Spinach and Noodle Casserole

I made this last night and froze half of it so that Chris and I could eat it after we return from the hospital later this week from having baby Ben. :) We ate half of it last night though and really enjoyed it. I made several changes based on what I had on hand and also to make it a little healthier.

Here are the changes:

Used whole wheat penne pasta instead of egg noodles

Used 1.25 pounds ground turkey

Used fresh spinach instead of frozen

Used shredded and fresh mozzarella instead of Monterey Jack

Didn't use as much sour cream or parmesan as what they called for. (Around 1 cup light sour cream and 1/2 cup parmesan.)

Here's the recipe

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

This was tonight's dinner along with some tortellini salad and we really enjoyed it! This is super simple but its small number of ingredients are very flavorful!

Here are my changes:

Used fresh basil (from my garden!) instead of sage leaves

If you really enjoy the flavor of lemon, I suggest putting a little more than 1/4 cup lemon juice in this. It goes great with the salty prosciutto.

The lemony sauce went really well with the basil :)

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemony-chicken-saltimbocca-50400000109573/

Garlic and Ranch Turkey Burgers

I just made these for dinner on the indoor grill and they turned out so yummy! I'm always on the lookout for new turkey burger recipes and I will be saving this one for sure. :)

I made a few tweaks:

Used 1.25 pounds ground turkey (Jenny-O)

Used only about 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Added about 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs to bind the mixture together- this is a must because even with the bread crumbs, they were very moist.

No need to add salt to this, in my opinion, due to the ranch dressing mix.

Added a slice of aged provolone cheese to the top :)

Here's the recipe

Easy Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

I made this a couple nights ago and we enjoyed it! Such an easy way to pull together a meal and the crockpot gives it a slow-cooked taste.

Here are a couple tips:

Use an old-fashioned potato masher to break up the meat and whole tomatoes after they have cooked for a little while.

Don't add spaghetti noodles to the crockpot like I did. The mixture seemed a bit watery to me. But doing this made the noodles very mushy after only 15 minutes or so. Cook them separately.

Strain the diced tomatoes so that the mixture isn't too watery. I like thicker tomato sauce though. :)

Here's the recipe

Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry

This was a very simple and quick dinner to pull together. Chris and I really enjoyed it!

Here are a few small changes I made:

Used Thai sweet chili sauce (can be found at regular grocery stores in the Asian section)

Used broccoli instead of bell peppers

Omitted the cilantro (didn't have it)

Omitted red chili pepper- the Thai sauce was spicy enough for us and already has some kind of peppers in it

Served this with brown rice and a little low-sodium soy sauce.

Not really sure what the fish sauce really adds to this recipe. I couldn't taste it at all in the finished dish, so if you don't have that, feel free to omit it. When you open the bottle, it smells horrible anyway haha!

Here's the recipe