Spinach Chicken Parmesan Meatballs in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Haven't tried that many recipes in the last couple weeks. Sunday last week we had the spinach chicken Parmesan meatballs, with spaghetti. This was really good. I did make my meatballs a head of time and put them in the frig till it was time to cook them. Wanted them to meld flavors together. I am so cheated and put all the ingredients for the meat balls in the food processor since I had to grind up chicken for them anyways. My husband said to me, why are they green LMBO. I give this a 4 star rating.

The recipe is from Spoonful of Flavor Blog 

To make low carb use miracle noodles or you other low carb noodles. 

Morning

I have been hiding LOL. Had my doctor's appt last Monday and things went really well. This is the first appt since I started the new Low Carb High Fat lifestyle. For the most part my blood work was good except I am borderline anemic which isn't good. He thinks I might have a small ulcer that is bleeding hence that is causing me to be anemic. See another dr on the 16 for that. But the best part is I have lost 50 pounds. That is the best part and most depressing part too. I thought, hoped that just losing some of the weight I would be able to move better and not be in so much pain, but hasn't happened yet. I am trying to not let it depress me but not working so good. I am pluggin' away still.

Had a few not so good recipes from Pinterest this week. First one is Cheeseburger Gnocchi. Now in my opinion when something is called Cheeseburger, it should taste similar to a cheeseburger. This didn't at all. This was a combination of Mexican meets Italian.  I didn't care for it at all, neither did my husband. 2 Stars

Recipe from Kevin & Amanda 

Here was another miss for me, Edna Mae Sour Cream Pancakes. My daughter liked them but I found them to be very bland. I think with some tweekin' they could be good. I did make them low carb by substituting flour for almond flour and oat flour.  2 Stars

Recipe from Pioneer Woman that I got from The Noshery Blog 

Crawfish Dumpling Stew 

This was good but my dumplings didn't come out right. But the broth was outrageous. I think the next time I make this I will use crab cause crawfish here are not that cheap and you have to get a lot of them.  3 Stars

I think it was more the cook than the recipe. LOL I will be trying this again thou. 

Recipe from Buttoni's Low Carb Recipes

Cheddar Ranch Chicken Burgers 

These were to die for. They were so good and even heated up the second day they were even more flavorful. I LOVED them and so did my husband. 5 Stars

Recipe from the Girl Who Ate Everything. 

Tonight for dinner I am making Louisiana Cajun Shrimp and Scallops Grilled. And I can't wait to try these. I am so excited my mouth is watering just typing this. These were really good, I loved them  5 Stars 

Recipe from Taste Book 

Oh my

 Can't believe it's been this long since I posted, like ten days. Didn't think it was that long. Hubby was on vacation last week from work so my days were a little off with him wandering around LOL. The weather last weekend was horrible here hot and humid which is not something I like at all. But then it cooled down the rest of last week.
I had a great mother's day and then on Monday was my husband's birthday. And we had his parents over for dinner.
One of Phil's favorite dishes is spaghetti with Parmesan crusted chicken.  Kraft has new cheeses out one of them is Parmesan with Italian herbs, it's really good and was awesome on the chicken. Great dinner. Then I made him his favorite cake, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. This is the one I made.

THe recipe is from Vintage Mixer

I changed it a bit, added a box of vanilla pudding to the cake mix only half the sugar.  The chocolate frosting I didn't heat up, just melted the butter and mixed that with the cocoa powder then added the rest of the ingredients. 

the cake came out really good from what I hear cause I don't like cake and it's not part of my lifestyle anymore. But Phil loved it and so did his parents.  5 Stars

The rest of the week is kind of like a blur I can't really remember what I made so that must mean they where all that great or remember-able. LOL 

I do know I made this for lunch and it was awesome. 

recipe is from Cooking Classy

I made it the way the recipe is written except from the asparagus cause I didn't have any so I used green beans, it was so good.  4 Stars

Can't remember what I made Tuesday night for dinner LOL but I know on Wednesday we had Chicken and Mushroom Fricassee and it was really good. My husband loved it so much he ate all of it.  5 Stars

Recipe from Taste Lovely

I made the recipe as it was. Great recipe. My husband took the leftover sauce the next day and added some roasted Turkey breast we had. 

