Petite Lasanga Cups

This is dinner tonight! I can't wait to dive right into these little gems. So yummy! I mean lasagna in little petite sized cups of cheesy goodness! How can this not be the best thing you've ever put in your mouth?!?!?!

I love little variations on traditional meals. This is a great example of that. This would also be good for a dinner party-everyone gets their own little lasagna.


Petite Lasagna Cups
(makes 12)

12 oz raw ground turkey (or whatever meat you want to use-or go meatless-that would be good too!)

¼ tsp salt, divided

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped mushrooms

14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsp dried oregano, divided

½ tsp dried basil

1 ½ cups cream cheese (i'm using the philadelphia baking cream cheese-italian herbs)

12 lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled and cut in 1/2

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese



Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 noodle into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.

Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups. Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.

Gently press another noodle on top of the mozzarella layer.

Repeat the process by distributing the remaining cream cheese, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!

picture courtesy of CAN YOU STAY FOR DINNER

Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni

Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni

1/2 pound turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 in slices (I just used ground turkey-it was on sale)
2 large green peppers, sliced
3C rigatoni, uncooked
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce
1C mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

(If you are using ground sausage like I did precook it with the peppers until just starting to brown) Place sausage and peppers in a 9X13 in pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until sausage is done (I baked mine for about 10 min since the sausage was already partially cooked). Meanwhile cook the pasta.

Drain pasta. Add to baking dish with spaghetti sauce and stir. Bake 15-20 minutes or until heat through. Top with cheese, bake an additional 2-3 min or until cheese is melted.

This is really good with a crusty italian bread and garlic butter. My mouth is currently watering!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!

Tonight I took a recipe from 30 Minute Meals and Rachael Ray. I just happened to be flipping channels a while back when I saw her making this. So I figured I just had to try it. Looked too good to pass up. My family LOVES lasagna and thought this would be a nice twist. She really does come up with some great ideas. Makes me wonder why I didn't think of it you know?!

You'll have to forgive me, no picture. We has a school function tonight and everyone scarfed it down before I realized I hadn't taken a picture. But believe me....it really is that good!!!!

Two Sauce Weeknight Lasagna Bowls

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound Campanelle pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound pancetta, a couple of thick slices, chopped
• 3/4 pound ground beef pork and veal mix or ground beef
• 1/2 large carrot, peeled and grated or finely chopped
• 1 small to medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, 2 chopped or grated, 1 peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice, a couple of pinches
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 2 cups beef stock
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• Nutmeg, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus some to pass at table
• A handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Directions

Heat large pot of water to a boil, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

While pasta water comes to a boil, heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat, add pancetta and render 2 to 3 minutes then add meat and break up as it browns. When the meat has begun to caramelize and develops a nice brown color, 4 to 5 minutes, add carrot, onion, 2 cloves of garlic, allspice, salt and pepper and a bay leaf. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more to soften onions and carrots bits then stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in wine and cook out 1 minute then stir in stock and reduce heat to simmer.

While red sauce cooks, cut remaining whole clove of garlic and rub the inside of a medium sauce pot with it. Melt butter in pot over medium heat. Add in flour and whisk together a minute or so then whisk in milk and bring to a bubble, reduce heat then season sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg, thicken 8 to 10 minutes.

Toss pasta with white sauce and 1/2 cup grated cheese. Serve pasta in individual bowls and top with a ladle of meat sauce in the middle of the bowl for mixing in. Garnish with parsley.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Chicken Tetrazzini

I saw this on a website and thought it looked really good. I put my own little spin on it and it was super yum! Turned out really creamy and just perfect! Think I might add this one to my list of faves!! Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Tetrazzini
1 pound spaghetti noodles
1 pound chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
1C frozen corn
1/2 dehydrated carrots, rehydrated (or 1 C sliced carrots)
1 can cream of (whatever you like) soup
2 tbsp butter
1C milk

Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.

Cook chicken in butter until cooked through. Season liberally-it's the only chance you'll get to season the chicken. I used KICKEN CHICKEN seasoning from Weber. But you can use whatever spice blend you like best. Once chicken is cooked remove it from pan onto a plate and set aside. Add soup and milk to pan and heat through. Add corn, carrots and chicken and cook until warm and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Drain pasta and top with sauce. Serve with another veggie and viola! dinner is served!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Sloppy Joe Mac

I found this recipe on the Kraft Foods website. It looked yummy and so easy. Here it is:

Sloppy Joe Mac

1 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. (7-1/4 oz.) Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

2 cups water

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1 cup tomato sauce

2 cups shredded lettuce

2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (this was my addition to it-gave it a little kick)

BROWN meat in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat; drain.

