Bolognese Sauce

This is another recipe from Pastor Ryan (via Pioneer Woman). I loved the zucchini cakes so much I figured he wouldn't steer me wrong when it came to pasta sauce. In all honesty, I NEVER follow a recipe when making my pasta sauces. I'm normally just a throw-it-all-together kind of girl, taste testing along the way until I find the flavor I'm looking for. For this I tried to be a good girl and actually follow the recipe.... But it turned out that there were a few changes that I HAD to make :) First I thought the salt and pepper should go in way sooner and I thought red pepper flakes would be a nice addition. Also, I used half carrots and half zucchini because I still have zucchini coming out of my ears! Finally, I like to use half ground beef and half italian sausage in sauce recipes because I like the flavor. I am listing the recipe below with the changes I made.


Bolognese Sauce
(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman courtesy of Pastor Ryan)

1 carrot, grated
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage
2 tablespoons Oregano flakes
2 tablespoons dried basil flakes
1 tsp red pepper flakes *less if you don't like things very spicy
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
salt
pepper
1 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
1 28 ounce can tomato puree
1 cup milk (I did add this, but I'm really not convinced it added anything to the sauce, so I may omit next time)
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add grated carrots, zucchini and diced onions and cook for a few minutes.
Make a well in the center of the mixture, then add in the ground beef and sausage. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture. Add a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper
Add oregano and basil and red pepper flakes.
When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat.
Add garlic and stir to combine.
Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together, scraping up any bits that stick to the bottom.
Add Worcestershire and stir.
Add canned tomatoes.
Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.

Shrimp and Feta Linguine

My sister is home from college for a week (yay!!) and last night she came over to hang out. I really wanted to make something tasty and special for her but I couldn't decide what I wanted to make. I had a few different ideas and finally decided on making a pasta dish with shrimp. From there I just sort of wung (winged?) it. The result was a delicious pasta with shrimp, tomatoes, feta cheese and a light cream sauce.

Shrimp and Feta Linguine

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
4 cloves of garlic, minced
10 oz raw peeled medium size shrimp
1/2 cup white wine
4-5 small campari tomatoes, diced (at my grocery store they come on the vine and are about the size of a golf ball)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dry basil (next time I will use fresh but the fresh stuff at my grocery store didn't look so good)
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp dry parsley
1/3 cup half and half
1/2 pound of linguine
3-4 oz crumbled feta cheese

Start boiling a pot of water, when it is boiling add the linguine and cook until al dente. While the water is boiling heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet. When the butter is melted added the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 2-3 minutes, don't let it brown!). Add the shrimp (and a small shake of salt and pepper)to the pan and cook for one minute. Then add the white wine and bring to a simmer. When the shrimp is pink remove from pan and keep covered. Next add the diced tomatoes to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes stirring often. Add the seasonings and the half and half and bring back to a simmer then turn the heat to low and return the shrimp to the pan. When the linguine is finished, drain the water and toss the pasta in the skillet with the sauce. Finally add the feta cheese.

Chicken Philly Take Two

Jesse is not a huge fan of leftovers. Usually he'll only eat left over soups and chili, anything else he turns his nose up at... that is unless I can come up with a creative way to disguise the leftovers and turn them into a new meal! That's exactly what I did tonight. I made this pasta with leftover chicken philly filling (say that 3 times fast). I love it when dinner is these is easy and TASTY! Here's what I did....

1. Heat leftover filling in skillet with 1 clove of garlic (pressed), pinch of red pepper flakes, pinch of thyme, pinch of cayenne pepper and pinch of paprika.
2. Add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce by half.
3. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and a 1/4 cup half and half (and a little parmesan cheese because I was feeling cheesy)
4. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
5. Toss with pasta and serve!

The best mac and cheese you'll ever put in your mouth....

This post has moved to the Sunny Side :) Click the link for the recipe, I promise it's worth it!

Mmm, mmm, Marsala

This post has moved to the Sunny Side :) Click the link for the recipe, I promise it's worth it!

