bomb.com spaghetti

So…some times I just think I have my shit together, you know, great job, awesome husband, perfect (almost perfect) dog, lovely home, amazing friends and family. Sometimes my ducks are in such a wonderful row!

...and then sometimes, my life is a HOT MESS. and right now its SUPER messy.  I'm not sure when I got thrown this motivational curve ball, but the last 2 weeks or so, my life is a hot hot sweaty mess (which is funny because I haven't moved enough to sweat in 2 weeks either).  I think its because I thought I was getting the flu, I was super nauseous, and tired, and no I'm not pregnant.  And then I never got sick, and then I got a little bit of allergies (Eric says its a cold, but I never get colds so I'm sure its allergies) and yeah, somehow in the last 2 weeks my life went from neat and orderly, to an absolute pig sty. 

So this is my kitchen right now- well no, not any more.  I did finally clean, before I cooked, because that would be nasty to cook around all the diseases that I'm sure ended up growing in my sink.
Anyways I'm embarrassed, so Please tell me I'm not the only person who has let this happen (and no this is not the first time it has happened, but I swear its super rare!)


ok so now that you know a little background on my life, you should also know I'm a carb queen. which is why my gluten free diet lasted like, ermm 3 months?? I could NOT live that lifestyle, even though it gives me a terrible tummy ache, its so worth it.  

yeah well what makes life's little puzzle pieces come together more than spaghetti??
NOTHING!

Now I always add cottage cheese to my spaghetti, because I need protein, the joys of not eating meat.

OK this recipe is BOMB… and it may or may  not cause you to have a heart attack, but seriously, sometimes you just need to enjoy food, and not worry about it.

God must have loved calories, He made so many of them!

Bomb.com Spaghetti

1 package of noodles (cooked)

1 package (1lbs) cottage cheese

4 oz cream cheese (softened)

1/4 C. sour cream

1 jar spaghetti sauce 

shredded cheese to top

1/2 cup butter (feel free to use FAR less, I know I did)

Combine in a bowl, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream. and set aside.

In a 9x13 pan put a few slices of butter on the bottom, layer half of your noodles on top of the butter, layer half of your cheese mixture on top of the noodles, add more noodles, more butter, and then top with spaghetti sauce (feel free to use ground beef in your sauce, I just think cows are gross) 

put in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes, top with cheese and let it melt.

ENJOY!! 

Im going to be honest, I licked my plate clean on this one. LICKED IT!!

Double Protein Cowboy Chicken

I accidentally made this today- my original goal was to make chili, and then at the store I decided to change it to chicken stroganoff, and then when I got home I remembered stroganoff is like a heart attack waiting to happen, so I went back to the chili idea, but then I didn't have some things. so I just through together some of my favorite things and added chicken. Hope you enjoy!!

Double Protein Cowboy Chicken

1 can black beans

1 can diced tomatoes

2 chicken breasts -cubed

1 half onion- chopped

corn (I didn't have any but I know corn would be awesome in it) 

mix all the ingredients in a baking dish

cook at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour

ENJOY

Seriously, how easy?? 

p.s the double protein is because I put my two main protein sources together (beans and chicken!)

Hearty Vegetable Pasta Soup

At Ft Irwin (where I live) its about 60 degrees now in there 2nd week of December, but I still think its FREEZING! seriously what happened to my Minnesota blood.  So, when I remembered this recipe I was ecstatic.
          One of my first wedding gifts I got was a recipe book of soups, which was awesome, because I had just gotten back from Africa, and was so excited to eat ANYTHING and everything (but at the same time, so many foods made me sick, after 5 months of eating only rice and beans). This became my go-to meal, when I would wake up at 4 am still on Kenyan time thinking I was perhaps starving to death.

Hearty Vegetable Pasta Soup

1 cup bow tie pasta

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 cups vegetable broth (I usually use chicken broth, anything works)

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

1 potato- cubed

2 carrots- sliced

1 stalk celery- sliced

2 oz steamed spinach

1 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

heat oil in a pan, add onions- cook until translucent. add the broth, tomatoes (with juice) potato, carrots, celery, basil and salt and pepper.  bring to a boil over high heat, simmer for 20  min. stir in pasta, cook for 8 minutes than add spinach, cook until spinach is soft.

ENJOY!

p.s I ended up tossing some peas in there too, because I had just a little left over, so feel free to toss anything else you like in it!

spinach and mushroom bread-sagna

so I got this recipe from a Rachel Ray cook book- but Rachel obviously has much more time, and a fancier grocery store near by.
        I honestly didn't even know what half of her ingredients meant- I'm trying to feed a 6 foot 2 inch 200 lbs man, and myself, not the queen of England.  so I took her recipe, and I made it fit a normal human being, who doesn't even know what "fontina val d'aosta" or "cremini" is.
(plus I'm pretty sure my local Commissary just doesn't carry such things.)


Last week, I didn't do any weekend meal preparation, and we ended up eating delivered pizza 3 days. Seriously I can't be the only one who gets off work at 6pm and the very last thing I want to do is go to the grocery store and then cook a meal- when I get off work I want a glass of wine a TV and a comfy couch.

