Baked Acorn Squash

Baked Acorn Squash with honey and bacon bits.

This is a real easy tasty side dish.
preheat oven to 350. Cut squash in half, clean out seed cavities.
Spay a pan with cooking oil.
Spray each half with butter spray, and sprinkle with pepper.
Place upside down on baking pan.
Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until skin give when touched.
Turn over squash and drizzle with honey.
sprinkle bacon bits and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden.
Enjoy!
We eat it right out of the shell.

Potato gratin with mushrooms

A tasty variation of scalloped potatoes.

1/4 cup butter, divided
1 lb. mixed fresh mushrooms (button, crimini), sliced
3 Tbsp. flour
1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2-1/2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes (about 8), peeled, sliced 1/8 inch thick. I used a salad shooter type to slice them nice and thin.

2 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese.

How to make it.....
HEAT oven to 375ºF.
MELT 1 Tbsp. butter in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook 6 min. or until tender, stirring frequently.
MELT 2 Tbsp. of the remaining butter in medium saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook and stir 1 min. Gradually whisk in milk, then sour cream; cook 4 min or until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in shredded cheese, salt and pepper; cook 1 min. or until melted.
GREASE 3-qt. casserole with remaining butter. Layer 1/3 each of the potatoes and mushrooms in casserole; repeat layers twice. Cover with cheese sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan; cover.
BAKE 1-1/2 hours or until potatoes are tender and top is golden brown, uncovering after 1 hour. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

This was really a very tasty dish!

Baked Zucchini sticks

We tried these as a side with dinner, but these would be great, just as a snack!

2-4 medium zucchini
2 eggs
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of dried basil
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with tinfoil - spray with cooking spray
. Cut the zucchini into half lengthwise then into thick spears.
Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and seasonings then mix thoroughly.
Dip the spears into egg then bread crumbs and Parmesan mixture, making sure to coat evenly. Place on baking sheet and spray the top of each spear with cooking spray.
Bake for 10-15 minutes then turn over and cook another 10-15 until golden brown.
Serve with marinara sauce or better yet, lite Creamy Caesar dressing. Enjoy!

Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken.

Ingredients.

2 Tablespoons dark sesame oil.

1 cup chopped onion.

2 garlic cloves minced.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces. We used chicken breasts for less fat.

3/4 cup water.

3 tablespoons lower sodium soy sauce.

2 teaspoons cornstarch.

1 teaspoon brown sugar.

1/2 teaspoon bottled minced ginger.

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper.

1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper. (about one large pepper)

1 cup snow peas trimmed. Craig doesn't care much for snow peas, so he used less of them and more onions. :-)

2 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry roasted peanuts.

1. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add onion to pan; saute 3 minutes or until softened.

Add garlic; saute 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add chicken; saute 3 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.

2. Combine 3/4 cup water and the next 5 ingredients(through crushed red pepper), stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves.

Add water mixture to pan; bring to boil.

Add bell pepper and snow peas to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce thickens. Isn't this looking good?.

Sprinkle with nuts.

We served this over Ramon noodles for a nice tasty dish! You could use any type pasta or rice.

Marinated Asparagus, roasted garlic basil potatoes

We served these with out tasty spicy sweet pork cutlets.
Marinated Asparagus.
Clean and break off tough stems.
Put in a bag with,
1 Tbl olive oil,
2 Tbl soy sauce,
2 Tbl lemon juice,
2 Tbl balsamic Vinegar.

Mix well and let sit at room temp for about an hour.
Drain and put on a greased pan under the broiler for 10-15 minutes until fork tender.
Serve with spray butter and Parmesan cheese.
Roasted garlic Basil Potatoes.
Clean and towel dry potatoes. We used red skinned.
Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces.
Put in a bag with
2 Tbl olive oil,
1 Tbl Basil,
1 tsp granulated garlic,
1 tsp chives, fresh or dried,
1 tsp paprika.

Roast on a greased pan at 450 for about 40 minutes. Turning a couple of times.
Serve buttered.

Salisbury Steak

Here's a real easy tasty Salisbury steak dinner.

Ingredients
1/3 cup grated onion, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground sirloin, we used extra lean ground beef.
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon butter
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered. or you can use any kind of mushrooms.
1/3 cup dry red wine
1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Preparation
1. Combine 1/4 cup onion, pepper, salt, garlic, and beef. Shape into 4 (1/2-inch-thick) patties. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray.
Add patties; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.
2. Melt butter in pan. Add mushrooms; saute 4 minutes.
Stir in wine and remaining onion; cook 2 minutes.
Combine broth and flour; add to pan, and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until thick.
Add patties and vinegar to pan; cook 2 minutes.

Now we served it with boxed mashed potatoes instead of real mashed potatoes cause we were lazy.
And we had squash.
I forgot to get a pic before we ate, so I got this one off the Cooking Light website.
But it was good!