Spinach and Shrimp Lasagna

1/2-1c. Olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
8-12 cloves or Tablespoons garlic, minced
Tony's salt, red pepper flakes
1/2 c. Flour
3 c. Half & Half
1/2 -1 pound shrimp (I cut large shrimp in half) or you can use cubed chicken
Mozzarella or Italian six cheeses, grated
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
4 oz. Monterrey jack cheese
Water as needed is sauce is too thick
6-8 zucchini, grate off peeling then slice lengthwise or you can boil lasagna noodles
2 frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out

Sauté veges and red pepper flakes in oil until onions are clear about 45 min.  Mix in flour and mix well. Add half & half, Monterey Jack cheese and the rest of seasonings.  Add shrimp and let cook on soft boil for about 10 mins.
Layer.:
 Little sauce, zucchini or lasagna noodles, sauce, spinach, Italian or mozzarella cheese,
  Zucchini or noodles, sauce, spinach, Italian or mozerrella cheese,
  Zucchini or noodles, spinach, sauce.
Cover with foil and cook for 45 mins. on 350. Remove foil and add Italian or mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese on top.  Bake for 10-15 mins. until slightly brown.

You can also use this sauce over any noodles.

College Days - part 2

2 lbs ground meat
Onion or onion powder
Tonys, salt
Chili powder
Chili seasoning
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 - 15 oz or 2 small cans tomato sauce
1 can creamed style red beans
Roasted chicken
Salad
Bake or sweet potato
Broccoli
Stew meat
Vegetables for soup ( frozen and fresh)

1) Chili - brown ground meat with Tonys and onion powder or chopped onion, salt. Add following to a slow cooker: browned ground meat, 1 T. Chili powder, 1 pack chili seasoning, 1 can stewed tomatoes, 1 15oz. Can tomato sauce (or 2 small cans), 1 can creamed kidney beans, water to get consistency you want. Cook for 1-4 hours. Serve with cheese, Fritos, crackers, cornbread, etc.
The next day you can have hot dogs with chili on bun or french bread bun or chili Frito. You can half the recipe or freeze some for a later date.
2) Roasted chicken- you can eat chicken and salad for one day then make chicken salad with the left over chicken.  Chop chicken in bite size pieces, add celery and pecans or add boiled eggs and pickle relish if you like that. Really you can add whatever you like then add salt, pepper and mayo and mix well.
3) Baked potatoes or sweet potato and broccoli with or without cheese. You can bake potato in oven for 1-2 hrs. On 450 or you can microwave it. Sweet potato is much better in oven. Cook broccoli. I put a little oil in a skillet and cook broccoli with garlic and salt. I just watch stir til done ( when a fork can stab it pretty easy).
4) Vegetable Beef Soup- stew meat, cut in bite size pieces, tomato or spaghetti sauce, any veges you like ( I buy frozen and fresh) and seasonings. Throw it all in slow cooker and cook all day. If you have beef bouillion, add that also.

Crawfish Étouffée

1 1/2 stick margarine
3 onions, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 T. minced garlic
1-2 T. Roux, optional
1/2 c. Flour
1/2 can rotel, puréed, optional
2 lbs. crawfish
2-3 c. Water
Tony's, salt, onion & garlic powder, Tabasco, & paparika
1 pack green onions, chopped
1 heaping T. Cornstarch in a little water to thicken, optional

Melt margarine and sauté vegetables for about an hour.  Add  flour, seasoning and mix well. Roux and ratel is optional, if you want to add it now is the time.  Add water as needed to have a good consistency, but be careful because the crawfish will water it down also.  Cook about 15 mins. stirring as needed. Add crawfish and let simmer on a soft boil for about 10 min. uncovered. Add green onions and it's done!  (If étouffée is too runny, mix 1 T. Cornstarch in a little water. Add to gravy and stir well. It should thicken it.)  Serve over rice with French bread, of course! This serves about 8.

Rice Dressing

Buy 2 small containers of rice dressing mix. Ex.: Savoie's, Richard's
1-2 onions, chopped
Minced garlic
2 heaping tablespoons of roux
About 6 cups of rice, cooked
Little water
Salt, Tony's

Add dressing mix, onions, garlic, roux, seasoning and a little water to a pot. Mix well and simmer for about an hour or so.  Just before you are ready to eat, mix in rice a scoop at a time  until it has right look. Add additional seasoning as needed.