Italian Mac and Cheese

Okay, say what you want about Rachael Ray, but she has with out a doubt changed the way many people think about cooking. America was (and still is) falling into becoming a fast food nation. She showed people how to make real food from real ingredients in a realistic amount of time. And she did it, for the most part, with out using processed box substitutes. So, while her face being plastered on anything that won't move is a little bit annoying and even though some of her food doesn't look appealing to me at all, I still think she has done something good. And I really think she did good with this recipe. Jesse and I both really enjoyed it.

Italian Mac and Cheese
(Source: Top 30- 30 minute meals : Comfort foods; Rachael Ray)


Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb ziti , penne or cavatappi
1 lb Italian sweet sausage
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
3-4 cloves garlic
12 crimini mushrooms
2 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream (I subbed half and half)
2 and 1/2 cups shredded Italian 4-cheese blend
1 can diced tomatoes well drained
1 tsp hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and cook pasta just to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a non stick skillet brown and crumble sausage. Drain crumbles on a paper towel-lined plate. Return pant o heat and add evoo, butter, garlic and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Saute 3 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly golden.

Preheat broiler to high (I skipped this part because I had something in the oven)

To mushrooms, add flour and stir, cooking 2 minutes. Whisk in stock, then stir in cream. Bring cream to a bubble, then stir in 2 cups of 4 cheese blend. When cheese has melted into sauce add tomatoes. When sauce comes to a bubble, remove from heat and adjust seasoning, adding hot sauce, if desired.

Combine cheese sauce with sausage and pasta, transfer to baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and Parmesan over the top and brown under broiler. (Again, I skipped the browning part and just sprinkled with Parmesan before serving.)

Penne Rustica

So I probably gained 10 pounds eating this and you'll probably gain 2 pounds reading the recipe. But oh my was it delicious! I found this recipe on a message board that I frequent and it didn't source the original recipe, if you know where it came from please let me know so I can properly source it! I will say that I don't think the recipe is very well written, I will put my changes in italics. Even so, I will absolutely make this again! If you are making this for just two people definitely cut it in half!

Penne Rustica
(Source unknown)

Sauce:
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Garlic (I used 4 cloves)
1/2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tspn Salt
1/2 tspn Chopped Rosemary
1/2 cup Marsala Wine
1/8 tspn Cayenne Pepper
4 cups Heavy Cream (I used half and half and it was just fine)
I also used a tsp of red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Saute butter, garlic and rosemary until garlic begins to brown (DON'T burn your garlic, it will be bitter. I added the wine as soon as the edges of the garlic turned golden). Add Marsala wine and reduce by 1/3. Add remaining ingredients and reduce by half of original volume set aside. (I added parmesan cheese now)


Penne:
1/2 oz pancetta or bacon
9 ea. Shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 oz. grilled chicken breast, sliced
16 oz. penne, pre-cooked
3 oz. butter (I used less than a tbsp)
1/2 Tbsp shallots,chopped
Pinch of Salt & pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp paprika
a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
sprinkle of cayenne pepper

Saute pancetta until it begins to brown. Add butter, shallots and shrimp. (I first melted the butter, then cooked the pancetta, then added the shallots and shrimp)Cook until shrimp are evenly pink but still translucent.(I used precooked so really I only warmed them) Add chicken, salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Add sauce and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (I had already added the parmesan cheese)and simmer until sauce thickens. In a large bowl(I added my cooked pasta to my skillet then just put it right in my casserole dish), combine shrimp and chicken mixture with precooked pasta. Place this mixture into single serving dishes or one large casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese (I'm not sure where the cheese was "remaining" from, but I did add little more to the top, LOL) and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 300*(400) for 10-15 minutes.

Chicken and mushrooms in a roasted garlic cream sauce

This meal was soooooo good! I can't wait to make it again. Which is lucky because we were having company over and I was worried about trying something new, practically recipe free!

I was originally going to make this recipe "Chicken
and mushrooms in garlic white wine sauce", but after reading the reviews I was afraid it would bland. So I took the basic idea and ran with it.

