Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Butternut Squash Filling:
• 2 cups butternut squash puree (about half of squash)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup milk (or more, if needed)
• 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Spinach Filling:
• 1 cup cooked spinach (8 oz uncooked)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pepper, to taste
Other Ingredients:
• 10 oz lasagna noodles, cooked (for gluten free, use Tinkyada brown rice lasagna noodles)
• 1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (or more)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (on top)
• Italian seasoning
• Paprika
• Basil

Make A Quick & Easy Ranch Spinach Dip

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
Butternut Squash Filling:
2. For this filling, you will need to have pre-cooked butternut squash puree. Using food processor, combine 2 cups of butternut squash puree with Ricotta cheese, milk, salt and nutmeg. Add more milk if needed (to make the butternut squash filling very creamy). Mix very well, taste and add more salt, if needed.
Spinach Filling:
3. Combine spinach, Ricotta cheese, mozzarella, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix, taste, and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
Cooking lasagna noodles:
4. Bring a very large pot of water to boil, and cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Rinse in cold water, drain. Using knife, trim noodles to fit your baking dish (if necessary).
Lasagna assembly:
5. Prepare a baking dish - I used a casserole dish 11 inches x 8.5 inches x 3 inches deep. Grease the lasagna dish lightly with olive oil spray. Spread 1/3 of butternut squash filling on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked lasagna noodles without overlapping (I used 3 noodles).
6. Spread half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.
7. Spread another layer (1/3) of butternut squash mixture, then sprinkle lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.
8. Spread the remaining half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with the final layer of cooked noodles.
9. Spread a generous amount of butternut squash filling (the remaining 1/3) over this final layer of noodles, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and remaining mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 cup of mozzarella). Generously sprinkle the cheese with Italian seasoning, paprika, basil.
10. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
• 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 5 cups small diced broccoli florets*
• 1/8 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 12 oz sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded (or more to taste)
• 2 oz parmesan cheese, freshly & finely shredded

Directions

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until they begin to soften, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add garlic, flour and season lightly with salt and pepper then cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pour in evaporated milk (whisk well to smooth). Cook mixture, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken then pour into a slow cooker along with chicken broth, diced broccoli and thyme. Cover with lid and cook on HIGH heat for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or low heat for 6 hours.
• Turn heat to warm (or off) and stir in heavy cream, then add in shredded cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese and stir to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.
• *From about 20 oz broccoli crowns, large stems cut off and discarded (or reserved for another use), florets diced into small pieces.

NEXT TIME I WOULD CHOP THE BROCCOLI IN THE FOOD PROCESSOR FIRST

Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts *I used 2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 cup packed brown sugar *I used 3/4 cup
2/3 cup vinegar  *I used apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda *I used Sprite Zero
2-3 Tablespoons minced garlic *I used about 1 1/2 T. fresh minced garlic
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons water
Red pepper flakes (optional) 

Directions:

• Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. (Crock pot liners are also great!)
• Place chicken (frozen, thawed or fresh) inside slow cooker. 
• Mix together the sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper, and pour over chicken. 
• Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. (Frozen chicken will obviously need a longer cook time.)
• Remove chicken from slow cooker (it should basically fall apart) and pour remaining sauce into a saucepan over high heat. 
• Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan, and mix well. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze. 
• Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two (it will continue to thicken as it cools).
• Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top if desired.  

Parmesan Honey Pork Roast

• 1 3-4 lb. boneless pork loin roast
• ⅔ C grated parmesan cheese
• ½ C honey
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 2 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 Tbs cornstarch
• ¼ C chicken broth
• 1 tsp sugar, optional

Instructions

1. Place roast in slow cooker.
2. In a bowl combine cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, oregano, garlic, oil, and salt.
3. Pour mixture over the top of roast.
4. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until thermometer reads 160 degrees.
5. Remove meat and place on platter.
6. Strain juices in slow cooker and put into a small sauce pan.
7. Mix cornstarch and chicken broth together.
8. Add into strained juices and stir until thickened over medium heat.
9. Add in a teaspoon of sugar if sauce needs to be a bit sweeter, optional
10. Slice roast and serve with glaze.

Chicken and White Bean Chili

Ingredients
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 ounces each) white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups fat free chicken broth
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) low fat shredded cheese
Fat Free Sour cream and minced fresh cilantro, optional

Directions
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper then place it in the bottom of the Slow Cooker. Then add the onion, jalapeno, garlic, oregano and cumin on top of the chicken.

Next add white beans and pour the chicken broth over everything. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or 4 to 6 hours on high.

Shred chicken and stir before serving. Sprinkle with cheese and garnish with sour cream and cilantro if desired.

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 stick butter (4 tablespoons), melted
Pinch of salt
3 dashes black pepper
Some arsley leaves, finely chopped
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Steps:

Oven to 400, cut squash into cubes. In a salad bowl, toss the butternut squash cubes with the garlic, melted butter, salt, pepper, and parsley leaves. Transfer the butternut squash on a baking sheet. Spread out in an even and single layer (no overlap), and roast for about 40 minutes or until the surface becomes light brown and the flesh is tender and soft. Turn off the heat, remove from oven and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top of the squash. Put it back into the oven for 5 minutes until the cheese melted. Serve immediately.

Chicken pie stew

from Shaina

1/2 bag baby carrots, cut in half

~5 stalks of celery, cut in 1-2 inch pieces

1 onion sliced

~1.5-2 lbs of chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces.

2 cans low/nonfat cream of chicken soup

1 dry onion soup packet

pepper/garlic/salt

Put the veggies on the bottom of the crockpot, then the chicken, sprinkle with pepper/garlic, etc to your liking.  Top with 2 cans cream of chicken soup (concentrated, do not add water)..then sprinkle the onion soup packet on top.  Let it be on low for 5ish hours.  It says not to stir, so I usually leave it until close to the 5 hour mark.  The actual recipe calls for cornstarch and apple cider for the last 15 minutes to thicken it, I didn't do that this time, doesn't make a huge difference to me.

Coriander and Cumin Rubbed Pork Chops

Ingredients

- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 boneless pork loin chops (I would get thin)

Steps

1. Mix salt, cumin, coriander, garlic and 1 tbl oil to form a paste
2. Season chops with pepper then rub with the paste
3. Heat other tbl oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook chops about 5 min per side.
(I burnt one side the first time so would keep the heat on medium/low and cook a little longer)

Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ lb salmon fillet cut into 6 equal pieces
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp grainy mustard, I used Dijon Wholegrain Mustard
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.
2. Arrange the salmon pieces in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, maple syrup, mustard and soy sauce. Pour over salmon. Add some freshly ground pepper, if preferred.
4. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until salmon flakes with a fork.

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

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Ingredients

• 3/4 lb ground turkey breast 
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• 1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 can (28oz) Classico Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 can (15.25oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15.25oz) sweet corn, drained
• 3 cup Jasmine Rice (cooked)
• 8 fresh Sweet Red peppers
• 1 cup reduced fat Colby Jack cheese
• 2 green onions, sliced

Instructions

1. Wash red peppers and slice the tops off each pepper. Remove the seeds. Stand each pepper up next to eachother in a large baking dish (13x9).
2. In a large skillet, brown ground turkey until fully cooked. Drain. Return to skillet. Add cumin, salt, tomatoes, black bean and sweet corn. Simmer about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook Jasmine rice according to package.
4. Add cooked rice to skillet, combining completely. Remove from heat. Fill each red pepper with turkey mixture.Cover dish with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40-45 minutes. Remove foil and to with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onion pieces. Serve and enjoy!