Thursday at Caprene's House: Lasagna

(again, I'm horrible with the photos)

Ingredients

1 package of lasagna noodles (does anyone else end up throwing out noodles? why do they put so many in the box.) I used whole wheat noodles this time and loved them.
1 lb ground meat (this night I used ground turkey, I also use ground beef, or Italian sausage.)
2 cans Italian-stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
Italian seasoning to taste (I use a LOT)
16 oz cottage cheese
1lb grated mozzarella cheese
other optional things I add:
Mushrooms
Olives
Green Pepper
Onions

Preparation:

Boil the noodles
Brown the meat and then drain
Add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, extra veggies and the seasoning and simmer until the noodles are cooked. Add the cottage cheese just before putting the lasagna together.
Lay enough noodles to cover the bottom of a casserole dish.
Spread 1/2 the meat sauce over the noodles.
Sprinkle 1/3 of mozzarella cheese.
Cover with noodles again.
Spread the rest of the meat sauce on the noodles.
Sprinkle with 1/3 of mozzarella cheese.
Cover with noodles.
Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (until you can see the sauce bubbling on the edges.)

Wednesday at Caprene's House: Spaghetti Squash

I really don't eat a lot for dinner (I'm a big lunch person.) So, 1/4 a spaghetti squash was dinner on Wednesday (and lunch on Thursday, Friday and Saturday)

Preparation:
Cut the squash in two (Does anyone else struggle when cutting squash? I think it takes longer to cut up a squash than to cook it...)

I place the halves face down on a cookie rack (sometimes I use a roasting pan with the roasting rack). I fill the bottom of the cookie sheet with water and placed the cookie sheet in the oven. 350 degrees for an hour.


I'll admit, one of the reasons I like spaghetti squash, I like to use my fork to scrape up the spaghetti like strands.

I just top the squash with spaghetti sauce (when I'm out of homemade sauce, I'm a fan of Newman's Own Spaghetti Sauce) and cheese.

I try to eat as much fresh squash as I can in the Fall.

Tuesday at Caprene's House: Frosted Flakes

Yes, there are days when I get home and don't have the energy to make anything. Tuesdays I go straight to school from work. Sometimes I have meetings after school. This was one of those nights. I'm not a fast food eater, so dinner at 10:30pm - sometimes it is cereal with soy milk, and this is the cereal I had open at the time.

Who thought aerobics instructors only eat fruits and veggies and healthy stuff...?

Monday at Caprene's House: Butternut Squash and Curried Apple Soup

This will be easy for me to post. Please just reference this post that I already made in October. This is seriously becoming one of my favorites. I think I could eat it everyday. Yummy stuff!

Sunday at Caprene's House: Enchiladas and Cookie Sandwiches

This meal wasn't actually at my house, it was family dinner at my aunt's house. So, here's her recipe for the yummy enchiladas she prepared, and then the recipe for the dessert that I made. (oh, and I have no skills when it comes to taking pictures of food.)

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

12 tortillas, softened

4 T butter

2 medium chopped onions

8 oz can green chilies (or less)

8 oz can sliced olives

1 c sour cream

1 1/2 lbs Monterey jack cheese (or less), sliced in ¼ to ½ inch wedges.

20 oz can medium hot enchilada sauce

8 oz grated cheddar cheese

1/2 c chopped green onions

1/2 c chopped cilantro

2 shredded chicken breasts

Instructions

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.

Add chopped onions and cook for 2-3 minutes

Add half of chilies, half of olives, and all of sour cream.

Heat through and set aside.

Soften tortillas by wrapping in foil and heating in a 350º oven for 10 minutes.

Fill each with 2 T of onion mixture & two slices of Monterey jack

Roll up tortillas & place seam down in buttered 9x13 dish.

Pour enchilada sauce over, Sprinkle with cheddar cheese, green onions, cilantro, olives & green chilies.

Bake 350º for 30-40 minutes or until cheese melts.

And then for dessert...

Cookie Cheescake Sandwiches

I made oatmeal cookies (and you can make any cookie)
Then here's the filling:

Ingredients

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

2 T sugar

1 c thawed Cool Whip

20 Cookies

Melted Milk Chocolate for dipping (optional)

Instructions

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until well blended. Stir in COOL WHIP.

Cover bottom (flat) side of each of 10 cookies with about 2 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture; top each with second cookie to form sandwich. Dip half of each sandwich in chocolate; gently shake off excess chocolate. Place in single layer in airtight container.

Freeze 3 hours or until firm.

**Ok, I actually did all this a while ago, but so many people were posting and I didn't have time to sit down and post. I don't remember really which say was which for everything, but I'll at least post the seven days worth.