Tuna Melt

Tuna Melt: (2 servings)
1 cup Tuna Salad : Recipe
4 slices french bread
1 tomato sliced thin
2 slices mild cheddar cheese

Bake bread slice in oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove and top each piece with 2 tbs tuna salad, 1 tomato, and half a slice of cheese. Bake for 7-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Super Easy Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad:
1 lbs corkscrew pasta
1/2 bottle favorite italian dressing
1 cucumber pealed and chopped
1 cup of chopped tomatoes (or grape)
optional: 1/4 cup freshly shaved parmesan cheese

Cook pasta a mix with remaining ingredients. Chill and serve. 

Alternative: Add 2 tbs mayo for a creamier salad.

Puppy Chow (Chex Cereal Snack)

Puppy Chow:

half a box chex rice cereal

1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Melt chocolate and pour over chex in a large bowl. Gently fold with an rubber spatula until every piece of cereal in coated. Dump powdered sugar in and gently fold until every piece is coated.

This is super easy and addicting. Melt a couple tablespoons of peanut butter or nutella with the chocolate for a twist.

Red Velvet Cake

This is definitely a cake for special occasions, when fat and calories go out the window! I have had so many complements on this cake and have even sold it! It is involved but well worth it for a special dessert.

Red Velvet Cake:
2 boxes butter cake mix (duncan)
2 sticks butter, softened
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 oz red food coloring
1 tbs cocoa
6 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vinegar

cream cheese frosting:
• (3) 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix cake with butter, water, and buttermilk. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each. Add cocoa, food coloring, and vinegar. Fill 2 round cake pan (a little more than) 3/4 way full, you will have some batter left over. The idea is to have plently of cake to trim off the top.

I split the 2 layer later, but you could evenly fill 3 pans instead.

Bake for 25 minutes, rotating every 5-7 minutes, until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Mix all the frosting ingredients together until smooth.

Optional: Cut 2 layer in half to make 4 layers, but using fishing string, carefully sawing in long swipes each direction. (If you choose to cook 3 layers then skip this step)

Stack layers with 1/3 cup frosting between each layer (for 3, 1/4 cup for 4) and spread remaining down sides. Garnish with pecans if you'd like.

Vegetable Lasagna

This is a lot of ingredients, but perfect for feeding a large crowd, serves 8-10

Look for these vegetables already sliced or in the freezer section (defrost completely) to save time on prep. Can easily be prepped and assembled the night before.

Vegetable Lasagna:
2 thinly slices zucchini
2 thinly sliced large or 3 small yellow squash
2 thinly sliced carrots
1 small container sliced mushrooms
1 onion diced
large can or jar spaghetti sauce (original, no special flavors)
1 8oz package cream cheese ( you can go light but not fat free)
1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta (must be whole milk)
1 large egg
10 oven ready lasagna noodles
12 slices provolone cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix cottage/ricotta cheese, cream cheese, and egg with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Put 1/3 of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a large casserole dish and lay noodles with out overlapping (4-5). Spread half the cream cheese mixture, half the vegetables, 1/2 remaining sauce, then 6 slices of provolone, and 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat with noodles, rest of cream cheese mixture, rest of vegetables, remaining sauce, and then top with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, remove foil and bake 20 more minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

*I like to pile my vegetables on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for about 10 minutes on 350. just to soften slightly, but still have a alot of texture when the lasagna is done.

Potato Crusted Tilapia

Potato Crusted Tilapia:
4 tilapia filets (any thin white fish will work)
1 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1 large baking potato
salt, pepper

olive oil

1/2 tablespoon butter

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper.

Very thinly slice potato, best to use a mandolin.

Lay 1 layer of potatoes on fish, overlapping like shingles. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary

Drizzle a oven safe pan with olive oil and add butter, on med-high heat.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Once butter is melted and starts to foam, add fish potato side down. Cook until potatoes brown around the edges about 5-7 minutes.

Put pan into the oven for 15 minutes until fish in cooked through. Remove from oven.

Carefully removed fish and potatoes with a spatula, should come out easily. 
I like to finish with a light sprinkle of salt.

Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed Cauliflower:
2 lbs cauliflower florets, cut from one large head or bought frozen.
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 oz cream cheese
1 tbs butter
salt and pepper

Put cauliflower florets in deep sauce pan with milk and chicken stock. You want them to be covered with liquid so choose a pot that doesn't leave a lot of extra room. Simmer for about 20 minutes until very tender. Move cauliflower with a slotted spoon to a blender/food processor with butter and cream cheese, pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse a couple short times then add 1/2 liquid pulse and check to see consistency (should be like loose mashed potatoes) then add more liquid. I ended up using 2 cups. (Remember you can always add but you can't take away) Blend until smooth.