Chicken and Mushrooms in a Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce
(My recipe)
1 pound of chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp dry sage
1 tsp dry parsley flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 bulb of garlic roasted (400 degree oven for 1 hour with a drizzle of EVOO)
2 tbsp butter
a drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 bag of No-Yolk egg noodles

Start by combining the flour, sage, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Toss the bite size chunks of chicken in the flour mixture to coat.
In a large skillet melt 1 tbsp of butter and a drizzle of evoo
Saute the chicken for a minute then add the mushrooms and some of the
roasted garlic (I think I squeezed in 3 cloves for this part). Continue to saute for 5 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the skillet and cover in foil. (Now is also a good time to cook your egg noodles)
To the skillet add the remaining tbsp of butter and flour.
Then add the chicken broth, white wine and remaining roasted garlic. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
Slowly add the half and half and let it reduce.
When the sauce has thickened return the chicken and mushrooms to pan and let simmer.
Serve with the egg noodles.

Fettucini Alfredo

What a fantastically rich dinner. I decided to go with a pretty basic recipe since it was my first time making it. That's about all I can say about it!

Fettucini Alfredo
(Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence)

Alfredo Sauce:
1 pint heavy cream - (I did use half and half I didn't want to be too bad!)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Freshly cracked black pepper
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

To prepare alfredo sauce: Heat heavy cream over low-medium heat in a deep saute pan. Add butter and whisk gently to melt. Sprinkle in cheese and stir to incorporate. Season with freshly cracked black pepper. In a large stockpot, cook pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Quickly drain the pasta and add it to the saute pan, gently toss the noodles to coat in the alfredo. Transfer pasta to a warm serving bowl. Top with more grated cheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken Pasta

What a great summertime dinner! This is the second time I have made this dish and we really enjoy it. The subtle lime taste is nice and refreshing and I love the spicy heat in the back ground of the dish. I made exactly like the recip the first time and this time I tweaked it just a bit. Changes are noted in bold.

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken Pasta
(Recipe Courtesy of Amber)

Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth
1.5 tbls lime juice (adjusting amount to your liking)
1 tbls corn starch (I used more like a tbsp and a half)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I used a lot more than this, I like things spicy!)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder (I used dried onion flakes instead)
1/4 tsp dried thyme (I ommitted this)
1/4 tsp dried parsley (I ommitted this)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1 tbls butter
Few drizzles of olive oil
8 oz pasta (I used whole campanelli)
1-2 cups broccoli florets
Optional - Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:
1) Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. During the last 5 minutes of pasta cook time add the broccoli into the boiling water. Drain.
2) Mix together all the sauce ingredients (chicken broth through parsley) and set aside. (I actually cut the chicken into pieces and then put the spices right on the chicken like a dry rub)
3) Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add bite size chicken pieces into heated pan. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Pour the sauce ingredients into the pan with the chicken and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened. (When the chicken was finished I added the cornstarch then when that was dissolved I added the lime juice and then the chicken broth)
4) Toss cooked broccoli and pasta with the chicken and sauce (I let it simmer for another 2 minutes in the sauce!). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired and serve.

Feta stuffed burger and greek pasta salad

This was just a great summer grilling meal. The pasta salad was light and refreshing and the burger was flavorful. We will probably have this a couple more times before the summer is over. I actually stuffed Jesse's with Monteray Jack cheese because he isn't a huge fan feta and since there was feta in the pasta salad I didn't want to over load him.

Feta Stuffed Burger:
Recipe courtesy of me :)

1/2 pound lean ground beef
2 tbsp worcester sauce
Dry onion flakes
Grill seasoning
2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

WIth your hands combine the ground beef, worcester, dry onion flakes and grill seasoning. Then form 4 thin burgers. In the middle of one of the burgers put the feta cheese. Top with another thin burger and use your hands to form one solid burger, with the cheese on the inside. Grill for about 4 minutes on each side. We had these burgers on wheat buns with ketchup and onion.

Greek Pasta Salad:
Recipe courtesy of me :)

1/2 box tri-color rotini pasta
15 cherry tomatoes cut in half
1/2 of a cucumber cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup greek vinegarette dressing

Cook pasta according to package and drain well. Then combine the remaining ingredients a bowl with a lid. Put the lid on and shake the salad up until the dressing is evenly distributed.