ADD Macaroni, water and barbecue sauce; stir. Bring to boil; cover. Simmer on medium heat 8 min, stirring occasionally.

STIR in Cheese Sauce Mix and tomato sauce; cook until heated through, stirring frequently. Top with lettuce and tomatoes.

This was really good and went without any leftovers. We also had cheese toast to go with it. You can never have too much cheese! haha!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

We invited some friends over last night for a BBQ. We decided to grill up some ribs that I had gotten a killer deal on. And once I started getting them out of the package, they looked more like steaks than ribs. They were HUGE!!! I definitely got my money's worth out of this meat! Oh the things I'll be able to do with the ribs that are left!!

BBQ Ribs
how every many ribs you need to feed your family (the package I bought was 9lbs worth)
favorite BBQ sauce

boil the ribs for about 20 minutes. top with bbq sauce and grill for about 8 minutes on each side. top with additional sauce as they cook and when you eat them.
These were DELISH!!!!! And did I mention how big they are? I was only able to eat 1, so we have lots of left overs.

I also made a pasta salad. It was really good and made a ton!! Here you go:
Pasta salad
16 oz elbow macaroni
2 C fresh cut up broccoli florets
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 C dehydrated carrots, reconstituted
2 C fresh baby spinach, cut up
1/2 red onion, diced
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 bottle roasted red pepper and parmesan vinaigrette salad dressing
1/2 C sharp cheddar cheese shredded.

Cook pasta according to package. Blend all ingredients and chill. The longer the better.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Beef Noodle Dinner

So I completely forgot to grab my camera and take a picture. Yesterday was one of THOSE days you know? My allergies had gone berserk and I wasn't about to do anymore than necessary! So here's what I made for dinner last night. It was really good and made a bunch. Sorry again for lack of photo!!

Beef Noodle Dinner
1 pound ground beef
1/2 C dehydrated onions, reconstituted
1/2 C dehydrated carrots, reconstituted
salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 can (19 ounces) ready to use chunky veggie soup
4 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained
1 1/2C shredded cheddar cheese

While spaghetti is cooking, brown hamburger. Add dash of salt and pepper to meat for seasoning. Drain fat and add carrots, onions, and garlic. Heat through. Add soup mixture to pan. Transfer to greased 2 qt. baking dish. Top with cooked spaghetti and then the cheese.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. I cooked mine for 18 minutes.

It was really good. Very easy to make and perfect for the hectic nights!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I love comfort food. There just something about it's ooey, gooey, goodness that pulls me in every time. So I decided one day last week that we needed tuna noodle casserole. I tried it once in the crockpot and it was good, but this time I just wanted to do it the old fashioned way. So here it is: all ooey, gooey and good, I mean yummy!!!

Tuna Noodle Casserole
1- 16oz box pasta (i used corkscrew pasta)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can's worth of milk
1C shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans tuna, drained
1-12oz bag frozen mixed veggies
saltine crackers crushed (a couple of handfuls)

Cook pasta just under al dente according to box. They will finish cooking in oven and nothing is worse than mushy noodles.

In a bowl add soup and milk and mix until creamy. Add frozen veggies and tuna. Mix well. Add pasta and fold in. Place in 13X9 in baking pan. Top with cheddar cheese and crackers. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, until heated through.

Serve wtih salad or whatever your family likes. This was really good and super creamy. I just love tuna noodle casserole. :O)

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Easy Mac n Cheese

Hello all!!!!! I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long, but I think I'm back and ready to cook-well maybe a little bit. Long story short on why I was gone, I had a tubal pregnancy that burst and had to have emergency surgery. Lost both babies....., but the husband and I are ok and I am healing nicely from surgery. So that's that! :O)
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers-they were definitely felt!!

Today was my youngest boy's birthday. We celebrated it last Saturday but today was the official day. For each birthday if we don't go out to eat, the birthday person gets to pick their dinner. My son picked hot dogs with mac n cheese. So I wanted to share a really easy mac n cheese recipe. No picture, but I think everyone knows what mac n cheese looks like!

16oz velveeta cheese
16 oz elbow mac, uncooked
1/2C milk
1tbsp ground mustard
1tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta to box directions, drain. Melt cheese in the milk. Add spices. Once melted add the pasta back into the sauce and turn to cover. Serve with ANYTHING!!!!!

