What's for Dinner: Chicken Ziti Casserole

I was supposed to make dinner for a friend who recently had a baby, so today I went looking for a chicken casserole recipe that did not include any form of condensed soup. Those types of recipes always taste the same and aren't very healthy. I found this on Recipe Goldmine and we all enjoyed it.

Chicken Ziti Casserole

• 1 Jar spaghetti sauce
• 4 C. Cooked ziti (about 6 oz. uncooked)
• 1 ½ C. Cooked cubed chicken
• 1 C. Shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Stir together spaghetti sauce, cooked ziti, chicken and ½ cup mozzarella. Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

Makes 6 servings.

My comments:

Although I don't normally buy canned pasta sauce, this was the step that made the recipe super easy. The chicken and the pasta cooked at the same time and while they were cooking I shredded the cheese. My two-year old even asked for thirds! Definitely a hit.

What's for Dinner: Quick Fiesta Casserole

This recipe came from one of the sample menus from Saving Dinner. It was the first time I tried it and we all liked it.

Quick Fiesta Casserole

•1 lb prepared black beans
• 1 8oz. jar salsa
• 2 tbs. taco sauce
• 2 tsp. each cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder
• 2 C. baked tortilla chips
• 1 C. low fat sour cream
• ½ C. sliced green onions
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 4 oz. cheddar cheese, low fat
• Shredded lettuce and taco sauce, if desired

Heat oven to 350°. In a skillet, stir in beans, salsa, 2 tbs. taco sauce, cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. Heat to a simmer; stirring occasionally. Place tortilla chips in un-greased 2 quart casserole. Top with bean mixture. Spread with sour cream. Sprinkle with onions, tomatoes and cheese. Bake uncovered until hot and bubbly, 20-30 minutes. Serve on bed of lettuce with extra chips and taco sauce if desired. Serves six.

My comments:

I started by cutting the recipe in half, but somewhere along the line forgot to halve the ingredients so ended up with more than I intended. I used canned beans instead of dried because I can never cook dried beans long enough for some reason. Instead of taco sauce I put in two tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning along with a little water. I didn't have much hope of finding baked tortilla chips, but discovered a company that is advertising "New! Baked tortilla chips!" so I was able to used baked after all. I also broke the chips up slightly so that they wouldn't take up as much room in the pan. Finally, I only put sour cream on half because not all of us like it. Despite all these changes, my husband and I both agreed that it is something that we should try again sometime.

What's for Dinner: Super Salad

I have a friend who calls a green salad with lots of toppings a "super salad." I thought I would take a page from her book and give that name to the dinner we had the other night.

As I said before, it is just too hot to cook. It is not unusual for the temperature in our home to rise 10 degrees if I am using both the stove and the oven. Given that our A/C is already working overtime and that I don't want heat radiating up at me as I stand over the stove, I prefer the no-cook, no-unnecessary-heat meals.

So here's what I put in this salad:

• Several leaves of green leaf lettuce (if one was measuring probably about six cups of shredded)
• Half a large cucumber, diced
• One large tomato, diced
• One stalk of celery, chopped
• One bell pepper, diced
• Two carrots, julienned
• Two hard boiled eggs, sliced
• Some dried basil sprinkled over it (fresh would work better)

Other potential toppings could be green onion, red onion, olives, croutons, artichoke, asparagus, avocado, tuna, shrimp, beans, cheese, some sort of fruit, or anything else that strikes one's fancy.

Each person put their salad dressing of choice on after they had dished up. I just used balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

My overall opinion on this was that it was worth all the chopping not to make the house any warmer. My husband said that it was "good but would have been better with cheddar cheese shredded on top."

What's For Dinner: Greek Wraps

When it is 99º for a week straight one really doesn't feel like cooking or eating a lot of hot, heavy food. It has always astounded me to have dinner at someone's house when it is over ninety and they serve something like soup or chicken pot pie. (One time the family didn't even have A/C!) Don't they realize that foods like that are perfect for winter because they warm us (and the house) up, and horrible for summer for precisely the same reason?

What makes this dish so perfect is that there is no cooking involved! All that is required is lots of chopping. And since it is vegetarian, that also makes it a lighter meal.

Greek Wraps

1 large cucumber, peeled and diced (between 1½ and 2 cups)
2 large tomatoes, diced (about 1½ cups)
1 bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup red onion
½ cup sliced or diced olives (any color)
1 can garbanzo or black beans, rinsed and drained
½ - 2/3 cup feta cheese (optional)
2 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
6-8 tortillas or wraps, depending on size
6-8 leaves of lettuce

Mix all ingredients except tortillas and lettuce. Add mixture and lettuce to wrap. Fold up and enjoy.

My comments:

The original recipe called for garbanzo beans, but my husband doesn't care for them so I used black beans instead. Also, one could use pitas instead of wraps. I haven't tried this, but I bet that the mixture would be good with corn added as well.

The mixture would make a good salad as a side dish to some sort of grilled meat. In fact, when we ate the leftovers we were out of tortillas, so we just had the mixture as salad for lunch.

What's for Dinner: Kebabs

Last night we had kebabs for dinner. No, I have no idea what the difference between that and a shish kebab is.

The wonderful thing about kebabs is that they are so versatile. They can be all meat, all vegetables, all fruit, or a combination of these. Fruit kebabs, though, are usually a dessert food and not for dinner. I have heard of kebabs with shrimp, lamb, pork, even hot dogs. There are so many vegetables that can go on them, and even though I normally like veggies, they seem to taste even better grilled on a stick. The possibilities are endless: bell peppers; mushrooms; tomatoes; white, yellow or red onion; zucchini, potato; pineapple; garlic; mango; etc.

A great thing about these is that you can tailor make them for picky eaters. For example, last night someone didn't like mushrooms and someone else didn't care for red onion. All I had to do was leave those things off some of them and substitute another vegetable instead.

We could have marinated the beef a little longer, but it still turned out very well. The marinade was simply crushed garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar.

What's For Dinner: Tamale Pie

This is one of my husband's favorite meals. It combines all his favorite ingredients except pasta. The only problem I have with it is the prep time. Today it took me an hour to get everything done before it went in the oven, and that's not counting clean-up. I did use frozen hamburger, though, so that added a little bit of cooking time.

Tamale Pie

½ pound ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 and ½ cups whole kernel corn
½ cup pitted ripe olives, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
Dash of pepper

***

6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1½ cups)
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Cook meat, onion, and green pepper in a large skillet till meat is lightly browned and vegetables are tender. Stir in tomato sauce, corn, olives, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes, or until thick. Add cheese; stir till melted. Turn into greased 9x9x2-inch baking dish.

Cornmeal Topper: Stir cornmeal and ½ teaspoon salt into cold water. Cook and stir till thick. Add olive oil; mix well. Spoon over hot meat mixture.

Bake casserole in moderate oven (375°) about 40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

My comments:

I made the filling in a cast iron pan, so instead of using a casserole dish, I just poured the corn batter on top and put the whole pan in the oven. The presentation isn't as nice, but it makes clean-up easier.

I used only about 1/3 pound ground beef because I don't think that small difference matters very much.

I used frozen corn, but drained canned corn would work as well.

You can substitute butter for the olive oil.

Depending on your tastes, you should be able to use less salt.

The original recipe called for American cheese instead of cheddar, but both my husband and I don't care for it.