Casual Cooking is my favorite Pampered Chef Cookbook. It has been discontinued for some crazy reason, but you can buy it at the online outlet for $6 HERE. 

Dressing
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Garlic cloves, pressed
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Vegetables and Pasta
5 plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1 medium eggplant (1 1/2 lbs), cur into 1/2-inch slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and cut into quarters
1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1 pound uncooked penne or rigatoni pasta
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

1.  For dressing, whisk vinegar, pressed garlic, oregano and salt in small bowl and set aside

2.  Prepare grill for direct cooking over medium coals, prepare vegetables and brush with oil.  Snip parsley and set aside.

3.  Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm.

4.  Place vegetables on grid of grill.  Grill onion 10-12 minutes and tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and pepper for 6-8 minutes.  Turn once.

5.  Remove vegetables from grill and cut into bit size pieces.  Place vegetables in large colander bowl and drizzle with dressing mixing with scraper.

6.  Place pasta in large shallow bowl or platter.  Spoon vegetable mixture over warm pasta.  Sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings

Substitutions:
-Could use rice instead of pasta
-Veggie mixture could be served as a side or as an appetizer on canape bread or crackers
-Leftovers could be used in pasta sauce, on top of pizza or in soups and chili.

My Way:
-I cut my veggies into bite size pieces initially and cooked in the grill basket.
-I added mushrooms since we are a mushroom loving family.
-I only used a small pepper since we don’t really like green peppers.
-I added an extra clove of garlic to the dressing.
-I used a mixture of garden tomatoes
-I used dried parsley
-I used Mozzarella cheese (was out of parm)
-I froze the remaining 1/2 of the vegetable mixture to use later.

Hubby insists that the dish would be better with shrimp or sausage. I discovered that I don’t like eggplant, so that will be omitted the next time I make this.

If you have access to a garden or cheap veggies this could be a very inexpensive dish; especially since you’re probably like me and get the pasta for free or a few cents.

I made this recipe for Freezer Cooking Days, but I’m not sure how well it will freeze.  The cost to make this dish was approximately $10.  Just over 1/2 that was for the shrimp.  It came out yummy last night, but I’ll have to report back next month to let you know how well it froze.  Splitting into 2 dinners makes it more cost effective since I strive for meals that are $5 or less.  My typical freezer meals cost $5-$6 and are spit into two dinners.

Recipe from One-Dish Collection-Buy on Amazon for only $4 (I’ve had it awhile)

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 pound smoked deli ham, cubed
1/2 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-in thick slices
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 ribs celery, chopping (about 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 cup uncooked rice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 package (12 ounces) ready-to-cook shrimp, thawed
Fresh chives (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13X9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add ham and sausage.  Cook and stir 5 minutes or until sausage is lightly browned on both sides.  Remove from skillet and place in prepared dish.  Place onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic in same skillet; cook and stir 3 minutes.  Add to sausage mixture.

COMBINE tomatoes with juice, broth, rice, Worcestershire, thyme, salt and pepper and red peppers in the same skillet; bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 3 minutes.  Pour over sausage mixture and stir until combined.

COVER tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes or until rice is almost tender.  Remove from oven; place shrimp on top of rice mixture.  Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes or until shrimp are pink and opaque.  Garnish with chives, if desired.

Makes 8 servings
My family: 2 dinners plus lunch

I split into a separate dish for freezing after cooking.  My family isn’t into green peppers, so I omitted those. I used an entire package of sausage and less ham.  I also used homemade chicken stock. 

I’m really hoping it freezes well!

The Jambalaya froze okay.  It still tasted good but it was definitely better the first time.  I think it had more to do with the shrimp just weren’t quite right after being cooked, frozen then reheated.  You can freeze this recipe, but you’re better off enjoying it the first time around or as leftovers.

Photo Credit: Sweet and Saucy

The following recipe is from The Pampered Chef Casual Cooking Cookbook.  This cookbook has been discontinued, but you can purchase it at the online outlet for $6 HERE.
Make-Ahead Seasoned Ground Beef
2 lbs lean ground beef (I use ground turkey)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce

Cook and drain beef, breaking into crumbles
Add onion, garlic, S/P and cook 1-2 min. until onion is tender
Stir in tomato sauce
Use 1/2 mixture for sloppy Joe’s and freeze or refrigerate (up to 2 days) other 1/2 of mixture.

Sloppy Joe’s Pocket Sandwiches
1/2 recipe Prepared Make-Ahead Beef
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice (optional)
Pita pockets or kaiser rolls

Heat meat mixture and additional ingredients
Spoon into pitas or on kaiser rolls
Top with cheese (optional)

My kids and hubby LOVED this!

I also made Chicken Tortilla Soup in the crock pot today.  The basis for this recipe came from Julie. I changed it up at bit, so it’s a little different than the original recipe.  This was a first for me, but I think it turned out well.  “LuLu’ was the only one that didn’t like it.  The original rotel is rather spicy, so I’ll stick with purchasing the mild variety from now on.  Sorry, I don’t have exact amounts for you.

Chicken-cooked or uncooked – I used crock pot chicken from freezer
Black Beans
2 Cans Rotel
2 Cups chicken stock
2 Cups water
1 Tbsp taco seasoning (will add more next time)
1 Zucchini, cut into half moons
1 small onion, finey chopped
Garlic, chopped (to taste)
1 Can Corn, drained
Rice
S/P

Add all ingredients to the crock pot except corn and rice.  Cook on low all day.  Add corn and rice 30 minutes before serving. 

Top with Cheese and Tortilla Chips

*The rice was an after thought, I just added a little..

Today I made Southwestern Wagon Wheels with Zucchini, Corn and Tomatoes as part of Freezer Cooking Day.  I have no idea where the original recipe came from.  My mom made me a book of some of her favorite recipes many years ago, so I can’t give credit to anyone for this. 

1 Tbsp Butter
1 Cup Minced Onions
2 Zucchini, cut into 1/4 think half moons
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Can (14 oz) Whole tomatoes – could use fresh
1 Can (4 oz) Chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 Cup half and half (I use fat free)
1 Cup frozen whole kernel corn (or canned)
1 lb Wagon wheels, cooked according to package, drained

Melt butter or margarine in large skillet (I used a large pot-for mixing pasta in later).  Add onion and cook for 3 mins. Stir in zucchini and garlic, cook for 1 min.

Add tomatoes, green chilies and S/P.  Simmer, stirring to break up tomatoes for 5 mins.  Stir in half and half and corn.  Boil for 3 minutes.

Toss the sauce with hot pasta –  reason I use the larger pot to cook the sauce in

*My plan called for using shells since they were free, but I figured if I was posting the recipe it should be authentic.  You can substitute other pasta, just get something that has holes (grabs the corn, onion and tomatoes).

Remember the baby carrots that were on sale the other week for $0.98 a bag? I’d even managed to score 3 bags of organic carrots that week as well.  When we want a break from steaming or eating them raw; we cook them using this recipe.  Please note that this isn’t the healthiest method for cooking carrots, but they sure are yummy!

“Grandma Dots Carrots”

~1 lb of Carrots (baby or cut)
1/2-1 Stick of Butter we use light 🙂
Sprinkle of Brown Sugar
Several Shakes of Texas Pete (or to taste)

Bake 350 degrees for 45min-1 hour

*The larger the carrots, the longer they take to cook.
*Sorry no specifics, I’m more of a throw it together type of cook
*That is too much brown sugar in the picture!  A big clump fell out and I thought it would be okay, way too much! Use about 1/2 that amount