It's really easy and super cheesy and yummy. I loved it and the birthday boy had 2 helpings. So I guess it's been a good day all around!

Here's a picture of the birthday boy and his cake (I made it too using a boxed mix with peanut butter cup candy cut up in the batter in a shaped pan.)

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little Italian

We lived with my sister in law for a little while and while there she made this. I've never made it before and actually had never had it. Seen it many times on the menu at our favorite little dive, but never ventured out to eat it. My SIL had lived in Italy and learned many yummy recipes. So I figured that it was time I tried to make it (we lived with her over 2 years ago.....)

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
3 large eggs
1 1/2oz grated parm cheese (about 3/4 C)
1/4 C grated pecorina romano cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound bacon, chopped fine
1/2 C chicken broth
1 pound spaghetti

Adjust oven rack to the lowest position and place a large oven safe serving bowl on the rack. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boul in a large pot for the spaghetti.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, cheeses and garlic together and set aside.

Cook bacon over medium heat. Cook until crisp. Add the broth and simmer until it is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.

When the water is boiling, stir in pound of spaghetti and salt. Cook until al dente.

Reserve 1/2 C of the pasta water and drain the spaghetti, leaving it slightly wet. Remove the warm bowl from the oven and add the spaghetti. Immediately pour the egg and bacon mixtures over the spaghetti and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the reserved pasta cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce before serving. Top with green onions (optional)

Divine...this was absolutely divine.

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!

Lasagne in the Crockpot and Yummy Cookies

For Sunday dinner we had a craving for lasagna. So I gathered up the stuff to make it and once we got home from church I threw it in the crock pot. Lucky for us we get out of church early enough that I didn't have to worry about it before hand. Here you go, the best way to make lasagna.

Crock Pot Lasagna
1 box regular lasagna noodles
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce
4 C shredded mozz cheese
2 C corn
1 bag fresh spinach
1 container ricotta cheese
1 pound ground beef
1C dehydrated onions

Brown ground beef with the onions. Drain. Add sauce. Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray. Once warmed through ladle a small amount on bottom of crock pot. Place noodles and layer ingredients. Continue with layers until crock is full. Layer them in whatever way you like. Once finished with the layers rinse out the sauce jar and pour that water/sauce mixture over the top. Top with the rest of the cheese.

Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. Mine cooked for 6 and came out PERFECT!!!!! I was really worried that the noodles in the middle might not be done, but this whole this was perfect. I was in serious amounts of heaven with this and had 2 helpings because of it. The down side to cooking it in the crock instead of the oven is that the cheese doesn't brown on top, but we were ok with that. It was divine!!!



Afterwards, we got the cookie bug. So I whipped up these gems.

Cinnamon Chip Cake Mix Cookies
1 box yellow cake mix with pudding
2 eggs
1/2 C veg oil
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C cinnamon chips

Mix ingredients and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Mine cooked for 9 minutes and were perfect. These are not going to be crispy, they are very chewey and really hit you with the cinnamon after the first bite. The husband thinks I need to start selling cookies....I guess that means he liked them! They really are scrumptious and were a BIG hit with everyone! Now if I just had some ice cream.......

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!!!

Stuffed Shells

My kids got several cook books from their grandparents for Christmas. We've been looking through them to decide what to make. We picked Stuffed Shells out of this cookbook!



It's a great book. VERY kid friendly, it has pictures of the tools and the ingredients so even if a child can't read yet, they can still help out and do various things. I really love it!!! My 7 year old picked the stuffed shells that Ms. Paula does so we made those. I added a few things extra but otherwise it was a basic stuffed shells recipe. Both of my boys were able to help make dinner and it wonderful!

Stuffed Shells
20 large shell noodles
1 pound ricotta cheese
1C grated parm cheese (I used the Italian shredded cheese blend)
1 1/2 C shredded carrots
1C shredded fresh spinach (can use frozen, make sure you thaw and drain it well)
1 large can favorite spaghetti sauce
2C grated mozz. cheese

Cook pasta adding salt to the boiling water. Cook for about 5-7 minutes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl combine ricotta and parm cheese, stirring well to mix. Add carrots and spinach (these were my additions-we needed a little more veggie in it).
Spray a 8.5X11 pan with cooking spray. Place a large spoonful of sauce on bottom of pan and spread out.
Once the shells have drained fill with the cheese mixture and place in prepared pan. If you have any of the cheese mixture left, spread it over the top of the shells. Top with rest of sauce and mozz. cheese.

