Garlic-Sage-Marinated Beef Pot Roast

1 2-2 1/2 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast
3/4 cup dry red wine or tomato juice
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. snipped fresh sage or 1/2 tsp ground sage
10 cloves garlic, halved
2 tsp instant beef bouillon granules
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 1/4 lbs tiny new potatoes or 4 medium potatoes
4 medium carrots, cut into 2-in peices
2 small onions, cut into wedges
2 stalks celery, bias-sliced into 1-in. peices
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Trim fat from meat. Place meat in a plasic bag and set the bag into a shallow dish. For marinade, in a small bowl combine the red wine or tomato juice, tomato paste, sage, garlic, beef bouillon granules, and pepper. Pour over meat; seal bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours, turning bag occasionally. Drain meat, reserving the marinade.

In a Dutch oven brown the meat on both sides in hot oil. Drain fat. Pour the marinade over meat. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove a narrow strip of peel from around the center of each new potato. (or, peel and quarter each medium potato.) Add potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery to meat. Cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender, adding some water if necessary. Transfer meat and vegetables to a platter. Cover and keep warm while preparing gravy.

For gravy, measure pan juices; skim fat. If necessary, add water to equal 1 3/4 cups liquid; return to dutch oven. Combine the 1/2 cup water and flour; stir into juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for one minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve gravy with meat and vegetables.

Makes 8 Servings

Nutrition Info per serving: 321 Calories, 29 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat (3 g saturated), 78 mg cholesterol, 345 mg sodium

Notes: To make this a whole lot easier, use a crock pot! We put it on before church and let it go until about 4 pm and it was SO good! Put carrots and potatoes in about 45 minutes to an hour. We cooked them in a pot in the juices of the roast instead. I do want to try it the other way but I figure it's simliar. And if aren't sure what a dutch oven is, google it and click on images.

Tuna Stir-Fry

Need a quick dinner? This one is fast and easy!

1 (7oz.) pouch StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouch Tuna-I used the Albacore White Tuna
1/2 cup sliced onion
2 Tbsp. soy sauce-I used Aloha Shoyu, my opinion it taste better
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp canola oil-I use olive oil with all my cooking instead
**1 bag (16oz.) frozen oriental vegetables
1 tsp. sugar
2 cups cooked rice
1 Tbsp. water

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet or wok until hot. Stir-fry onion, garlic and vegetables for 4 minutes, until crisp tender. Add tuna, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and 1 Tbsp. water. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Serve over hot rice.

**I used my own mix of fresh cut veggies: broccoli, carrots, green onions (small handful), this is what I had on hand the day I made this so you can add whatever you like. I did use a bag of oriental frozen veggies once and I didn't like the blend also everything seemed VERY soggy and not much like stir-fry. So I chose my own veggies and cooked those.

Also, I used more soy sauce (Aloha Shoyu) and sugar than called for to create more of a sauce in the stir-fry, about 1/3 cup soy sauce and 1 Tbsp sugar. I combined the sugar and the soy sauce; mixing so it dissolves completely before adding it to the stir-fry.
Note: those items combined like that is how your basic teriyaki sauce is made. :)

This recipe was found on the back of a 7oz. pouch StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouch Tuna
If you're not a fan of tuna then substitute with Chicken but the tuna adds great flavor!

Ham, Spinach, and Mostaccioli Casserole

• 8 oz packaged dried mostaccioli, cut ziti, or elbow macaroni
• 3 tbsp margarine or butter
• 3 medium onions, cut into thin wedges, or 5 medium leeks, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half, light cream, or milk
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham, or chicken
• 1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta; rinse with cold water. Drain again.

In a large saucepan melt margarine or butter. Add onions or leeks and garlic. Cover and cook about 5 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, thyme, and pepper. Add half-and-half, light cream, or milk and the chicken broth all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in pasta, ham, and spinach. Spoon mixture into a 3-quart casserole.

Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir gently before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 388 calories, 18 g protein, 44 g carbohydrates, 16 g fat (6 g saturated), 42 mg cholesterol, 719 mg sodium.

Notes: Nurtritional information will vary depending on the ingredients you choose. Again, we do whole weat/grain pasta but opted for the half-and-half to make it more creamy. This is seriously a very yummy recipe! Prep time doesn't take long, I would say from start to finsh is about one hour, depending on how many interruptions you have! The kids loved this but would probably think it was better without the spinach. My husband couldn't stop eating it! I had this for leftovers the next day and it tasted just as good!

Soba & Stir-Fried Shrimp

Dressing:
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin (sweet japanese rice wine)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Shrimp and noodles:
2 teaspoons olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 1/2 pounds medium size shrimp, cleaned
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 package (12oz) soba noodles
1 seedless cucumber, sliced
1 red sweet pepper, sliced thin
1/3 cup cilantro leaves for garnish

1. In large bowl, whisk together olive oil, soy sauce,mirin, ginger, sugar and hot pepper sauce. Set aside.
2. Cook noodles following package directions. Drain; rinse under cool water.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add shrimp and garlic; saute 3 to 4 minutes. Add salt and lemon juice. Remove from heat.
4. Toss noodles, cucumber and red pepper with dressing. Add shrimp and any liquid from skillet. Toss gently. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*I didn't really follow the recipe, as in exact measurements but added what I thought would taste good. I forgot the cilantro so I bet it tastes even better with that added. This is a totally different dinner that isn't your everday familiar taste. Try something different though! Expand those taste buds, give them an asian kick! Haha!

If there is any confusion, below is a picture of what japanese soba noodles to use: (funny because Soba means noodles in japanese so you are actually saying noodle noodles; tee hee!)

Chicken Manicotti with Chive-Cream Sauce

• 12 Packaged dried manicotti shells
• 1 8-oz container soft-style cream cheese with chives and onion
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (10 oz)
• 1 10-oz package frozen chopped broccoli ,thawed and drained
• 1/2 of a 7-oz jar roasted red sweet peppers, drained and sliced, or one 4-oz jar diced pimiento, drained
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook manicotti shells according to package directions. Drain shells; rinse with cold water. Drain again.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small heavy saucepan melt cream cheese over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Slowly add milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in Romano or Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat.

For filling, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together 3/4 cup of the sauce, chicken, broccoli, roasted red sweet peppers or pimiento, and black pepper. Using a small spoon, carefully fill each manicotti shell with about 1/3 cup of filling.

Arrange the filled shells in a 3-quart rectangular backing dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells. Sprinkle with paprika. cover with foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 396 calories, 25 g protein, 31 g carbohydrate, 18g fat (9 saturated), 92 mg cholesterol, 257 mg sodium

Notes: This is really easy, the stuffing can take a little getting used to if you've never done it before like me. We use whole wheat pasta, healthier for you and in my opinion tastes better. I would double the recipe to the sauce. It worked out okay for us but next time I think I will double up on the sauce, it is VERY good. Don't cook all 12 noodles, as it says makes 6 servings. The roasted peppers that we found came in like a 16 oz jar where condiments were. There weren't many choices so be thorough when browsing for it.

Resource: Easy Everyday Cooking