Linguine, chicken, snow peas, and red peppers, tossed in a flavorful sauce!

Yield: 

6 servings

Ingredients: 

12 ounces linguine
12 ounces chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups snowpeas
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons soya sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger root
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions: 

1. Make the sauce: In a small bowl combine stock, soya sauce, sugar, oil, lemon juice, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and cornstarch. Set aside.

2. Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain and place in a serving bowl.

3. In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil and saute chicken until no longer pink. Remove from pan and add to pasta.

4. To the hot skillet, add red peppers and snow peas and saute for 3 minutes, until crisp-tender. Add sauce and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Pour over pasta and toss to coat.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A flavorful Italian sauce of beans, meat, and vegetables, served over freshly cooked tube pasta

Yield: 

10-12 servings

Ingredients: 

1 pound ground beef
2 large carrots, peeled and shredded (or finely chopped in food processor)
2 large celery ribs, washed and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups diced tomatoes (or two 14.5-ounce cans)
2 cups beef broth or water
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) of beans, such as kidney beans, black beans, or cannellini beans (I use two different kinds)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, depending on taste
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

For serving:

2 pounds rigatoni, elbow macaroni, or other tube pasta, cooked according to package instructions
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions: 

1. In large stock pot, brown meat. Drain grease from pan. Add remaining ingredients except salt, pasta, and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil.

2. Cover pan and simmer for at least 45 minutes, until vegetables are very tender and sauce is thickened slightly, like chili would be. (Add additional water if sauce gets too thick before you are ready to eat.)

3. Add salt to taste. Serve sauce over hot pasta, and top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A moist and flavorful meatloaf, perfect for slicing and eating hot or using for cold sandwiches!

Yield: 

10-12 slices

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 pounds 80-85% lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats OR 1 slice of bread, torn into small pieces plus 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 large or extra-large egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon catsup
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons catsup
water

Instructions: 

1. Place the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with your hands.

2. Form meat into one 9-inch long loaf, packing it together well with your hands to avoid air pockets Place in a shallow baking dish (9×13-inch dish works well).

3. Spread 2 tablespoons of catsup over the top of the loaf. Pour water in the dish around the meatloaf, about 1/4 to 1/2-inch deep.

4. Place dish on a rack in the middle of the oven, and then turn on the oven. Set the temperature at 325 degrees F if the dish is glass, and 350 degrees F if it is a metal dish.

5. Bake for 2 hours uncovered. The outside of the loaf will be dark brown.

6. After baking, remove from the dish to a platter. The meatloaf will be easier to slice if you let it cool slightly before slicing. A sharp, thin knife works best for slicing, as a thick knife tends to break up the meat. Slice loaf into 10-12 slices and serve with catsup or barbeque sauce on top.

A healthy taco salad with layers of lettuce, meat, beans, cheese, and more!

Yield: 

6 servings

Ingredients: 

Taco Meat Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced (or a sprinkling of garlic salt)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin*
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Tapatio hot sauce (or hot sauce of your choice), to taste (I like about 2 teaspoons of Tapatio — this really adds a great flavor!!)
1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Additional Salad Ingredients:

1 large head iceberg lettuce, shredded or chopped
2 cups torn fresh spinach leaves, optional
2 cups Fritos (or other small yellow corn chips)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups fresh diced tomatoes
1 cup sliced black olives (drained)
sour cream, for serving

Instructions: 

1. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Drain well and return to pan.

2. Add water, paprika, chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt, hot sauce, and beans. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until hot.

3. Mix lettuce and spinach together.

4. To serve salad, layer each platter or plate with a thick layer of the lettuce mixture.

Top with a small sprinkling of corn chips.

Add a layer of the meat and bean mixture,

and top with shredded cheese.

Add a decent layer of tomatoes,

sprinkle with sliced black olives, and dab with sour cream. Enjoy! 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Baked seasoned chicken breast topped with squash and spinach, layered with cheese and broiled

Yield: 

6 servings

Ingredients: 

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, each cut into about 4 strips (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds)
Garlic salt
Lemon pepper seasoning
10 cups yellow squash, washed and sliced 1/4-inch thick (cut large slices in half as well)
6 ounces fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
4 ounces sliced Muenster cheese (can also use provolone or baby swiss, or even mozzarella)

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and place chicken inside. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and lemon pepper; turn chicken over and sprinkle other side with seasonings also. Cover dish with foil and bake for 60 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

2. After about 30 minutes of baking time has passed, heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large stock pot. Saute squash in butter until tender.

3. Add remaining tablespoon of butter to the pot, and add spinach leaves. Cook and stir just until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and toss with just a little salt.

4. Take the dish of chicken from the oven, uncover, and spoon the squash mixture over the chicken. Place slices of cheese on top, enough to make a thin layer over the vegetables.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A flavorful beef steak with bell peppers, prepared in a slow cooker

Yield: 

6-8 servings

Ingredients: 

2 pounds inexpensive beef steak
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 large tomatoes, washed and coarsely chopped
2 large bell peppers (any color), cut into thin strips
1/2 cup cold water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Hot cooked rice, for serving

Instructions: 

1. Trim fat from meat and cut into thin strips. Brown meat in oil in skillet. Transfer to a slow cooker.

2. Combine soy sauce, onion, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper, and ginger. Pour over beef. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or until the meat is tender.