Chicken Stuffed Shells

This was a great dinner. It took me a little longer than I thought it would but I think it was worth it. Next time I think I will leave the chicken in bigger chunks. Other than that I will leave it all the same!

Chicken Stuffed Shells:
Recipe courtesy of Amber


Ingredients:
15 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
2 teaspoons oil
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 ounces cooked chicken (I used 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
1(15 ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 (28 ounce) can low fat marinara sauce (I used my own sauce)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp parsley
Parmesan cheese for topping (I used fresh mozzarella instead)
I added 4 cheese italian blend and fresh basil to the ricotta mixture.

Directions:
* Heat oven to 400 degrees.
* Spray large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
* Cook pasta shells according to directions and drain.
* Boil chicken and shred. (I sauted the chicken with some seasonings and diced it into very small pieces)
* Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
* Combine chicken and garlic, cook for 3-5 minutes.
* Remove from heat and stir in ricotta, breadcrumbs, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
* Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
* Fill cooked shells with chicken mixture and place filled sides up in baking dish.
* Pour remaining sauce over shells.
* Bake covered with foil for 15-20 minutes, remove foil and continue baking until filling is lightly browned.
* Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Sautéed Mushroom Orzo with Cheese

My good friend, Annie sent me a care package and in it was a box of Orzo. I have heard such great things about Orzo but I had never made. After looking on her blog a found what looked like an amazing recipe. I am so glad that I tried it. The flavor was perfect and I loved the texture that cheese and mushrooms gave it. I have a feeling that Orzo will become a staple in our household. I made the recipe exactly as it appears in her blog. Because I love swiss cheese I think next time I might try it with that, but for this dinner it was perfect as is. I served it with baked chicken but the chicken was pretty forgetable so I am only posting the recipe for the Orzo. Thanks Annie!

Sautéed Mushroom Orzo with Cheese
Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked Orzo pasta
3 Tbs. cold butter
2 cups Italian Six Cheese blend shredded cheese (or cheese of choice)
5-6 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms, chopped
1 Tbs. butter or olive oil

Directions:
Cook Orzo according to package directions.

In the food processor combine cheese, 3 tbs. cold butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Process until smooth.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt remaining butter or olive oil and sauté mushrooms until tender.

Drain pasta, add to mushrooms and stir. Gently stir in the cheese mixture. Stir until cheese has melted. Serve.

Zucchini Lasagna

As I am sure you can tell from my previous post zucchini will be making
a LOT of appearances in the next month or so. I have so much I have no
idea what to do with it. After a lot of searching I decided the
gigantic zucchini would be best suited for lasagna! I searched and
searched and I never found a recipe that sounded quite right. A lot of
them used zucchini AND lasagna noodles and I really just wanted to use
the zucchini (since I have mountains of it!) So I decided to just make
my usual lasagna and used the zucchini instead of noodles.

My recipe for: Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients-
One HUGE zucchini or a 2 medium size ones
1 package light Italian sausage (the tube like packages)
2 cups pasta sauce (I used my own but jarred is fine)
3 cloves fresh garlic
Dry spices - basil, oregano, parsley
1 16 oz container ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3-4 leaves fresh basil chopped
1 cup shredded fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Slice the zucchini into long strips about 1/8-1/4 of inch thick.
Bring a big pot of water to a boil.
In a skillet start browning the Italian
sausage. When it is fully cooked add the pasta sauce and let simmer for
about 10 minutes. At this point I also like to add the fresh garlic and
some more dry spices. Just to taste.
Drop the zucchini strips into the boiling water and remove after 4 minutes. They should be softer but not falling apart.
While the zucchini is cooking combine the ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese and basil in a bowl.
In a big baking dish spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce mixture. Then lay
out zucchini strips to cover. On top of the zucchini spread 1/2 of the ricotta
cheese mixture. Next a layer of meat sauce. Then I like to sprinkle a
handful of mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layer process again, zucchini, ricotta sauce. To top it off lay out another layer of zucchini strips followed by pasta sauce
and then a really big handful of mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Homemade Ravioli

I have been wanting to try to make fresh pasta for ever. I finally had the time to do it and it was WELL worth the effort. I was a little surprised how much work it was to roll out the dough but it was so tasty I quickly forgot how long it took!