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Please excuse the fact that it's half eaten, I realized I hadn't taken a picture at this point and ran and grabbed my camera.

This was a BIG, HUGE hit!!! Even though it had the veggies in it, everyone cleaned their plates! I think it helped that the boys got to help make it. They were anxious to eat what they had made. For the adults I added a spinach salad (I HIGHLY recommend the Mediterranian Salad mix by dole).

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!!!

Cowboy Spaghetti

Rachael Ray has some pretty good ideas. I found this one in one of her cookbooks. My dad is a HUGE spaghetti fan so I decided to make this one for him. It was a hit and a twist on the traditional spaghetti.

COWBOY SPAGHETTI
1 pound spaghetti noodles
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 pound ground beef (or turkey or whatever you like)
1 onion, chopped,
4 garlic cloves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 scallions, chopped

Cook spaghetti, drain.

Meanwhile cook the bacon and drain on paper towels. Drain off the fat. Cook the beef and cook for about 3 minutes. Add onion and garlic and continue to cook. Season with salt and pepper and worcestershire sauce. Cook fora bout 5 minutes more until onions are tender and then add the tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Add the spaghetti to the sauce to combine. Serve up with favorite cheesy garlic bread. Sprinkle top with scallions. I made cheddar buttermilk biscuits.
They were super yummy with this.

my little guy just had to have his picture made with his dinner!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!

Honey Mustard Pasta Salad

The husband has a work party tomorrow and signed up for a pasta salad. Instead of just grabbing something pre-made (which is what he was going to do), I decided to make him one. I went up and down the aisle's at the store looking for inspiration. I ended up with pasta and Ken's Honey Mustard salad dressing.
at this point if you make this put whatever you like in it.

Honey Mustard Pasta Salad

16oz Bowtie pasta, cooked and drained
1 pint grape tomatoes, rinsed
1 C grated cheddar cheese
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 bottle of Honey Mustard salad dressing.


Mix all ingredients and refrigerate. The longer the better. Top with chopped parsley or dried parsley (that's what I had on hand).

This is one of those salads that really is made to your taste. Whatever you like, throw it in. I usually make a salad like this with some sort of Italian dressing but wanted to think outside of the box this time. I'm so glad I did. When I did the taste test, it was hard to put it in the container for the husband to take to work tomorrow. I wanted to sit there and eat the whole thing!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kung Pao Chicken

I love Asian food. All things Asian food. But I'm not a fan of spicey. Can't handle it. So I try to find things that I can make that my spicey loving hubbie will eat that everyone else will enjoy. I've always wanted to try Kung Pao Chicken, but it is traditionaly very spicey. I know the hubbie likes it so I found this recipe. It did have chili paste in the ingredient list, but I left it out and I thought it was really good. You'll have to let me know what you think!


Kung Pao Chicken
1 pound chicken (I used thighs), cut into chunks
2 tbso chicken stock
2tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp sesame oil, divided
2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
1 tsp white vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced

Marinade: 1 tbsp each, chicken stock, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch. Mix together and place over chicken in a bowl. Cover and let marinade for about 30 minutes.

Sauce: Combine the other tbsp stock, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Add vinegar and sugar. Mix together and put into a medium pan. Add green onion and garlic. Heat sauce slowly.

Meanwhile after it has marinated, remove chicken and place in pan with heated sauce. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and sauce has thickened.


You can place this over cooked rice or angel hair pasta. It was really good and stick to your ribs filling!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!

Krab Rolls and Broccoli Pasta Salad

Wow-November is upon us! I can't believe that this year is already mostly gone. Oh my!!!!! Hope everyone's year has been good. Ours has been interesting for sure! There's never a dull moment in this house for sure!!!

Tonight I made a meal that would hopefully counteract all the sugar we've had the past few days. I didn't want anything to time consuming or something that required turning the oven on. I have to say that Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) was the inspiration for this meal. I just love her show.

Bon Appetite!

Krab Rolls
1 bag imitation krab meat -hey if it's cheap where you are use the real thing, otherwise this was a great substitute
1/2 C red onion, finely chopped
1/2 C mayo
1/4C light House Italian dressing
1/2 small lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 C shredded cabbage (optional)
parsley

Mix mayo and dressing in small bowl. Add onions, lemon juice and zest to krab in medium bowl. Add mayo mixture and combine trying not to break up the krab too much. Top with parsley.
Refrigerate, the longer the better on this one. Serve on hot dog buns with cabbage. The cabbage gives it a nice crunch and is a great alternative to lettuce.