Thursday night is another blank on what we had for dinner. Too funny 

Friday night I made fish, haddock to be exact. And this is the recipe I used 

HEALTHY PARMESAN GARLIC CRUMBED FISH

by RecipeTin Eats 

I made the recipe as written. It was very good.  4 Stars

Then on Sunday cause Saturday is the one day a week that I let myself have carbs and it's usually when my daughter want's to order out. I try anyways. 

Sunday we had my husband's parents over for dinner cause his dad fixed up a wagon for me and did a gorgeous job of it too. And he wanted Goulash. So that is what I made. 

Bobby's Goulash 

By Paula Deen, Food network. 

This was really good. The only thing I did different was I didn't let it sit for 30 minutes after it was done cooking. Wonderful flavor this dish has. Loved it. 

And for desert I made this  5 Stars

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER OOEY GOOEY BUTTER CAKE

Recipe is by Recipe Food and Cooking

I made it the way the recipe was written. Personally it's way too sweet for my tastes but hubby liked it. It was kind of hard to eat too when cold. 3 Stars

Spaghetti in Garlic Gravy with Herbs and Lemon Marinated Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes

Spaghetti in Garlic Gravy with Herbs and Lemon Marinated Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:

500 grams spaghetti pasta (cooked al dente)

1 pound chicken breast fillets (sliced into 1 inch chunks)

For the chicken marinade:

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped (if using dried, use half of the amount)

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of ½ a lemon

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon coarse salt (not table salt)

½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (to sauté the marinated chicken)

-  Add all the marinade ingredients into the chicken and marinade for 20 minutes (if making this dish in pronto) or over night (if making this dish the next day… much better).

-  Saute the marinated chicken in extra virgin olive oil until cooked (about 4-5 minutes) then set aside.

For the garlic gravy:

½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, finely minced

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups chicken stock

1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup parsley, chopped (to sprinkle/finish the pasta)

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

2 cups whole cherry tomatoes

-  Place sauté pan over medium heat and add butter and olive oil.

-  Saute garlic until fragrant and soft.

-  Add the flour and cook for a minute.

-  Add chicken stock and simmer gravy until thickened then add the chopped basil.

-  Season with salt and pepper.

-  Add the sauteed chicken in the gravy then toss the cooked spaghetti into this  sauce.

-  Add the cherry tomatoes and finish the dish with the chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese (serve extra on the side).

Makes 5-6 servings.

Fettuccine with Sausage

another Chew recipe - Mario Batali 

ingredients
Salt
1 1/2 pounds Fettuccine

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook Fettuccine 1 minute
less than package instructions. Drain and reserve a cup of Pasta Water.

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound Hot Italian Sausage (casing
removed)
1 tablespoon Thyme Leaves
1 tablespoon Oregano Leaves
2 Garlic Cloves (thinly sliced)
1 cup White Wine

Heat a large skillet with a few tablespoons of Olive Oil and add
Sausage. Cook, breaking up with a potato masher into small
pieces, until Sausage is crispy. Add the Herbs and the Garlic and
cook. Once fragrant, about a minute, deglaze with the White Wine
scraping up brown bits from the pan.

1 cup Fresh Peas
1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 teaspoon Ground Fennel Seeds or
Fennel Pollen
14.5 ounce can Whole Peeled San Marzano Tomatoes (crushed)
1 Yellow Onion (thinly sliced)

Add the Peas, a pinch of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Fennel
Seeds or Pollen, the Tomatoes, and the Onion. Bring to a boil.
Cook until sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

Cooked Noodles
1 1/2 cups of Sauce

Remove all but about 1 1/2 cups of Sauce and reserve for another
use. Add the cooked noodles to the pan and toss with the Sauce,
thinning with reserved Pasta Water as needed.
Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

(to serve)
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Garnish with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to serve.

