Ingredients:

1 lb pasta
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and chopped
6 tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions, until tender.  Drain into a colander.

While the pasta is cooking, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms and asparagus and cook, stirring periodically, for about 15 minutes, or until tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Remove the mushroom and asparagus mixture from a frying pan into a bowl.

Heat another 1 tbsp of oil in that frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until cooked through (no longer pink in center, about 5 minutes).  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the chicken and mushroom/asparagus mixture between 2 large frying pans (half goes in one frying pan, another half in the other).    This step is done because all that stuff wouldn’t fit into one pan (since you’ll later add the pasta!)

Heat each frying pan over medium heat.  Make space in the center of each pan (push the food to the sides).  Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil into the center of each frying pan.  Add garlic there and cook for 30 seconds.  Add pasta (half of the pasta in one pan, half in the other), and stir until everything is combined and the pasta is coasted with oil.

Tags: asparagus, chicken, mushrooms, one dish meal, pasta

This is a nice change from the classic shepherd’s pie recipe.  Sweet potatoes are more nutritious then regular potatoes - that’s a good excuse to make this sweet potato shepherd’s pie for dinner!

Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp cumin
3 tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add the potatoes and boil for 20 minutes, or until tender.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

While the potatoes are boiling, heat the oil on a non-stick frying pan and cook the onion over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Add the ground turkey and sprinkle with cumin.  Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

When the sweet potatoes are cooked, drain them in a colander and put in a large bowl.  Add milk and honey and mash with a potato masher.

Put the meat mixture into a large non-stick baking dish (spread it evenly), then spread the mashed sweet potatoes on top.  Whisk the egg in a small bowl.  Brush the top of the sweet potato mixture with the egg.

Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Tags: healthy, one dish meal, sweet potatoes, turkey

Ingredients:

1 can of beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 large flour tortillas

Directions:

Mix beans, cilantro and yogurt.   Put half of the mixture on one tortilla and the other half on the other.  Wrap the tortillas around the filling to make 2 wraps.

Tags: beans, cilantro, healthy, tortillas, vegetarian, wrap

This salad is filling enough to be a main dish!

Ingredients:

Cubed cooked turkey breast
Canned corn, drained
Avocado, cubed
Lettuce leaves
Oil
Vinegar

Directions:

Whisk oil and vinegar (3 parts oil, 2 parts vinegar) to make a dressing.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  Toss with dressing to coat.

Note: you can also use cubed ham instead of turkey

Tags: avocado, healthy, main dish, one dish meal, salad, turkey

A slice of this rich chocolate bundt cake goes so well with the morning cup of coffee!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup hot water
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 cup yogurt
1 tbsp vanilla
5 eggs
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Pour hot water over cocoa and chocolate chips and stir.  Add melted butter and stir until combined.  Add yogurt and vanilla and stir until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with sugar.  Add to the cocoa, chocolate chips, butter,  yogurt and vanilla mixture, and stir until combined.

Mix flour with salt and baking soda.  Add the flour mixture to the liquid ingredients and stir until combined and smooth.

Spray the non-stick bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray - make sure that you have coated the inside completely.  Pour the batter into the bundt pan.  Bake for 50 minutes.

Tags: baking, cake, chocolate, sweets

This recipe is Russian, and the Russian name of it is “Macaroni Po-Flotski” which translates as “Pasta A-La-Sailor”.  It is made with the items that are always around (pasta, ground meat and onion), so it’s one of those great “emergency meals” :)

Ingredients:

Pasta (tubular shapes work best) - 1 lb
Ground beef or other ground meat - 2 lbs
2 onions, chopped.
Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to package directions. 

Heat 1 tbsp of oil on a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden-brown.  Add the ground meat, and cook, stirring occassionally, until no longer pink.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Optional step: process cooked ground meat and onion mixture in a food processor.

Heat another 2 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick frying pan.  Add cooked pasta and cooked ground meat and onion mixture.  Stir until the pasta is coated with oil and mixed with the ground meat.

Tags: italian food, main dish, meat, one dish meal, pasta

Ingredients:

1 small can of tuna, drained
1 hard-boiled egg
1/4 cup mayo
Salt and pepper to taste
4 slices of bread
Lettuce leaves

Directions:

1. Make a tuna salad

Mash the hard-boiled egg with a fork.  Add the tuna and mix with egg.  Add the mayo and stir to combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Assemble the sandwiches

Divide the tuna salad into 2 equal parts.  Spread the tuna salad on 2 bread slices.  Top with lettuce leaves.  Top with 2 remaining bread slices.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Tags: fish, main dish, one dish meal, sandwich, seafood, tuna

Here’s how to make moist and tender scrambled eggs:

• Drizzle the non-stick frying pan with oil and turn on the heat to medium-high
• Crack the eggs onto a frying pan and sprinkle with a handful of shredded cheese
• Reduce heat to medium
• Stir the eggs with a spatula, and keep stirring until almost set
• The moment the eggs are almost set, remove the scrambled eggs from the frying pan into a plate

Don’t overcook the eggs!  If you keep them in a frying pan until fully set, they will be tough.  If you want moist and tender scrambled eggs, the key is removing them from the pan when they are almost set - they will finish cooking on the plate (from the residual heat).

Tags: Breakfast, eggs, main dish, one dish meal, shredded cheese

Forget about those overpriced cans of coffee latte!  You can make your own iced coffee at home for a fraction of the cost of canned ones.  Plus a homemade iced coffee has much better taste!  Just imagine how long the coffee in those cans has been sitting out there… yuck!  Your own iced coffee latte is fresh and good!

This iced coffee latte keeps for several days in the refrigerator (as long as the pitcher is closed… if your pitcher doesn’t have a lid, cover it with the plastic wrap).

• Grind 1 cup of coffee beans in a coffee grinder.
• Put ground coffee in a coffee filter of the coffeemaker.
• Pour 7 cups of filtered or bottled water in the coffee maker.
• Brew the coffee.
• Pour the coffee from the coffeemaker carafe into a pitcher.
• Add 7 tbsp of sugar and stir.
• Add 1 cups of milk and stir.
• Refrigerate until cold.

Tags: coffee, drink

 Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1 package (12 oz) frozen blueberries (or you can use fresh)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. 

In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar.  Stir in the oil and vanilla. 

Add flour and sprinkle with baking powder and baking soda.  Don’t stir yet. 

Add yogurt, then mix everything.  Stir in the blueberries.

Spray 12 non-stick muffin cups with cooking spray.  Put the batter in muffin cups.  Bake for 35 minutes.