Here’s a quick and easy, low-fat recipe that is great for a meal or an appetizer:

• 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• Salsa for dipping

Combine the first two ingredients and mix well. Shape meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Brown in skillet with a little EVOO. Drain on paper towel. Serve with salsa.

Makes around 25 meatballs.

Here’s what you need:

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 cups picante sauce
• 3 T. brown sugar
• 1 T. Dijon Mustard

Mix picante sauce, brown sugar and mustard thoroughly. Place chicken breasts in a sprayed 9 x 9 dish. Pour picante mixture over chicken and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
• 8 ounces sour cream cream cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I left these out the second time I made it- my family likes it better that way)
• dash ground pepper

Directions:

Cook the spinach and artichoke hearts in a cup of water for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Heat the cream cheese in a small bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Add the spinach mixture and stir well.

Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Mix well.

Serve with crackers or toasted bread strips for dipping. What we like best is to serve with Tostitos Gold Chips. They’re small triangular chips that are thicker and don’t break when dipping into a thick dip. I think that’s what they’re called. I know it has “gold” in the name.

This is Wanda’s recipe:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 small cabbage, quartered
• 1 lb. package baby carrots
• 2 large (14 1/2 ounce) cans Mexican flavored stewed tomatoes

Place ingredients in crock pot.  Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

I wanted to know the difference between rotini pasta and corkscrew pasta, so I did a search and found a great site that explains about all the different pasta shapes. If you’re interested, the site is Cook’s Thesaurus. They have a lot of other great information as well on all sorts of things such as grain products, fruits, vegetables, legumes & nuts, flavorings, etc.

The Cook’s Thesaurus is a “cooking encyclopedia that covers thousands of ingredients and kitchen tools.” It has pictures, descriptions, synonyms, pronunciations, and suggested substitutions. It’s a very helpful site!

Here’s a recipe for those who enjoy Mexican food:

• 2 pounds ground meat
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (more if you like it spicier)
  
• salt & pepper
• 1 can sliced ripe olives
• 3 cups yellow cornmeal (divided in half)
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Brown meat with onion and bell pepper. Drain the meat. Add corn with liquid, tomatoes, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Then add olives and half of the cornmeal (1 1/2 cups). Stir well. Cook until thickened a little. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch dish.

Put milk and cheese in saucepan. Cook on low until cheese is melted. Add rest of cornmeal (1 1/2 cups). Stir well to prevent lumps. Cook on low heat until thick. Pour this mixture on top of meat mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is brown.

This is Elwanda’s recipe for corn casserole:

• 1 can shoepeg corn, drained (Green Giant has shoepeg corn)
  
• 1 can French style green beans, drained
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I’d use reduced fat)
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can 98% fat free cream of celery soup
• 1 8-oz. carton light sour cream
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1 row Ritz crackers, crushed
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

LAYER corn and green beans in buttered casserole dish.

COMBINE cheese, onion, soup, & sour cream and spread over veggies.

COMBINE butter, crackers, & almonds and spread over top.

BAKE uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Elizabeth, at Mom Cooks, has a great recipe for an awesome looking deli sandwich. She gives great directions with her step-by-step instructions which include pictures. If you want an impressive deli sandwich for company or to take to a luncheon, then check out her site.

I have not tried this recipe, but it sounds fun for Easter dinner:

• 2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes - warm
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• crushed corn flakes
• shredded lettuce
  

Mix potatoes and juice with a mixer until smooth. Shape into small eggs and roll in corn flakes. Place on a greased shallow baking dish and bake @ 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce so it will look like eggs in the grass.

This list comes from the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research organization based in Washington, DC. There are 43 items on the list, but I’m just listing the top few. To see the entire list, click here. #1 is the worst, and it gets better as you go down the list.

• RANK / SCORE
  

1. Peaches - 100 (worst)
2. Apples - 96
3. Bell Peppers - 86
4. Celery - 85
5. Nectarines - 84
6. Strawberries - 83
7. Cherries - 75
8. Lettuce - 69
9. Imported Grapes - 68
10. Pears - 65

I’m trying to buy organic when I can. Sometimes it’s too expensive, but I’m finding more and more brands producing organic choices at affordable prices now.