Chicken Zucchini Casserole

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (if I am in a hurry I just add a large can of canned chicken)
4-6 cups zucchini (I usually add some yellow squash)
1 cup diced onion
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups herb seasoned stuffing
2 cups grated cheese
Directions: Steam veggies together until just tender. Make sure not to overcook since they'll have more time to soften in the oven. Layer veggies in a 9X13" pan. Add chicken. Mix sour cream and soup together, pour over chicken. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. While it's baking, melt the butter in a small bowl, stir in stuffing and grated cheese. After 20 minutes in the oven, cover the casserole with the stuffing mixture and bake for another 10 minutes. (Total cooking time 30 minutes.) Usually when I make it I use 1/4 cup melted butter and mix it with about 2 cups of bread crumbs so its not quite as rich but still very delicious. My kids love it!

Noodle Stir-Fry

This is a recipe from one of my Our Best Bites cook book. It is easy and delicious and a great way to use some veggies from the garden.

1 (12 oz) package linguine noodles (whole wheat or regular)
2-3 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2&1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
2&1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Asian sweet red chili sauce (available in the Asian foods isle)
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1-2 Tbsp canola or peanut oil, divided
1 small red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced or pressed
1 cup fresh or frozen green sugar snap peas, snow peas, edamame, or green beans
1 medium zucchini, julienned or chopped (sometimes I throw in yellow squash too.)
1 large or 2 small orange, red and or yellow bell peppers, seeded and sliced
Grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak, optional
Black sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, or lime wedges, optional
1-Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook al dente. When noodles are cooked, drain them and toss in olive oil.
2-Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, chili sauce, and sesame oil. Set aside.
3-While noodles are cooking, heat canola or peanut oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add sliced onion, garlic and ginger. Stir fry 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, but garlic isn't burning. Add peas (edamame or beans) and stir-fry about 30 seconds. Add zucchini and peppers and stir-fry another 30 seconds or until veggies are crisp-tender. Add noodles and stir-fry until they are well combined with the vegetables. Give sauce a quick whisk and then drizzle it evenly over noodles and stir-fry entire mixture about 30-60 seconds or until everything is well coated in the sauce. Serve immediately.
4-If desired, add grilled meat to this dish, or garnish individual servings with black sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, and lime wedges.

Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes

I made these once last year and thought they were really yummy. I've been excited to make them again this year.

Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes

4 C mashed Sweet potatoes (4 med sweet potatoes or abt 2 large sized cans)
6 Tbs Sugar
6 Tbs butter (no margarine), softened or melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (eyeball it) or one mini can
1 t vanilla

Topping:

1 C brown sugar
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
6 Tbs melted butter

If using fresh sweet potatoes, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick each sweet potato with a fork and place on foil in the oven. Cook for 40-60 minutes or until tender. Once they've cooled enough to handle, slice in half and scoop out the insides into a mixing bowl. To the mixing bowl add in sugar, butter, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Your butter should be soft enough to blend up easily so nuke it in the microwave before you add it to the bowl if you need to. You could mash it all up by hand, but an electric mixer works great. I don't like it completely pureed, so I mix it just until everything is incorporated but there are still some sweet potatoes in larger chunks.
Spread this mixture evenly into a 9 x 13 pan.
For the topping, combine brown sugar and coconut and then pour melted butter over and combine.Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes. It will be more or less depending on the size of dish you use, whether you double the topping, etc. But the top should be nice and browned and bubbly so just keep an eye on it.