Creamy Garlic Pasta
by Samantha Tingey

2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
¼  tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
3 cups chicken stock
½ lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 



In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix in the butter until melted. Add the salt, pepper and chicken stock. Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil.  

Once it is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for as long as the box’s directions indicate. Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in the parmesan until completely melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream and parsley. Serve immediately. 

One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta                                                                      by Samantha Tingey

Ingredients

                  1 pound spaghetti

                  1 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

                  2 zucchini, thinly sliced and quartered

                  2/3 cup peas

                  2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

                  2 sprigs thyme

                  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

                  1/3 cup grated Parmesan

                  1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

         In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, garlic, thyme and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

                  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and heavy cream.

                  Serve immediately.

Zucchini Lasagna

by Jessica Skankey

Yield: Serves 6

If you use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, the lasagna might have a tad bit more liquid while baking. The 10-15 minute rest at the end should help everything firm up (you can lightly drain the cottage cheese before using, if desired). Look for zucchini (or pick them from your garden) that are more small than large - the larger the zucchini, the more seeds and water it will have. Finally, check below the recipe for a concise, step-by-step on cutting the zucchini thinly for this recipe.

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Lasagna:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular, softened to room temperature
• 3 cups part-skim ricotta or cottage cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 small to medium zucchini
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
3. While the sauce is cooking, proceed with prepping the rest of the ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, ricotta or cottage cheese, salt and pepper.
4. Trim the knobby ends from each zucchini and cut in half lengthwise (see pictures below) and then slice each half very thinly. The pieces should look like thin, zucchini pasta sheets or noodles. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the garlic and oregano and season with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of each).
5. To assemble the lasagna, spread 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of the pan. It will be a very thin, splotchy layer - that's ok. Spread out a single layer of zucchini so they aren't overlapping but cover most of the pan. A few empty spots are ok as long as it is mostly covered. Layer four no-boil lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping (I use the Barilla brand that calls for overlapping noodles; consult your particular lasagna noodle box to see if you should use 3 or 4 noodles for each layer - some brands say not to overlap; you basically want the noodles to cover the whole area of the baking pan).
6. Dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles and spread into a somewhat even layer. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the top, one layer of zucchini and sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella. You'll repeat this two more times (4 noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, 3/4 cup sauce, zucchini layer and mozzarella). On the final layer if you have more than 3/4 cup of sauce, that's fine, just use it all.
7. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Café (http://www.melskitchencafe.com/zucchini-lasagna/)

Refried Beans (Crock Pot)
by Marissa Stam

3 cups dry pinto beans (enough to cover at least an inch in Crockpot, rinsed)

5 Chicken Bouillon cubes (or 2 of the large hispanic food isle)

1 Tbl Garlic Salt

1/2 Medium onion (Dont chop)

1/2 cup butter




Put dry pinto beans into crockpot. then fill with water to about 3/4 of the way up. add

crushed bouillon cubes and garlic salt evenly over the top. drop half of the onion in (with out skin

but not chopped)

Cook on low until beans are soft, 8-10 hours. stir once in a while and add more water as

needed.

Strain beans or pour juice off but SAVE the juice. add the 1/2 cup butter and small amount

of juice. Using a hand blender, mash beans. add juice and blend to obtain desired consistency. Leave

them a little runny as they will set up fast.