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Dinner Recipes

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 5-6 large, ripe tomatoes, quartered
  • mushrooms
  • oregano
  • 2 gloves garlic
  • red wine vinegar, drizzled generously
  • 2 cans tomato paste

Directions:

  1. On a large cookie sheet, place quartered tomato slices, mushrooms, and garlic drizzled with red wine vinegar and sprinkled with oregano.
  2. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or so at 400 degrees.
  3. Place the roasted veggies in a blender/food processor and mix into a sauce. 
  4. Pour sauce mixture into a pot and mix in the tomato paste.  You can even include left over sliced mushrooms if you have any to include in the sauce.
  5. Simmer on the stove top until warm…or all day for a better taste!

Homemade Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2/3 lb ground pork
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • handful of chopped parsley
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper
  • oregano
  • generous drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:


  1. Mix all ingredients in a large ball and mix together with your hands.
  2. Ball up the ingredients into small meatball sizes.
  3. Drop the meatballs into the spaghetti sauce on stove top and allow 12-15 minutes to cook.

**Cook your noodles and serve the meatballs/sauce on top the cooked noodles. Yummy!

VEGGIE LASAGNA

Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients:

  • 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise, sliced
  • 1 squash, quartered lengthwise, sliced
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • package of mushrooms, halved
  • green onion, chopped
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • oregano
  • fresh basil
  • 1 pkg (15 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 pkg shredded cheese (Italian blend)
  • 1 jar spaghetti sauce (any flavor)
  • No-boil flat lasagna noodles, uncooked
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup milk

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350*.
  2. The yummy trick with this lasagna is to ROAST all the veggies first. So, cut up all your veggies and place onto a pan. Sprinkle oregano and basil over the veggies. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. 
  3. Prepare ricotta cheese mixture: In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1/3 cup shredded cheese, 1 egg, and 1/4 cup milk.  Also sprinkle oregano and basil in this mixture too (just a pinch or two!).
  4. In a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, pour some of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom.  Place first layer of noodles in the base of the dish. Spread some of the ricotta cheese mixture on the noodles then one layer of veggies. Repeat the layers until all the ingredients are used.  Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top of the entire dish.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Serve with yummy garlic bread!

Turkey Meatloaf and Roasted Root Veggies

meatloaf

Serves 4

Calories per serving, meatloaf: 230

Calories per serving, veggies: 100-120

For the meatloaf:

2 slices lite wheat bread (I use the end pieces)

1/2 cup fat free milk

1 onion, diced

5-ounce bag baby leaf spinach

1lb 99% lean ground turkey

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

For the glaze:

3 tablespoons ketchup

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

For the roasted veggies:

3-4 large carrots, cut on the bias

4-5 red potatoes, cut on the bias

1 bunch asparagus tips

1/2 cup chives, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Pam cooking spray

  1. PREAHEAT the oven to 375 degrees.  Arrange oven racks to accommodate two dishes being cooked simultaneously.
  2. GRIND the bread in a food processor (I use a blender, it works!) until fine crumbs form.  Transfer to a large bowl, and pour milk over crumbs.
  3. HEAT a nonstick skillet over medium heat, sprayed with Pam cooking spray, heavily. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add spinach, and stir until just wilted, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to bowl with soaked crumbs.  Add the turkey, cheese, egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Combine the mixture with your hands until well mixed; it will be really wet.
  4. PACK the mixture into a heavily sprayed loaf pan. Cook 30-40 minutes.
  5. WHILE THE MEATLOAF IS COOKING, make the glaze: In a small bowl combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.  Brush over the meatloaf.
  6. TO MAKE THE ROASTED VEGETABLES: On a tinfoil covered baking sheet (saves you from washing!), spray Pam cooking spray and toss chopped veggies onto the sheet. Add salt, pepper, and spray an additional spritz of Pam on top of the veggies. Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

This dish is very yummy, hearty, and healthy! The spinach is good to use in the meatloaf because it holds the water in, making for a moist meatloaf!

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