Teriyaki Chicken Pasta Salad

Salad
4 cups cooked chicken
16 oz. bow tie pasta
20 oz. baby spinach
sliced green onions
12 oz. honey roasted peanuts
mandarin oranges
1/2 cup sesame seeds

Dressing
2 cups oil
1 1/3 cups Teriyaki sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Blend ingredients for dressing.
2. Marinate chicken in some dressing for a few hours.
3. Cook pasta al dente.
4. Bake or Grill chicken.
5. Mix all salad ingredients together.
6. Toss salad with dressing and serve.

* This salad was yummy! It was a fast and easy meal with a light flavor. I cut all the ingredients in half and we still had leftovers. It is filling but still a light meal. We felt the dressing called for way too much oil so next time I am going to reduce the amount of oil I use in the dressing/marinade. I also think it would be good to add croutons and craisins. I found that this is even better the second day!

Recipe from Dayna Jamison
Photo from Karrissa's Kitchen

Nachos

½ lb ground beef

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)

1 small zucchini, chopped (1 cup)

1 cup chili beans in chili sauce (from 15-oz can)

1 cup thick-and-chunky salsa, divided

Tortilla chips (the salted kind, of course!)

1 ½ c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (6 oz)

sliced ripe olives

diced fresh tomatoes

Brown ground beef. Drain and remove ground beef to a plate; set aside. Using the same pan, stir-fry bell pepper and zucchini for 2 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Stir in chili beans and ½ cup of the salsa; cook until hot. Stir in ground beef.

Line tortilla chips on a broiler safe pan. Spoon dollops of the mixture atop the chips. Sprinkle with olives and tomatoes (or you can add these after the nachos come out of the broiler). Sprinkle with cheese, to your liking. Put under broiler (not super close) until cheese is melted, only a couple of minutes.

Serve with remaining salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

* These were so easy to make and super filling! We felt that they didn't have as much flavor as we would have liked but they were still yummy. We are going to throw on jalapenos next time for sure! I am going to continue to experiment with flavors, different vegetables, different meats, etc. These would be great as an appetizer!

Recipe Adapted from The Sisters Cafe.

Weeknight Lasagna Toss

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 of a small onion, chopped (optional)

2 green peppers, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1-2/3 cups Water

1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing

12 oven-ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters

1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1. Brown meat (and onion, if desired) in large saucepan; drain.
2. Add peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water, and dressing; bring to a boil. Stir in noodles; cover.
3. Cook on medium-low heat 10-15 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

* A little something special: You can stir 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese into noodle mixture before sprinkling with shredded cheese, if desired.

* You can substitute 12 regular lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces, for the oven-ready noodles. Increase water to 2 cups and cook 30 min., stirring occasionally.

* This easy stove top lasagna recipe has been one of our favorites for awhile. Even my super picky little eater enjoys it! I always add some onions to the meat because I love the flavor that it gives to this dish but it's completely optional. I also use a little more of the zesty Italian dressing than it says. :-) I like to serve it with French bread or garlic bread along with a green salad and it is very filling with plenty of leftovers.

Photo & Recipe Adapted from Kraft Foods