16 better than bought Recipes

whole-wheat lasagna noodles (15 noodles), lean ground beef (90 percent lean or higher), olive oil, portobello mushrooms, diced (about 3 large mushroom caps), good quality store-bought marinara sauce, part-skim ricotta cheese, frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained, egg, lightly beaten, salt, freshly ground black pepper, ground nutmeg, grated parmesan, grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 2/3 cup)

cooked japanese-style rice, potatoes, carrots, onion (can use 1 stalk of celery instead if desired), pork (all will work great) or 1 lb beef (all will work great) or 1 lb chicken (all will work great), cooking oil, water, curry powder, more onions (for curry roux), flour, water, chicken bouillon, beef bouillon, grated fresh ginger (powdered ginger works as well, but fresh is better), grated garlic (once again, powdered works as well, but fresh is better), garam masala (this can be bought or made. ingredients for this is in directions), butter, salt (to taste)

baked cheddar broccoli rice cups, thanks to fountain ave. grill: http://fountainavenuekitchen.com/baked-cheddar-broccoli-rice-cups, simple to whip up with ingredients you have on hand, this side is a sure kid-pleaser that adults will enjoy as well. i employ 1 of my favorite kitchen tricks with this recipe: any time i use frozen broccoli or spinach that needs to be thawed and drained well, i put it inside a tea towel and literally wring it out. you will be surprised by how much water is released, and getting rid of it will prevent your finished product from becoming soggy., vary the cheese if you like or bake in a casserole dish or jumbo muffins tins. for my better-for-you ranch dressing, quick-cooking rice , like minute rice (can substitute about 2 cups regular, cooked rice and omit the 1 cup stock below), chicken stock, frozen, chopped broccoli, thawed and excess water squeezed out, shredded cheddar cheese, divided, homemade ranch dressing (see recipe), or store bought, eggs, lightly beaten, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, low-fat buttermilk, chobani 2% plain yogurt, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, canola or olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, minced chives, whisk all ingredients together ., dressing will keep for a week or so, covered, in the refrigerator., if you prefer a thicker dressing , use approximately 1/4 cup of buttermilk depending on your personal preference and intended use.

graham cracker crust (homemade or store bought ), tofutti better-than-cream-cheese, tofutti sour cream, egg, sugar

dried figs, rinsed and coarsely chopped (6 oz), plain wholemeal flour (4 ozs), plain flour (4 ozs), light muscovado sugar (1 oz), margarine (2 1/2 oz) or 65 g butter (3 oz), salt

dried fruit compote with sambuca, this quick compote is a good choice for a winter dinner when you have little time to cook but want to make an impression. you can prepare it ahead (it s better made ahead), then spoon it over store-bought ice cream to create an original and memorable dessert. i also like it with blue cheese at the end of a meal, especially if there s a dessert wine on the table., dried peaches or nectarines, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips, dried pears , cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips, dried apricots, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips or quartered, golden raisins, dried cherries, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon zest strips, fresh lemon juice, sambuca or other anise liqueur

very hot water, whole milk, sugar, butter, yeast, salt, flour (i use better for bread flour), potato flakes or 1/2 cup mashed potatoes

chickpeas, onion, quartered, jicama or 1/2 cup water chestnut, roughly chopped, quick oats, egg (or substitute), chili powder or 1 tbsp cayenne pepper, salt and pepper

pecan pieces, eggs, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, butter extract, maple extract, whipping cream , whipped, tub of cool whip, whole milk

elbow macaroni , undercooked in boiling,salted water &,drained, butter, flour, dry mustard (colman s), cayenne pepper, cheddar cheese soup, melted butter, salt, milk (skim is okay, higher fat is better), heavy cream, grated medium cheddar, grated colby cheese, plain breadcrumbs , very coarsely grated from a stale loaf of crusty white bread (good country bread is best but if you use store bought crumbs, make sure they are roughly grated, no)

frozen fries, white cheese curds, homemade gravy or store bought. homemade is much better

tilapia fillets, pumpernickel bread (thin sliced , 3 per sandwich), swiss cheese (very thin sliced , you need 4 per sandwich), thousand island dressing (a good store bought brand is fine), flour, cayenne, salt, pepper, butter (1 tbsp to grill the fish, 1 tbsp to grill the sandwiches), sauerkraut (a good store brand from the deli, fresh is better), red onion, cut in quarters and thin sliced, caraway seed, butter

sugar, light brown sugar, chopped walnuts, toasted, all-purpose flour, cold butter, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, sugar, dark raisin, butter, crisco butter flavor shortening, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, chopped walnuts, toasted, perked coffee, baking soda, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, applesauce (optional)