Sausage, Pepperoni & Pasta Casserole

Confession. I got this recipe off an episode of "Sandra's Money Saving Meals!" :} But I tweaked it slightly and it was a hit with the fam, so I want to remember how I made it!

Ingredients:
Box of Pasta (rotini, or your favorite kind)
1 small onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 squash, diced
1 pkg sliced pepperoni, rough chopped
1 link of beef sausage sliced thin (I kind of cubed mine)
Spaghetti sauce (make your own or jarred)
Shredded italian cheese
Bread crumbs (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees--Lightly grease a 9x13 pan and set aside
2. Cook pasta according to package directions
3. Heat some olive oil in a pan and sauté the diced onion, zucchini & squash (I also added fresh minced garlic to this mix)
4. Cook the veggies until softened and then toss in the chopped pepperoni & sliced sausage
5. Add in tomato sauce (you may or may not use the entire jar...just use your best judgement) You can also sprinkle some of the Italian cheese in and mix it all together.
6. Toss in some of the pasta when it's ready (again, eyeball it, you probably won't need a full box)
7. Pour this entire mixture into the 9x13 pan & sprinkle a little of the bread crumbs over the top & a little more of the Italian cheese
8. Pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes until it's a little crispy on top.

Serve this with some Garlic, Butter Toast and/or a side salad (maybe even a Caesar salad)
Enjoy!

Chicken Pesto Pasta

 I forget how easy this dish is and I used to make it all the time! Tara requested it the other day; I made it tonight & thought I'd share this simple yummy (easy) dinner! I apologize if my directions are rambling or don't make sense...this is one recipe where I actually wing it, so it turns out slightly different every time!

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (thawed & cut into chunks)
1 box rotini pasta
1 pkt Knorr Pesto Pasta (unless you prefer to make your own pesto)
olive oil
diced onion, bell pepper
Italian seasoning
s&p
parmesan cheese or Feta! (optional)
olives & roma tomato (optional)

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to box directions, drain & set to the side
2. In a small saucepan make up the Knorr Pesto to mix in later
3. In a large skillet drizzle olive oil & sauté some garlic, & onion/bell pepper finely diced (or cheat like me & buy the kind that's already diced & ready in the freezer section)! Throw in the chicken that you've cut up--I always season my chicken with a little s&p, garlic salt & some Italian seasoning before tossing it in the skillet.
4. Cook chicken until no longer pink in the middle and toss a little of the Pesto sauce over it while it's cooking.
5. When the chicken is done, toss the pasta noodles in the skillet with it & drizzle more of the Pesto over it all.
6. Tonight when I made this I did not have any Roma tomatoes on hand, but in the past I have added diced Roma tomatoes & sliced black olives to this mixture and it is divine!
7. Serve it up and be sure to sprinkle some cheese over the top--my kids like Parmesan on theirs, but if you are a fan of Feta, it is soo good on top of this dish!

Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Spinach, Garlic, and Lemon

Spaghetti with Spinach, Garlic and Lemon

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 lb angel hair or spaghetti pasta (I used penne and it worked great and was easier to eat)

6 tablespoons olive oil

8 garlic cloves, crushed or minced

zest of one lemon

juice of one lemon

10 oz bag of baby spinach

Method

In a skillet heat,  6 tablespoons olive oil over medium low heat. Add garlic and cook for 10 to 12 minutes to gently cook the garlic. Add lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.  Drain pasta well and transfer to a large bowl. Immediately add spinach and garlic lemon oil and toss everything together. Mound the pasta on a large platter and serve.

Italian Ravioli

I got this recipe from a girl at preschool (she made it for lunch for us one day). It was really good. I made it again tonight and it was easy and everyone ate it.


1 pkg of ravioli 24 oz (or any kind of pasta)
2 T of butter
1 pkg of mushrooms(8oz)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of italian seasoning
1 can of rotel drained
2 T of chopped fresh basil
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms and next 2 ingredients;saute over medium high heat until mushrooms are tender. Stir in rotel, basil, and cream and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer stirring occasionally for approx 5 minutes. Sir in parmesan cheese and salt. Stir in ravoli and toss to coat and enjoy.

Spinach, Mushroom Lasagna

Yeah! A healthy recipe that is easy & yummy! (So easy, I hope none of you will be insulted that I am posting this as a "recipe"! :))

Ingredients:

bag of fresh spinach leaves

fresh mushrooms (baby bellas or other small button type mushroom)

lasagna noodles (I use the oven ready kind to cut down on time)

shredded mozzarella cheese

shredded parmesan

1-2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or make your own)

minced garlic

olive oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 350

1. Saute spinach leaves in olive oil & minced garlic until leaves are cooked down & softened; transfer spinach to a bowl.

2. Saute mushrooms in same pan, again in olive oil or butter; season mushrooms with s&p and some garlic salt. Saute mushrooms until they are softened and then transfer them into the bowl with the spinch--mix together.

