Slow-Cooked Beef in Tomato Sauce with Spinach and Peas

Slow-Cooked Beef in Tomato Sauce with Spinach and Peas

How about a tender slow cooked beef that is braised in tomato sauce? And is made in the slow cooker!

Baked Orzo with Chicken, Tomatoes and Peas

Baked Orzo with Chicken, Tomatoes and Peas

I think the reason many people like casseroles so much is because its an ultimate comfort food. How can you resist a warm, creamy, cheesy dish? This casserole is a dinner everyone can appreciate and enjoy. It’s super easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of prep time, so it’s perfect during the week for busy moms and dads. Kids will love the casserole because of all the kid friendly flavors like chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and peas.

I did however tried to keep it light and nutritious, but sometimes you just need a good comforting casserole for dinner, am I right? Hope you enjoy this one!!!

Mac-n-Cheese Lasagna

Who doesn’t love lasagna? Who doesn’t love Mac-n-Cheese? Put the two together….can you say Heaven? I made this specially for my husband last weekend. He just came back from China and I thought that some good american comfort food was the way to go. I found bunch of recipes for both and used them as an inspiration to create this one. I used no-boil lasagna noodles, which was super easy and no pre-boiling required. I added apple smoked bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, peas and 3 different cheeses. So many layers of flavor… it was delicious! My taste buds are getting excited just writing about it! This is a dish that you can easily adjust to your taste. For a healthier version, you can go with turkey bacon instead of the regular kind ( but I would tell you that the apple smoke bacon really makes a difference!), low-fat cheese and olive oil instead of butter, its up to you. I hope you enjoy this recipe from my kitchen to yours!

Spring Vegetable Risotto

 

Risotto is medium-grain rice (traditionally Italian-grown Arborio) cooked with hot broth and stirred constantly to turn its starch into a creamy sauce. Asparagus and leeks are the classic combination for risotto. To keep the asparagus from turning into mesh, I cooked it first until its crisp-tender, transferred to the plate and stirred it into the rice just before the serving. Adding a splash of lemon juice and the gremolata added an extra round of flavors. To make this dish vegetarian, replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Onions can be substituted for the leeks (2 minced medium onions (2 cups). At the end of cooking, you may have up to a cup of broth left over. This risotto has fresh yet complex taste with vegetables that retain some crisp bite.