Food Ideas!

So, I thought I'd take inspiration from some of my other blogging friends and post some recipes that I thought up in the late hours of the night!

This first one is most likely not original at all, but I kind of threw a bunch of different ideas together. You'll notice that none of my recipes are exact because it's really up to you how many, or how much, how powerful etc, you want.

Lemonberry Tarts

1-2 store bought pie crusts
1-2 cups lemon curd (you can either buy lemon curd, or make it. Most standard cookbooks have a recipe for it, if you can't find it, I'd be happy to send it to you)
1-2 cups sliced strawberries, raspberries, whatever you prefer.

Grease a mini muffin pan. Allow your pie crusts to warm to room temperature. Unroll pie crust and use either biscuit cutter, or round glass or jar to create your individual tart. Place each crust into mini muffin tin to create a cup shape. Poke holes in the bottom and side with a fork. Bake as instructed on the box.

Allow the crusts to cool completely. Fill each tart with lemon curd (1-2 TBS). Top each tart with berries to cover the top (mine were only big enough to fit one sliced strawberries). Chill and devour!

This second one I threw together during one of my crazy "I will make a meal with the last remaining items in my kitchen if it kills me!" stage. My mom had just brought over a carton of tomatoes which were the only fresh ingredients we had in the house. This dish came together by accident, but is now one of our favorites. Again, I don't measure anything when I cook, so it's up to you to taste and gauge how you like it.

Club Pasta
1-2 cups of favorite small pasta (bowties are my fave, but macaroni, penne, rigatoni, small or med shells also good)
8-10 medium tomatoes seeded and dices (use vine ripened if you can)
2 garlic cloves
1-2 cup diced cooked chicken or turkey
1/2-1 cups bacon bits (I really like the FRESH store bought bacon bits, but stay away from the dehydrated salad toppings)
1/2-1 cups shredded mozzerella or provolone cheese
1/4-1/2 cups parm cheese
1-2 TBS fresh parsley if available
garlic salt and black pepper to taste (I put garlic salt in just about everything!)

Prepare your pasta. In a large skillet heat 1 TB olive oil and saute garlic and tomatoes until the skin of the tomatoes are blistered. Add pasta and combine until the pasta is heated through and the juices coat the pasta. Add turkey and bacon pieces until heated. Stir in cheese and seasonings until everything is melted through and combined well. If pasta seems a bit dry, splash a few tsps olive oil. Add parsley last. Serve warm and enjoy!

Not the lightest recipe in the world, but oh so good.

Some kitchen tips
*When you can, cook a whole chicken or turkey just to pick apart and freeze for later. I always like to have ziplock bags of prepared poultry meat because it comes in so handy for last minute meals. Use the freezer ziplock bags, they really do work the best.

*If you are making any type of meal that could possibly be frozen, buy a little extra for that meal and make two pans, one for that night, and one for later. Aluminum casserole pans are cheap, disposable and easy to find. This is always a great alternative to carry out, and way cheaper.

*If you're trying to eat healthy (I always am, but I also always struggle!), buy fresh veggies every shopping trip BUT, rather then letting them go bad in your crisper drawer (GUILTY!), immediately go home, wash them, chop them and put them in a tupperware for an easy grab snack. I love to combine that with the ranch dip packets in low fat sour cream. So much better then potato chips. They are also very handy and available if you want to cook them in meals.

*Speaking of veggies, the frozen veggies at the grocery store are so cheap and easy to pair with just about any meal you are preparing. I also hear that cooking frozen veggies may guarantee that you are getting more nutrients out of them. Fresh veggies tend to lose their nutrients to the oxygen after time.

So those are just some things that have worked for me. I am ALWAYS on the lookout for new recipes, meal ideas, time savers and kitchen tips. So I'd love to know, what works for you?