Yummy!!!



Broccoli Pasta Salad
2 C frozen broccoli, steamed
1 C cheddar cheese, cut into chunks
1/2 C red onion, chopped finely
8 oz short pasta, cooked and drained (I used ditalini that I had leftover from another meal)
1/2C fat free house Caesar dressing

Place all ingredients into medium bowl, stir to combine. Chill and serve.

This is a good one to make early in the day and let it sit until ready to eat it. Even my really picky eater ate this-I was amazed! I hope you enjoy it!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!

Crock Pot Mac N Cheese

Happy Friday!! I hope everyone had a great week!! I'm SO glad it's Friday. It's been a really long week.

For dinner tonight I decided to break out the crock pot. I don't use it very often and I felt that now that the weather is starting to cool off a little (at least in other parts of the world but not so much here in AZ) I should start to use it. Makes it really feel like the holidays and that cooler weather is upon us when I see crockpots being used. So here's a family friendly, yummy, ooey-gooey mac n cheese that even your pickiest eaters are bound to love!!!



Crock Pot Mac N Cheese
10 oz elbow macaroni noodles
16 oz velveeta cheese
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 C heavy cream (can use regular milk if you don't have heavy cream)
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg (yeah, weird I know, but it brings out the flavor in the cheese)
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Cook macaroni 10 min or until al dente. Drain.

In a large bowl mix cooked macaroni, cheese, evaporated milk, heavy cream, eggs and seasonings. Transfer to a crock pot sprayed with cooking spray. Top with extra cheese (optional).

Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours or until mixture is firm and golden around the edges. DO NOT REMOVE cover or stir the mixture until it has finished cooking. Just before serving top it off with the bacon.

Serve warm, 6 servings.




I really hope you enjoy this! Have a great weekend ya'll!

Pasta Salad

Everyone has their own recipe for a pasta salad. Here is one of mine. We had pack meeting tonight and I took this as my potluck contribution. Sorry, batteries died in the camera before I had a chance to get a picture. You'll have to use your imagination. :O)

16 oz elbow macaroni
2 medium carrots, chopped finely
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
1 bell pepper, chopped finely
2 med tomatoes, chopped
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 envelope ranch dressing mix
2 big scoops mayo
green onions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool. Add pasta to bowl along with veggies. Mix mayo and mix in another bowl and fold into pasta mixture. Top with bacon and green onions.

The longer this sits before you eat it the better it tastes! This is a great picnic or potluck dish. I hope you enjoy it!

Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake

This is one of those meals that will clean out your fridge/freezer. I started by thawing out my chicken last night and slathering my pieces with this seasoning rub. (Kickin' Chicken Seasoning by Weber)


I found this at Sam's last year. It's really good and gives superb flavor. If you can find it I recommend it. As Emeril says you have to season at every stage. So I let my chicken sit overnight in this. Yummy!!

So here it is....The original version is here

Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake
Ingredients:
-4-5 C. uncooked noodles
-1 1/2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 C. alfredo sauce
1 C. spaghetti sauce
1 C split cherry tomatoes
1 med onion, roughly chopped
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cubed

Preheat oven to 400.
Directions:
Roast tomatoes and onions in a little oil with salt and pepper (or use more of that chicken seasoning I mentioned above) for about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
*This is optional, I had the tomatoes from my plant in the garden. You can always just add extra sauce if you don't have or don't want to use the tomatoes.*


reheat oven to 350

Cook the noodles according to package directions. In a 9x13 baking dish pour 1/2 of the cooked noodles and pour the spaghetti sauce and tomatoes/onions over top.

Add the cooked chicken on top of the spaghetti sauce.

Pour the remaining noodles over top of the of the chicken, then spread the alfredo sauce over top of the noodles.

Next sprinkle the cheese over the top of the alfredo sauce. You can use more cheese if you like...the more the better!

Cook at 350*F for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts.




This makes a lot. Be prepared for left overs. But it was good. Nice mix between the alfredo and the spaghetti sauce.

Fun

I don't know how many of you have kids out there but if you do, you should try these. I found these the other day in our grocery store and I couldn't resist picking them up. I've been trying to make dinners more fun and this fit the bill. It doesn't really matter what you are cooking, but this will make the dish all that more fun. I hope you are able to find them and if so can get them. They aren't that expensive either which made it even better!
Have a great Sunday night!