Chicken Alfredo

2 chicken boneless breast, cut in bite size pieces
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pan fry chicken pieces in a skillet with a little oil.
Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper and add chicken.  Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

College Days Menu

Week 1
Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Fruit & yogurt
Scrambled eggs
Fried egg on toast or English muffin

Meals:
1-Sandwich- there's a variety of ways to fix them: with meat or without using avocados or hummus.  Try different types of breads (wheat, pita,french,etc.) and olive salad spreads. Boscoli is great if you like olives. Also try fresh spinach instead of lettuce, tomatoes, thinly sliced red onions, etc.
2-Red Beans & Rice- Put red beans, onion, Tony's, salt and sliced smoked sausage in a slow cooker in the morning and let cook all day on low.  Serve over rice. (Instant brown rice is good if you are in a hurry.) When you are tired of that, mash and use for burritos.
3-Burritos: put whatever you like in it, beans, meat, chicken, cheese, lettuce, salsa, etc.
4-Chicken: buy about 4 chicken breast. Cut 2 lengthwise (you will have 4 thin chicken breast from these two). Season with Tony's, salt, or whatever you like. With 2 chicken breast.( or 4 after they are cut) pan fry in a little oil. About 5 min before done, put a bunch of fresh spinach on top and sprinkle 5 Italian cheese or mozzarella, cover and let finish cooking. The spinach should wilt and cheese melt. You can use that for 2- 4 meals or make a sandwich with some.
5-Fajitas- With the 2 other chicken breast, cut in bite size pieces and pan fry for fajitas. When done, heat tortilla, add chicken and whatever else you like: spinach, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, etc. this should be enough for a few meals. You can also add chicken to salads or use chips and
make nachos.
6-Meat, rice & gravy- if you like this, you can almost season any meat and put in slow cooker in the morning on low and let cook all day. They sell little packs of powder gravy mix you can add or
you can buy a can of gravy and add close to end of cooking time or add cream of mushroom soup.
Instant brown rice cooks in 5-10 mins and it's good.
7-Spaghetti-super easy. Again use slow cooker:add a bag of rosita frozen meat balls and 2-3 cans of
spaghetti and seasonings and let cook all day. If you prefer loose meat, you just brown a pack of ground meat and throw it in instead of meatballs. If you don't have a slow cooker, just cook in a pot for a couple of hours.

Sides- you can add: green beans, broccoli, salad, fruit, fruit salad, beets, edamame (bought in frozen section,just microwave), or whatever vege you like. You should really eat at least 2-3 servings of fruits and veges each day. A lot of carbs makes you feel tired and sluggish anyway!

This should last a week or more. If you get tired of something before you are done, just freeze it and you will have a meal for later.  Being prepared keeps you from eating super unhealthy, it saves you money from eating out all the time and it saves you time from having to think of what to eat and constantly going to the store.

Spinach Lasagna

2 boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
24 oz. cottage cheese,  blended up to look like ricotta
1 egg, beaten into cottage cheese
4 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz. Italian cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 can spaghetti sauce
Seasonings
3 zucchini s, sliced thin long ways to use as noodles or lasagna noodles, cooked
Sautéed onion, 2 bell peppers and garlic (mushrooms are optional) in a little oil (or whatever veges you like)

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms,bell peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. Drain excess liquid and cool.  Squeeze excess liquid out of spinach. 
2. Combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, spinach, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and egg in a bowl. Add cooled vegetable mixture. Mix well. Lay 5 lasagna noodles or zucchini in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread one third of the cheese/spinach mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1/3  Italian  cheese and 1/3  Parmesan cheese on top. Spread 1 cup pasta sauce over cheese. Repeat layering 2 times. ( I wait and put last layer of Italian cheese after the lasagna has cooked for 45 min to an hr. I uncover, add cheese and bake about 10 more mins.)
3. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Uncover, add last layer of  Italian cheese, bake 10 mins. then remove from over. Cool 15 minutes before serving.   (If you use zucchini, the lasagna will be juicy. There are no noodles to absorb the juice.)