Helpful Tips:
1. Any kind of Sausage can be used.
2. If Fennel Pollen isn’t available, just use Ground Fennel seed.
3. It’s fresh Pea season s

Mario Batali's Fusilli with Sausage

Mario Batali's Fusilli with Sausage
TheChew
Contributed by: Mario BataliThis is tasty and good for you. Enjoy it tonight.

ingredients
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Red Onion (Chopped into 1/2"
Bring 8 quarts of water to a boil in a large pasta pot.
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Red Onion (Chopped into 1/2" dice)
1 pound Italian Sausage with fennel seeds (casings removed and meat crumbled)
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
1 sprig fresh rosemary (leaves only)
1 1/2 cups Basic Tomato Sauce
1 Bunch (8 ounce) Dinosaur Kale (sliced into 1/4" wide ribbons)
2 tablespoons Salt
1 1/2 pounds Fusilli Corti

1/2 cup Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
In a 14" sauté pan, heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium heat.
Add the crumbled sausage and cook until no pink remains,
10-12 mins. Add the onions and garlic and cook until just
softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, rosemary
and the kale. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
Set the pan aside.

Add the salt to the boiling water. Drop the fusilli into the water and cook for 1 minute
less than the package instructions indicate. Just before the pasta is done, carefully
ladle 1/2 cup of the cooking water into the pan containing the kale.

Drain the pasta in a colander and immediately add it to the sausage kale mixture.
Toss over medium heat for about 30 seconds, until the pasta is nicely coated.
Mix in parmigiano. Pour into a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.
Garnish with more cheese if desired.

Macaroni and Cheese

Everyone is always looking for the best macaroni and cheese and everyone thinks theirs is the best. I am no different. Thru watching the cooking shows on Food Network, particularity Drive Ins, Dinners and Dives (which I just happen to love, it's one of my favorite shows). I have perfected our families macaroni and cheese, well at least that is what my husband and 8 year old daughter say anyways.  Here is a picture of the mac and cheese I made tonight for dinner.

and it was very very good. So instead of doing a Pinterest recipe  would make one of my own for once.

Mac and Cheese

8 oz Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese - or what ever your family likes.
8 oz Monterrey Jack Cheese
about 8 slices of American Cheese
1/2 container of Deli Parmesan Cheese - I usually by Stella Brand and its in the specialty cheeses in the Deli
3 cups of milk - I use 2% but you can use what ever you want even Heavy Cream
1/4 cup of butter
1/3 cup flour
a squirt of yellow mustard or you can use dry mustard about a tsp full
1 box of Cellentani - that is the pasta I love to use the most. It holds on to the cheese plus there is some in the pasta but you can use what ever you want
I a lot of times will use about 1/4 lb chuck of Velveeta, I like that creaminess it adds to the mac and cheese, but I didn't have any tonight. 
I use a 9x9 baking dish, sometimes cause it really fills the pan I will use a slightly bigger pan. LOL Depends on how lazy I am.  Sprayed with Pam
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

I cook the pasta and leave it just a tad bit more al denta cause I bake my pasta, love that crusty cheese top it gets.  Grate your cheese while your pasta is cooking.
Drain the paste and I just leave it in the strainer, I don't like to dirty too many dishes so I use the same pan as I boiled the pasta in to make the cheese sauce.
Put the butter in the pan, melt it.
Add Flour and stir untill mix together and cook for at least a 1 or 2  minutes. Its important to cook the flour so that your sauce won't taste floury or pasty
Pour in your 3 cups of milk and whisk, continue whisking till it comes to a boil. This is the only place you want this cheese sauce to boil. It's the only way to tell how thick your sauce will be,. You want it to be thick like a nice thick gravy.  If your sauce boils with the cheese in it, it makes it grainy.
Once it has boiled turn your heat down to low, you just want it to keep the sauce warm while you add the cheese.
I cut the American cheese in chunks and add that first, once that has almost all melt if I am using Velveeta I add that next. Then the rest of the cheeses one at a time, leaving a good hand full for the top of the mac and cheese.  You can turn your heat off now when most of the cheese is melted. Just finish whisking till all the cheese is melted and mixed together.
Squirt in a good squirt of yellow mustard, stir in the pasta put it your baking dish and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is as crusty as you want. Dinner is ready. 

Served it with some Italian Chicken Sausages and tomatoes. It was yummy