  Why better, because it’s baked!  When I figured up the calories in 1 cup of fried squash (365) vs 1 cup of baked squash (156), I decided that my fried squash days were over.  It’s simply not worth the 200+ calories just to have it fried when the baked is as good or better!

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Slice the squash into thin slices.  Brush a baking sheet or bar pan (as pictured) with Olive Oil.  If you use Cooking Spray, spray heavily.

• Squash
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 egg
• Salt & Pepper
• Self Rising Cornmeal

Whisk together egg, milk, salt and pepper.  Dip squash in the milk mixture then into the dry cornmeal and place onto the greased cookie sheet.  Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes (or until the squash is tender).

At 15 minutes, flip the squash over.

This is a much healthier option than the fried version.  Tasty too!

Wow!  It’s amazing how good God’s food can be…especially when you combine the right mix of ingredients!  The only thing that could have made this any better is a scoop of ice cream!!!

Preheat the oven to 350°.

• Peaches
• Honey
• Cinnamon
• Brown Sugar

Wash and halve the peaches.  Ripe peaches work best.  Drizzle the peaches with honey. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  (It’s that easy!)

Bake for 20 minutes.  This also works well on the grill.  When I cook mine on the grill, I start them out plain, no seasonings, face down for a few minutes.  Then flip them over, add spices and honey and cook for a few more.  On the grill, watch them closely so they don’t burn.

I’ve tried several kinds of zucchini boats, this is the first one that my husband likes well enough to ask if I made extra for lunch the next day!

• 3 large zucchinis
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 lb of ground meat (I used Chicken)
• 24 oz of Pasta Sauce of your choice (Tomato Basil)
• Feta Cheese
• Kalamata Olives

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Slice and scoop out the insides of the zucchinis.  Place them on a baking sheet and in the oven for 20-30 mins until tender.  The time will depend on the size of the zucchinis.  Smaller, takes less time.  Precooking the zucchinis is a key step, if they’re not precooked, they’re too hard to enjoy.  While the zucchinis are in the oven, brown the ground meat.  Once browned and drained, add the spaghetti sauce.  My crowd loves garlic, so I added 2 cloves of garlic to the sauce.  Once that’s done, check the tenderness of the zucchinis,  if tender, remove them from the oven and spoon them full of the ground meat sauce.  Sprinkle them with feta cheese and olives (if you prefer olives), put in the oven for 10 minutes.

I put my olives on the last 5 minutes they’re in the oven, all you really want to go is get the olives hot.

Enjoy!  These are really good – and good for you!

At every family get together, it’s a given, Linda knows we’ll ask for her potato salad – it’s that good!  I have tried for years to get my stepmom Linda Marshall’s potato salad recipe, with little luck, not because she didn’t want to share it, but simply because she never measures the ingredients.  Do you know how hard it is to get a recipe from a lady that doesn’t measure the ingredients?   So when she started using cauliflower instead of potatoes ~ I had to have it!  It took me going to her kitchen to get it, but we got it!

• Head of cauliflower
• Small onion finely chopped
• 6 boiled eggs
• 3/4 cup of sweet relish
• 1/4 cup dill salad cubes
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 1/4 t celery seed
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the cauliflower into bigger chunks and boil for 10 minutes until soft.

Once tender, drain the cauliflower and rinse with cold water.  Let it sit for a few mins to completely drain and cool. Finely chop the onion and coursely chop up the eggs.

In a mixing bowl start mixing the cauliflower, onions, then add the eggs.  (Note how finely chopped the onion is in the picture below).

Add the sweet relish, dill cubes, celery seeds, sour cream and mayonnaise.  Mix everything together really well and take a chopper to chop the bigger chunks that didn’t break up during mixing.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!  This is a much, much healthier option to carbohydrate loaded potato salad.