Bacon Pasta

1 pound pasta

1 clove garlic

1/2 pound bacon

Parmesan cheese

1 to 2 tablespoons butter or Smart Balance

Cook pasta

Cook the bacon in a skillet

Remove bacon from skillet and drain the grease

In a little olive oil add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes

Once garlic is cooked add the bacon and then the pasta. Mix well and top with the Parmesan cheese and some butter or Smart Balance

Tomato and Garlic Pasta

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound pasta
2 skinless breasts of chicken
4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
2 big tomatoes, seeded or use about 10 to 15 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons butter or Smart Balance
salt and pepper

-Cook your pasta.
-While your pasta is cooking, in a hot skillet add the oil. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown on medium heat.
-Once chicken is browned add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
-Then add the tomatoes, parsley, oregano and some more salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes.
-When pasta is almost completely cooked, drain the water and add it to the skillet with the chicken and tomatoes. Cook for 5 or so minutes.
-Add the butter and serve.

Tomato Pie

1/2 cup cook white rice or cooked pasta

2 large tomatoes

1/2 cup to 1 cup mozarella cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon oregano

-In a baking dish add either the rice or the pasta

-Slice the tomatoes thick and add them evenly on top of the rice or pasta

-Add all your cheese and oregano

-Cook at 375 until cheese is brown and tomatoes are soft

Meat Sauce

 Either make your own tomato sauce or use your favorite brand of sauce. I make this with and without homemade sauce. It depends on what I have in the cabinet and what I got at the store. You can use an kind of meat your prefer. I use all different kinds. Some examples are sausage, meatballs, pork, steak, chicken. For this particular sauce I did make my own sauce.

I cannot tell you how much meat I used, but I approximate 1 to 2 pounds each. You use as much or as little as you want and what type of meat you prefer.

sweet Italian sausage cut into bite size pieces and remove the casing

chuck meat cut into bite size pieces.

meatballs (chicken works pretty well)

1 onion chopped

2 gloves garlic minced

1/2 green pepper chopped (optional, it depends on my mood if I add this)

fresh basil

fresh oregano

tomato sauce

grated Parmesan cheese

cooked rice

-On medium heat, brown the sausage and remove from the pot. Then brown the chuck meat and remove from the pot. Lastly brown the meatballs and remove. Browning the meatballs may be done the day before.

-After all your meat is browned add some olive oil if the pot looks dry, then add the onions and peppers. Cook until they begin to get some color and then add the garlic. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the sausage and chuck back to the pot (not the meatballs). Cook for 5 minutes and then add the sauce.

-Cook for 1 hour in the oven at 325.

-After an hour add the meatballs and cook for another 1 hour  to 1 1/2 hours in the oven at 325.

-Once cooked add the oregano and basil and serve over the white rice. Top with Parmesan cheese.

If you do use the dry herbs, I would add it when you return the meat back to the pot. Also, I find for a meat sauce I really like to use fatty pieces of meat. The longer they cook, the better the sauce is and the more tender the meat becomes.

Sausage Stuffed Tomato

Two large tomatoes

Two sweet Italian sausage links, take the casing off

Parmesan cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Crumble your sausage and cook in a skillet.

While the sausage is cooking take out the inside of the tomato. Cut the top of the tomato in a dice and add to the sausage.

Once sausage is done, add to the inside of the tomato and bake about 25 minutes or until the tomato is soft.

When the tomato is cooked, add as much or as little cheese to as you would like and brown.

This is good served with rice or stemmed broccoli.

Chocolate Cake Sandwich

1 box of chocolate cake mix
Whipped vanilla frosting

-Add ingredients per box directions adding a little less liquid so when you spoon the cake on your parchment paper it is a little thick.
-On parchment paper spoon the size cake you want.
-Bake at 350 until done.

-Once cooled a little, add the frosting and make a sandwich or leave it open faced and top with frosting. If you would like, do one side vanilla frosting and one side chocolate.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats

I have to thank Kellogg's for this one. I finally found their gluten free rice Krispies. Per the box directions I made rice krispies treats and added peanut butter. These were incredible.

Breakfast Pizza

 I absolutly love pizza and I was craving it one morning. I found Schar gluten free pizza crust in my freezer. I actually cut it in half so I got two pizzas. All I did was cook the pizza at 375 for 5 to 10 minutes. For the topping I added cooked bacon, scrambeled egg, and cheddar cheese. Put back in the oven and cook until done.