Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
2-3 T olive oil (enough to coat potatoes)
1 lb peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4" slices


Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add olive oil. Put in large ziploc bag with sliced sweet potatoes and squish bag so potatoes are thoroughly coated.
Spray roasting pan with cooking spray and spread potatoes out and roast in oven for 5-10 minutes or until done.
These are soooo good and easy.

Pork Tenderloin

2-3 pork tenderloins


Marinade:
1 1/4 C vegetable oil
3/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C Worcestershire sauce
1 T pepper
1/2 C red wine vinegar
1 1/2 T parsley
1/3 C lemon juice
2 cloves garlic minced.


Blend marinade ingredients in blender. pour over tenderloins and marinate for 3-4 hrs. Grill pork on BBQ on medium heat for about 20 min, turning and basting occasionally. Slice tenderloins and serve warm.
Excellent with Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes.
My kids really liked this and it was just as good the next day.

BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Dinner

We've been cooking in foil on the BBQ a lot this summer. I've been making individual packets for each person. That way everyone gets exactly what they want and Annika thinks it's really cool to make her own! You can be creative and do just about anything, this is one of our favorites! This recipe makes enough for 4 packets.

8 Tbsp BBQ Sauce
4 chicken breasts
2 unpeeled red potatoes, thinly sliced
1 green onion, finely chopped
1red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Place in a double lined piece of foil, sprayed with cooking spray, 1 Tbsp BBQ sauce. Place one chicken breast over the sauce and spread another Tbsp BBQ sauce on top. Top with a quarter of the potato, bell pepper and onion. Sprinkle with salt and peper. Fold foil to cover contents leaving enough room for air to circulate. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make three more packets. Place directly on BBQ that is set to med-low heat (about 350). BBQ for 30-40 minutes. DO NOT FLIP! Open foil packets carefully and sprinkle with cheese. Close BBQ and heat until cheese is melted.

Kid friendly parmesan chicken and rice

Ok, now this is as simple as it comes.....and hey, adults like it to. It's not gourmet or anything, but comfort food that kids like:

8-10 chicken tenders
melted butter for dipping
bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese from a can
salt, pepper

Line a large cookie sheet with foil. Dip each chicken tender in the melted butter and then roll in the bread crumb/cheese/saltandpepper mixture (I just mix it to taste). Lay on the cookie sheet.
Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes (covered with foil) and then another 30 minutes uncovered. They should be browned and cooked through.

For the easy rice, just fill a medium sauce pan with 3 c. water, 1 c. dry long grained rice, 4 T. butter, and a package of lipton chicken noodle soup. Bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Seriously, we make this once a week. Add a veggie, and you're good to go!

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

1 spaghetti squash, cut lengthwise and seeded
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 14 oz cans stewed tomatoes (garlic and onion is my favorite)
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 cube vegetable boullion
salt and pepper to taste
15 oz can black olives, chopped
1 cup mozarella, shredded
1 cup parmesan, shredded

Cook squash, cut side down on a greased cookie sheet at 325 for 35-40 minutes. Cool. Saute onions and garlic. Stir in tomatoes, basil, boullion, salt and pepper. Cook 15 minutes until medium thick. Shred squash and keep shells. Layer each shell with a spoonful of tomato sauce, squash, olives, and mozarella cheese. Repeat, ending with tomato sauce and top with parmesan cheese. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes.

Fish with Pineapple Salsa

--From Michele

2 (6 oz.) grouper fillets-we used grouper, but I’m sure any kind of fish would work
½ c coarsely chopped pineapple-(fresh)
¼ c finely chopped red onions
¼ c finely chopped red bell peppers or green bell peppers
¼ c diced fresh tomatoes, seeds removed
2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 T. lime juice
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
2 T. vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, combine pineapple, red onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, jalapeno, lime juice and cilantro.
Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Set aside
In a medium frying pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat.
Sprinkle grouper with salt and pepper
Saute grouper for 3-4 minutes each side or until fully cooked
Remove fish from pan, top with pineapple salsa and serve immediately

*We served it over rice and ate it with tortilla chips-it was yummy!*

Tortellini Soup

--From Michele

4 cloves garlic-saute in butter
2 cans chicken broth
8 oz frozen tortellini (I used more)
Bring to boil and simmer 5 min.

1 can stewed tomatoes
½ bunch spinach-no stems
3t fresh basil or 1 t dried basil
put these in blender for a minute and then add mixture to soup
simmer for 10 min.

add parmesan cheese