For the filling I just kind of threw some stuff together.

1 lb (this was WAY too much)ground beef - Laura's Lean
1/2 medium onion finely chopped
4 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 white wine
rosemary
thyme
sage
basil
parsley
salt
pepper

I started by sautteing the onions. Then I added the garlic and ground beef. While the meat was browning I seasoned it with my spices. Then I added the white wine and when it was almost all the way cooked out I added the cheese.

The recipe for the pasta was from foodnetwork.com.

Pasta Dough for Ravioli
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, plus 1 for egg wash
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Cornmeal, for dusting

To make the pasta dough: In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook*, combine the flour and salt. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue to mix. Drizzle in 1 tablespoons of the olive oil and continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Sprinkle some flour on work surface, knead and fold the dough until elastic and smooth, this should take about 10 minutes. Brush the surface with the remaining olive oil and wrap the dough in plastic wrap; let rest for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

*Alternatively if you don't have an electric mixer: Combine the flour and salt on a flat work surface; shape into a mound and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the well and lightly beat with a fork. Gradually draw in the flour from the inside wall of the well in a circular motion. Use 1 hand for mixing and the other to protect the outer wall. Continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Continue as directed above.

Cut the ball of dough in 1/2, cover and reserve the piece you are not immediately using to prevent it from drying out. Dust the counter and dough with a little flour. Press the dough into a rectangle and roll it through a pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at widest setting. Pull and stretch the sheet of dough with the palm of your hand as it emerges from the rollers. Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times. Continue tightening until the machine is at the narrowest setting; the dough should be paper-thin, about 1/8-inch thick (you should be able to see your hand through it.). Dust the sheets of dough with flour as needed.

Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Dust the counter and sheet of dough with flour, lay out the long sheet of pasta, and brush the top surface with the egg wash, which acts as a glue. Drop tablespoons of your favorite filling on 1/2 of the pasta sheet, about 2-inches apart. Fold the other 1/2 over the filling like a blanket. With an espresso cup or fingers, gently press out air pockets around each mound of filling. Use a sharp knife to cut each pillow into squares and crimp the 4 edges with the tins of a fork to make a tight seal. Dust the ravioli and a sheet pan with cornmeal to prevent the pasta from sticking and lay them out to dry slightly while assembling the rest.

Cook the ravioli in plenty of boiling salted water for 4 minutes; they'll float to the top when ready, so be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Lift the ravioli from water with a large strainer or slotted spoon. Bath the ravioli in your favorite sauce to lightly coat and serve.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomato, and Cheese

This is was the recipe of the week. I think that this was a great fast simple recipe. I didn't make a lot of changes to this recipe. I did use a lot more tomato paste than it called for, 2 extra cloves of garlic and I added a splash of white. I think I also used more cheese, but I didn't really measure so it's hard to say.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomato, and Cheese
(Source: Cooking Light)


1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, and set aside.

3. Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil.

4. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

5 Cheese Stuffed Shells

I feel like it has been forever since I have made a new entry! We have just had a very busy weekend. This meal is actually from last Thursday! These were very very good and pretty easy too.

Stuffed Shells-
1/2 box Jumbo Pasta Shells
1 12 oz container ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup 3 cheese blend (Parmesan, asiago, romano) I found this in the cheese bin pre-shredded
1 egg
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
Fresh ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups pasta sauce (I made my own but you could also use jarred)

Bring a pot of water to a boil then drop the pasta shells in. While the shells are cooking mix the ricotta, cheeses, egg, basil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. When the shells are just shy of al-dente drain them and stick in a cold water bath (to make them easier to handle). Put 1/2 cup of pasta sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish then fill each shell with about 3 tbsp of filling until all the shells are gone, placing each shell in casserole dish. If there is left over filling just go back and fill any that don't look as stuffed. Then top the shells with remaining sauce. Bake at 375 for about 15-20 minutes.

I served with garlic bread and more mozzarella cheese on top. Delicious!

Chicken Bruschetta

I have seen a couple different variations of "chicken bruschetta" in other peoples blogs. While they all looked super tasty I wanted something a little closer to actual bruschetta. So I came up with this. It turned out great and this recipe fed 3 people.