3. Add tomatoes and green peppers, stirring into beef mixture. Continue cooking on low for another 60-90 minutes, until peppers are to desired tenderness.

4. Combine the cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl, until smooth; stir into slow cooker and cook on high until thickened.

5. Serve over hot cooked rice.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

My recipe for a pork-free grilled version of the classic Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich!

Yield: 

1 sandwich

Ingredients: 

3 slices turkey bacon
2 large fresh tomato slices
1 leaf of green lettuce (your favorite kind will work!)
1 thin slice of cheddar cheese, optional
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
a small amount of butter
2 slices multi-grain bread (OR your favorite sandwich bun/roll)

Instructions: 

1. Preheat gas grill or prepare charcoal grill. Grill turkey bacon on low for about 4 minutes. Flip and grill 4 more minutes.

2. Spread a very thin layer of butter on the bread you are using. Grill bread on low for a minute or two on each side (only do one side — the inside — if using a roll/bun rather than sliced bread).

Instead of using an outdoor grill, you can do this inside on the stovetop using a griddle, stovetop grill, or frying pan.

3. Spread mayonnaise on bread and assemble sandwich with the turkey bacon, lettuce, and tomato (and cheese if using). Enjoy hot! (I like to serve these BLTs with a tasty salad.)

Easy grilled Copper River Salmon, tender, flaky, and full of flavor!

Yield: 

4 servings

Ingredients: 

16-24 ounces Copper River Salmon fillets
1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
Fresh, coarsely-ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic, or about 2 cloves
olive oil
Salt

Instructions: 

1. Rinse salmon and pat it dry. With skin-side-down, lightly sprinkle liquid smoke over the salmon. Sprinkle freshly-ground black pepper over the salmon, along with the minced garlic.

2. Drizzle with olive oil to coat, and sprinkle generously with salt.

3. Pre-heat grill on HIGH for 10-15 minutes. Place salmon, flesh-side-down, on grill and grill with lid down on MEDIUM heat for about 8 minutes (for thin fillets; a few minutes longer for thicker fillets).

Flip salmon after 4 minutes of grilling time has passed. Salmon is done when it flakes apart easily with a fork and is hot in the middle. Don’t over-cook, or it can be dry.

Serve hot with some cooked rice and grilled veggies or a salad!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A sliced grilled chicken breast on top of lettuce tossed with apple pieces, candied walnuts, bleu cheese and a light Dijon vinaigrette dressing

Yield: 

2 large servings

Ingredients: 

2 small-medium (or 1 huge) heads of Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped bite-size*
1/2 cup thinly sliced and halved red onion, optional
2 red apples, washed, cored, and thinly sliced/diced**
1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese***
1 cup Maple Glazed Walnuts (or glazed walnuts of your choice)
1/2 cup of Honey Mustard Vinaigrette or your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing
2 medium grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced****

Instructions: 

1. In a large mixing bowl, toss together the lettuce, onion, apples, walnuts, and bleu cheese (reserve a few apple slices and bits of cheese for garnish), along with enough dressing to lightly coat. Don’t use too much dressing, as this salad is very flavorful already!

2. Spoon tossed salad onto a large serving plate. Place the sliced chicken breast on top and sprinkle with reserved bleu cheese to garnish (if desired) and garnish edges with apple slices.

Enjoy your delicious salad and feel great that you made it yourself! 😀

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Grilled chicken marinated in lemon and fresh herbs, served gyro-style on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, tomato, onion, and feta cheese

Yield: 

4 servings

Ingredients: 

Chicken souvlaki ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, cubed for skewers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning, optional
Oil

Tzatziki sauce ingredients:

1/2 cup grated peeled cucumber (seeds removed and juice drained*)
1/4 cup greek yogurt or plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

For serving:

4 pita rounds (regular pita bread or whole wheat pita bread)
2 tomatoes, sliced
4 slices of red onion
1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese, optional
Lettuce (whole leaves or shredded), optional

Instructions: 

1. Soak bamboo skewers. Toss the chicken chunks with the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt, and lemon pepper seasoning in a large bowl or Ziplock bag. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes.

2. While the chicken is marinating, make the tzatziki sauce by mixing the cucumber, yogurt, sour cream, oregano, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl.

3. Preheat grill on HI for 10 minutes (or prepare coals for charcoal). While grill is heating, put chicken on skewers and drizzle or spray with a little oil.

4. Reduce grill heat to medium and grill chicken with lid closed, rotating skewers every 5 minutes or so, until chicken is done (about 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the chunks and your grill).

5. Serve hot grilled chicken “gyro-style” — with the pita bread, prepared tzatziki sauce, tomato slices, onion slices, and feta and/or lettuce if using.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.