Baked French Fries & Salt-free Ketchup

Ketchup
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients:  

• 1 6-ounce can no-salt-added tomato paste
• 1 half of an apple diced (with or without skin)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender or Vitamix until smooth.
Notes: 1/3 cup apple juice may be substituted for the apple and water. 1 tablespoon vinegar may be substituted for the lemon juice.
Preparation: 5 minutes


Baked French Fries
Serves 4
Ingredients:  

• 3-4 potatoes washed and unpeeled; any variety (russet, Yukon Gold, sweet potato, or yam), cut into ¼-inch x ¼-inch lengths

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Instructions:
Place cut potatoes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Take out and flip the fries over and bake for another 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown and puffed up.
Serve immediately with ketchup or mustard.
Notes: Add some flavor by placing the cut potatoes into a plastic bag with ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or dried herb/spice of your choice) and shaking to coat the potatoes before baking.
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Winger's Sticky Fingers Copycat Recipe

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.  To my amazement it was very good!  I like it better than the restaurants version. 

1 pkg. frozen breaded chicken strips (We used Tyson brand)

6 Tbl. Frank's Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce, no other sauce will taste as good)

4 Tbl. water

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

Chicken:

 Prepare the chicken strips as directed on the back of the package.

Sauce:
 Heat hot sauce, water and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, until sugar is dissolved.

Pour sauce over chicken, and enjoy!  Serve with ranch dressing for dipping- homemade is always the best!

Serves 2-3 people.

Parmesan Chicken with Garlic and Herbs

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp. crushed garlic (garlic puree from a jar is perfect here)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (I used Penzeys)
1/4 cup whole wheat Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Combine crushed garlic, olive oil, and poultry seasoning in small pan and heat 1 minute, until just warm.

Trim all visible fat and membranes from chicken breasts, then make small crosswise slits about 1/2 inch apart down the length of each chicken breast, being careful not to cut too far into the chicken. (This helps the garlic and herb flavor penetrate the chicken more.) Put chicken into zip loc bag, pour heated oil over, and marinate all day in refrigerator.

To cook, take chicken out of refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for a few minutes while you preheat oven to 425.

Mix bread crumbs and parmesan (pulse a few times in food processor if the mixture isn't fine enough.) Place cheese/breadcrumb mixture in flat dish and dip each chicken breast into it, pressing on as much of the coating as you can.

Place each chicken piece in casserole dish which has been sprayed with nonstick spray or olive oil. Bake until chicken is firm and cooked through, about 25 minutes, then put under the broiler to brown more if desired.

Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups

Ingredients:



9 lasagna noodles

2 ½ cups alfredo sauce (optional homemade recipe below)

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

oregano

garlic salt

3 cups shredded Mozzarella, or cheese of your choice

Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray and pour ½ cup alfredo sauce, or just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Boil 8-10 cups water in a large pan, cook lasagne noodles until al dente.

 

Now this is the important part! Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water to prevent them from sticking to each other. Then, lay out each noodle individually and blot dry with a paper towel.

Spread about 2 Tbs. alfredo sauce over each noodle. (if there is too much sauce you will have a big mess on your hands!) Sprinkle oregano and garlic salt on top of sauce. Take 1/9 of the shredded chicken and spread it out evenly over each noodle. Add approx. 3 Tbs. cheese. To roll up, start at one end and roll the noodle over the toppings. You will need to lift the noodle a little to prevent squishing out the inside ingredients while rolling.

Place the roll-ups in the pan, one by one, seam-side down so they don't come undone. Once they are all in the pan, pour the remaining alfredo sauce over the top. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted on top.

Serves 3, 3 roll-ups each

The Best Garlic Alfredo Sauce

 ½ cup butter

2 ounces cream cheese

2 cups heavy cream (or substitute half and half)

2 teaspoon garlic powder

½  tsp. fresh minced garlic

salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp dried oregano

⅔ cup parmesan cheese

In a medium to large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add fresh minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the cream cheese and whisk to smooth and melted. Whisk in the heavy cream.

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Baked Spaghetti

Sounds pretty amazing doesn't it?  That is because it is!  For this recipe I made my own spaghetti sauce from my tomatoes and basil in my garden, so that made it extra scrumptious!  If you do not want to make your own sauce, I am sure your favorite jarred sauce would do just fine.

Homemade Roasted Garlic Basil Tomato Sauce
-10-15 tomatoes from your garden (Roma, Heirloom, Big Boys)
- Fresh or dried basil
- Garlic salt
- Olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cut each tomato in half and put on a baking dish.  Sprinkle tomatoes with garlic salt and drizzle with olive oil. Roast tomatoes for 40 minutes.  Let tomatoes cool for about 10 minutes, then blend in blender.  I added my dried basil during this part of the process and then canned the sauce.  If you are making the same day, then just blend and save for later.

Baked Spaghetti
- Homemade tomato sauce (or store bought if you do not want to make your own)
- 1/2 lb of sweet italian sausage
- 1/2 lb of hot spicy italian sausage
- 3 TB brown sugar
- Italian seasoning to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Dried basil
- 1/2 small yellow onion
- Spaghetti noodles
- 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

 
Dice your small onion and saute on medium heat until soft.  Add meats and brown.  Add your tomato sauce and all other seasonings and bring to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes and then reduce heat and simmer for 6 hours.  I know it seems like a REALLY long time, but trust me, it allows the flavors to blend well.  I usually cook my sauces for 2 days.  Once the sauce has cooked for what seems like forever, then remove from heat and preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

While your oven is preheating, cook your noodles, but make sure they are about 2 minutes under cooked from al dente.  Drain noodles and add to a baking dish, and then pour sauce over it.  Mix sauce and noddles well and add cheese to the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.