So in order to order less often, I'm trying to cook my whole weeks worth of food today!

Spinach and mushroom bread-sagna

(get it? lasagna but with bread??)

1/4 C. olive oil

1 package of fresh mushrooms

2. T fresh thyme

4 cloves of garlic - chopped

salt and pepper

1/4 C chicken stock

1 lbs spinach

2 C half and half

6 large eggs

2 tablespoons butter (I actually left the butter out and used PAM)

bread- sliced 1 inch thick

1 1/2 C Italian style cheese 

in a skillet heat the olive oil, add the mushrooms and cook until dark, add the thyme garlic and add salt and pepper to taste. add the chicken stock and spinach.  remove from heat.

In a medium sized mixing bowl add the half and half and whisk in the eggs.  Soak the bead in the mixture. add butter or spray Pam to the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish. layer the bread then the spinach mixture, half of the cheese, add another layer of bread and then top off with remaining cheese.  

bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.

So I'm going to be totally honest, I'm not really a huge fan of cooked spinach, unless its pretty well hidden (oddly enough, fresh spinach is one of my favorite foods) so I wasn't a huge fan of this meal, however Eric loved it, and I love the concept of this meal.  Maybe doing it with regular lasagna flavors could be a nearly brilliant idea.

Jalapeño Corn dip

Jalapeño Corn Dip

2 cans of sweet corn- drained

2 jalapeños- chopped

(I took all the seeds out, and then was disappointed- so maybe leave one seeded)

2 green onions- chopped

1 C. sour cream

1/2 C. mayo

1 cup shredded cheese

1/2 yellow onion chopped

1 Teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Chili powder

1/4 C. hot sauce (I used Franks, use what you like!)

mix all the ingredients. spread into a 2qt baking dish.  put in the oven at 375 for about a half hour. 

this was really yummy- although I wish it had been more spicy- remember that the mayo and sour cream will really weaken the spice, so round two ill keep more seeds in my Jalapeños.  or maybe pick a hotter hot sauce.  

serve with chips and ENJOY! 

Chicken Enchilada Roll Ups

So let me start out by saying this is not my first time at the rodeo when it comes to these bad boys.  I actually have made them once before, for a football game, and then Eric and I loved them so much, about 5 hours later, I made a second batch (well, really I halved the recipe the first time, and then halved it again the second time. meaning I only really made one batch!)

Eric is also the president of Ft. Irwin MEDDAC Junior Enlisted club thing… anyways, he thinks he is cool, and yesterday was his first function as club president- he and the vice president hosted a Christmas party! --- and I knew just what to bring! Chicken Enchilada Roll ups- and let me tell you, the party was a bit of a fail (but hey no one learns to run when they take their first step! it was his first try, I'm SURE it will get better…it has to get better) but these roll ups were a HUGE HIT.

Here is a slightly inappropriate story from one roll up enthusiast at the party:

"WHO THE FUCK MADE THESE CHICKEN THINGS!!?"- guest
"mmmm..me?" - I say all worried, does he thinks they taste like shit? or maybe he found a finger in it?
"HOLY SHIT…HOLY SHIT GIRL!! THESE ARE THE FUCKING BOMB"- guest

well thank you for your enthusiasm! I appreciate it!

so here you go.

Chicken Enchilada Roll Up

3 chicken breasts- shredded

2- 8oz packages of cream cheese

1 1/2 cup shredded Mexican style cheese

3 cloves of garlic- minced

1 1/2 T. chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

4 green onions- chopped

1- 10 oz can of Rotel - drain only half the can

1 Package tortillas

salt and pepper to taste

mix everything (minus the tortillas) in a mixing bowl- ensure that the cream cheese is fully softened, this  will make a huge difference! place the bowl of mixed yummies into the fridge for at least 1 hour

scoop mixture into tortillas, roll and then cut

I let my husband cut, which is why these sorta look messy

I also tried this as a quesadilla, because as I was making it, I got hungry- and it was SO yummy- just put the mixture in a tortilla, fold in half and pop in the oven or microwave. yummy yummy!

Please don't mind my hands in this picture- I wash my hands probably close to 100 times a day at work, my nail beds look like crap. There is nothing I can do about it!

One Pot Pasta

So I hosted thanksgiving this year- which means we have gone the last week and some odd days living on left overs! so I finally got back to the kitchen today to make some lunch (and if I have another bite of mashed potatoes or green bean casserole I might just throw up!)
Anyways you know I don't do dishes (I mean I do, I don't live in a pig pen, I just don't enjoy doing it!)
so I came up with this 1 pot pasta, plus I think the noodles taste a billion times better when they are cooked in broth instead of water!

One Pot Pasta

1 package frozen spinach

1 box fettuccine noodles

1 onion- diced

1 can diced tomatoes (or use fresh if you want!)

3 T. olive oil

1/2 package of fresh mushrooms

4 cloves of garlic- diced

basil- to taste

oregano- to taste

crushed red pepper- to taste

 toss it all into 1 large pan, and cook until noodles are cooked! 

and then ENJOY!!