Ingredients:

6 chicken tenders pounded out to about 1/4-1/2 inch in thickness
about 1/4 cup flour
1 egg lightly beaten
about 1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 can petite diced tomatoes (drained with liquid reserved)
a handful of fresh basil leaves chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper (fresh ground)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Angel hair pasta

Start by breading just the top of the chicken tenders - dredge in flour, dip in egg, coat with bread crumbs. Place the chicken breaded side up in a casserole dish lightly sprayed with olive oil. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Start a pot of boiling water. While the chicken is baking drain the diced tomatoes and set the liquid aside. To the tomatoes add the fresh basil, crushed garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and let rest for about 10 minutes (or until chicken is done). While the chicken is cooking and the tomatoes are resting drop the angel hair pasta in boiling water. After the first 15 minutes pull the chicken out and sprinkle with half of mozzarella cheese. Put back in the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and breading is crispy. Then top the chicken with the tomato mixture and put back in oven until the tomatoes are heated through. Serve with angel hair pasta and sauce.
To make a sauce for the angel hair I put half of the tomato mixture in my food processor and added the reserved liquid from the can and just heated through.

Just call me Rachel Ray!

So how many of you can relate to me? Every night you try and prepare a nice, fairly healthy dinner. Trying to avoid things that are over processed and high in sodium. Always challenging your culinary abilities. Then on Sunday night you ask your husband, "What would you like for dinner" and he replies "Hamburger Helper" SMACKING MY FOREHEAD! I figured there has to be something I can do to recreate this childhood treasure of his in a less processed way. Well, just call me Rachel Ray because in less than 30 minutes I prepared a healthy, okay, I will use that term loosely when refering to this recipe instead lets say "healthier" version of boxed family classic!

Jessica's cheesy hamburger mac

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef - I recommend Laura's Lean 8% fat
Half of a small onion finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp butter (I actually used Flieschmans Olive Oil Spread, it has less fat)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp grill seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsps flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (I used extra sharp white vermont cheddar, sharp cheddar and colby jack, just whatever you have on had ;))
1/2 box Elbow noodles

Start a pot of water, bring to a boil. In a family sized non-stick skillet on medium high heat drop your butter and your diced onion. Once the onions are translucent add the flour and let it absorb the butter (this will help to thicken things later). Then add the ground beef to the skillet and using a wooden spatula start to break up the meat while it is cooking. Next add your spices. When the meat is halfway cooked drop your noodles in the boiling water. When the meat is all the way cooked add the chicken broth and cook down by half. Turn the heat down to low-medium then add the milk and cheese and stir well . Cook noodles just to al dente then drain and drop into the skillet with the meat mixture. Let simmer for about 5 minutes then serve.

Okay, so I won't win any culinary awards for this recipe but Jesse gave it 2 thumbs up!

Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni

OH MY GOD! This was sooo good! I have had this recipe in my "to try" folder since February. I don't know what I was waiting for. This recipe had a wonderful creamy taste and texture. It really wasn't that hard to make either. Plus it gave me an excuse to drag Jesse to Jungle Jim's : ) While we were there we also picked up some Tilapia, Salmon and Shark steak. The shark should be interesting. I need to find a good recipe....

On to the recipe! I halved everything except the filling (didn't want to waste the crab meat I bought) All of the extra filling went into an airtight container and into the freezer (to ensure that there will be no freezer burn I layed a piece of saran wrap right on top of the filling and pushed down a bit before I put the Tupperware lid on)

1 box (8 ounces) cannelloni or manicotti pasta (about 12 shells)
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 pound lump crabmeat
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Bechamel Sauce, recipe followsBring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, 3/4 cup Parmesan, egg yolk, basil, crab, salt, and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Fill the cannelloni with the crab mixture and place in a buttered baking dish. Top the filled cannelloni with the Bechamel Sauce and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake until bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Bechamel Sauce:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, warmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick, smooth, and creamy, about 10 minutes (do not allow the sauce to boil). Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. (The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cool and then cover and refrigerate.)

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis; "Everyday Italian"