3. In a lasagna dish coated with cooking spray begin to layer--spaghetti sauce, lasagna noodles, a little more spaghetti sauce, mushroom/spinach mixture, cheeses (alternating mozz & parm to your liking), then repeat the layering--noodles, sauce, mushrooms/spinach, cheese, etc. until you have used up all your ingredients--finishing with sauce & cheese to top it off.

4. Bake in oven for about an hour or so until ready.

Enjoy!

Vodka Sauce Parma Rosa

** I bought one of those Knorrs sauce mix packets at Super Target last week and used it to make our dinner tonight. It was REALLY good, easy, and everyone ate & enjoyed it.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, chopped (I just used onion)
1 large garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons vodka (I used chicken broth since I didn't have vodka)
Knorr parma rosa sauce mix (1 pkg.)
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup light cream or milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
8 ounces pasta (I used Rigatoni), cooked and drained

Directions:
1. In 3 quart saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and cook shallot, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in vodka and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Stir in parma rosa mix blended with milk and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese. Simmer 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is thickened.
3. To serve, toss sauce with hot pasta. Serve, if desired, with freshly ground pepper and additional grated parmesan cheese.

** I sauteed some chicken earlier and added that to it when I tossed everything together. Would also be good with shrimp.

** Mushrooms would be good in it too.

Our Favorite Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law a few years ago and it is one of our favorites in the spring & summer months! So easy, great for leftovers, can be made vegetarian, and used as a main dish (with the chicken) or as a side dish.

1 lb. box of bowtie pasta, cooked according to directions
4 oz package crumbled feta cheese
1 medium/large green bell pepper, chopped finely
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
olive oil (start with approx a 1/4 cup and then add more to your taste)
balsamic vinegar (start with approx a 1/8-1/4 cup and then add more to your taste)
chopped grilled chicken (optional)

Toss everything together in a large bowl and refrigerate in a tupperware container. Sometimes, I toss with extra olive oil and balsamic vinegar the next day to moisten the salad up before eating the leftovers.

Enjoy!

Lasagna

1 pound ground beef (or Italian sausage or ground turkey)

1 clove garlic

2 cans tomato paste

1 16 ounce can tomatoes

1 cup water

1 Tbs. dried basil

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

10 ounce pkg. lasagna noodles

1 small container ricotta cheese

1 pound grated mozzarella cheese

Brown the ground meat.  Drain fat and return to pan.  Add tomatoes, water and all spices to sauce.  Cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.  Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.  To assemble lasagna: spread a thin layer of sauce on bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Lay 3 lasagna noodles length wise in dish, spread each with ricotta cheese, spoon sauce over each and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  The lay 5 cut lasagna noodles width wise over the last layer and spread with ricotta, sauce and mozzarella.  Continue this pattern until all noodles and sauce are used.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.

Time saver hint: you can use a large jar of ready made pasta sauce and add some of the seasonings and cook less time if in a hurry.  

Penne ala Betsy

I am just posting a link to a great recipe that I tried this past week. It was good, not too difficult (although not too healthy either!), and everyone in the family ate it.

Penne ala Betsy

It is from the website www.pioneerwoman.com which is one of my favorite recipe sites to look through.

I made this exactly like the recipe called for, but Kevin and I both thought it would be just as good with grilled chicken and maybe the addition of artichoke hearts & mushrooms if you like either of those.

Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

My mom made this all the time when I was little. It was one of my favorite meals. I now know why she liked it, because it is so easy!

2 lbs. cubed stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can French onion soup
1 - 4 oz can mushrooms, drained
1 soup can filled with water
½ soup can filled with red wine (or red cooking wine)
2 Tbsp flour
4-8 oz. sour cream
16 oz. egg noodles, cooked according to directions on bag

Combine soups, mushrooms, water, and wine. Pour over meat in crock pot or dutch oven. Simmer 4-6 hours in crock pot or 1 hour on stove. Before serving shake 2 Tbsp or more of flour with water and add to thicken. Cook 5-10 minutes and stir in about 4-8 oz. of sour cream. Serve over egg noodles.

Mexican Lasagna

I have tripled this recipe and frozen it in 9x9 pans.

1 pound ground beef
1 can mushrooms
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pkg Taco Seasoning
8 oz can Tomato Sauce
2 Tbsp Picante Sauce
8-10 Lasagna Noodles
2 Tbsp Onion
Tortilla Chips crushed

Cook lasagna noodles until done. Set aside and cook meat. Drain and add taco seasoning, oniond, salt, pepper, mushrooms, tomato sauce and picante. Grease 9x9 dish and layer noodles, meat, cheese and repeat. (If you want to freeze it, freeze at this point) When ready to eat, thaw and top with broken chips. Heat at 350 for 10-20 minutes until hot though and cheese is melted.