Pizza Pasta

Do you like pizza? I know - dumb question, right? My kids would eat pizza every day if I'd let them - but, unfortunately for them, they have the mean mom that makes the have a *gulp* balanced diet [insert dramatic music] so they only get to indulge maybe twice a month. When you go out for pizza, you really only eat pizza - so a carb slathered in greasy cheese & full-fat meats. At least if you go for this pasta dish you can be sure to use a chunky, veggie-filled sauce, reduced fat cheeses and whole wheat pasta. And if you serve up some good fresh steamed veggies on the side you don't have to feel as guilty about 'pizza' night! Seriously - this tastes exactly like a sausage & pepperoni pizza. Try it out!

Ingredients:


Rotini, mild Italian sausage, sliced pepperoni, jarred spaghetti sauce (again, gotta love my Sockarooni!!), garlic, shredded Mozzarella cheese (I also ended up adding maybe 1/2 cup of some shredded cheddar/jack I had in the fridge).

Step 1: Boil up your pasta according to the package directions. While that is going get the sausage crumbled into a skillet & brown it up. Drain off the fat.


When they pasta finishes up drain it & just let it sit there in the colander for a few minutes. Take the hot pot you just poured the pasta out of & get it back on the stove over medium heat. Splash a smidge of olive oil in the pan & add the minced garlic. Just stir it around for a few minues to bring out the flavor.


Now, in that same pot add the cooked meat, cooked pasta & the jar of sauce. Give it a good stir to blend it up & get everything distributed well.


Here comes one more dirty dish - last one, I promise! Get out a casserole dish - a 9x13 would work - I used my middle sized Corningware - & give it a quick spray with PAM. Pour in half of this pasta mixture, top with half the cheese. Add the rest of the pasta, top with the rest of the cheese. Top with pepperoni, sprinkle with a little more cheese, if you have it/want it.


Pop this bad boy into a 350 oven for about 30 minutes.


Wanna see inside!!? It's good stuff.....


Layers of pasta, cheese, meat & veggies! Yum, yum, yum.


Enjoy your dinner!

Pizza Pasta:

1/2 a box (8oz) Rotini pasta
1 jar (quart) Spaghetti sauce
2 cups Mozarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Cheddar/Jack, shredded
1/2 - whole package (8 - 16oz) ground sausage
-----*use at least 1/2 the pkg, as much as all of it, depending on your preferences
Sliced pepperoni
3 cloves garlic, minced

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside. While pasta is cooking, brown & crumble sausage in a pan. Once cooked, drain off the fat. In the same pot the pasta boiled in, heat a drizzle of oil over medium heat; add garlic. Stir around for about 4-5 minutes. Add sausage, pasta & sauce to the pan with garlic. Stir well to combine.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Add half the pasta mixture, top with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Add remaining pasta, top with remaining mozzarella. Add pepperoni to the top, sprinkle with Cheddar/Jack cheese.

Bake in a 350 oven for 25-30 minutes.

Recipe Source: Aubrey @ My Recipes

Creamy 3-Cheese Baked Penne

I'm sitting here watching TV, trying to think of some witty header to put on this recipe & I am coming up empty! The show is America's Next Top Model... something I'm almost embarrassed to admit I watch!! LOL And they just took a plane to Venice, Italy to do some fancy-schmancy scenic European shoots... and wouldn't you know it, I made pasta for dinner tonight! Haha! I feel like I'm practically in Italy! I'm SO authentic Italian. Wait 'til you see this recipe! You'll feel like you're right there in Venice with these ridiculous wannabe models! Actually, you totally won't, because as far as what I recall from my time in Italy 16 years ago, we never had anything like this. This is like white girl trying to be Italian! But it's good white girl food!! Give it a go!

The shopping list:


Penne, spaghetti sauce (I love Newman's Own Sockarooni!), a can of diced tomatoes (I chose fire roasted today), sour cream, cream cheese, mozzarella & Parmesan cheese (not the powdered kind - the shredded stuff that will melt!)

First up is boiling your pasta. Just cook it up like you normally would; drain it.


Now take that still-hot pan & put it back on the burner over medium heat. Pour in the sauce, tomatoes & cream cheese. Stir it around until the cream cheese melts & it's all nice, creamy & well-combined.


Add the pasta to it and stir it around to coat it evenly.


Now put half the pasta mixture into a 9x13 pan & spread with half the sour cream. It's a little tricky - just use small scoops & spread it a little at a time. But don't worry about being perfect. It's all gonna blend together anyway. Top the sour cream with half the mozzarella then do it all again with the rest of the pasta, the rest of the sour cream & the rest of the mozzarella!


Put the Parmesan cheese on top of it all & pop it into a 375 oven for about 20 minutes.

(and ignore the dirty oven that is overdue for a cleaning!)

Pull it out & let it set up for about 10 minutes - then dig in & enjoy!


Take a look inside!


I think you're gonna like it! It's very rich & creamy & delicious - and SO totally not Italian!

Creamy 3-Cheese Baked Penne:

1 box of Penne (4 cups dry)
1 jar (26oz) spaghetti/marinara sauce
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
6-oz cream cheese (3/4 of a block)
8-oz sour cream (1 cup)
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Heat oven to 375.

Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside. In the same pot mix sauce, tomatoes & cream cheese. Cook on medium heat until cheese is melted and everything is well combined, about 5 minutes. Add pasta to the sauce mixture & stir around to coat.

Put half the pasta mixture in a 9x13 pan. Top with half the sour cream and half the mozzarella. Repeat layers with remaining pasta, sour cream & mozzarella. Top with Parmesan & bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Skillet Lasagna

As I was thinking about this post I had to laugh. The spaghetti I posted a while back, which is traditionally a stove-top dish, was made in the oven. And now my "lasagna", typically an oven dish, is made on the stove top. If you're Italian I apologize for any disrespect you may feel by me calling this a lasagna! I know it's not lasagna:

la-sa-gna (luh-zahn-yuh)
-noun
1. large, flat, rectangular strips of pasta.
2. a baked dish consisting of layers of this pasta, cheese, tomato sauce, and usually meat.

OK, so I get it. It's TOTALLY not lasagna! It's noodles, meat, cheese & sauce. But not layered & not flat. So what is it? It's not spaghetti, either. Do you see the struggles I have in my life!!?? I don't know how many times I've asked "What should I name this?" in one of my posts!! LOL Help me, people! Settle the insanity in my life! Name this dish!

Here are the ingredients:


Sausage, bow tie pasta, sour cream, mozzarella, Italian seasonings, garlic powder & marinara sauce (not pictured). I know... how could I forget to put the sauce in the picture!!!? Ugh.

Start out by browning your sausage. If it's in casing just peel it like a banana & crumble it into the pan. You can also just use ground beef. If you do, add about a teaspoon of salt, too. While that is browning up boil your pasta according to the package directions.


Once they're both done, drain the pasta & toss it on top of the meat. Give the pasta a quick drizzle of olive oil so it doesn't get sticky. Add in everything else - the sour cream, cheese, sauce, seasonings. Keep out half the cheese for later & give it all a good stir.


Now top it with the rest of the cheese & pop it under the broiler to melt the cheese. If you're not sure if your skillet is oven safe just wrap tin foil around the handle(s). Leave it there for maybe 5 minutes - until it's good & melted, just starting to brown.


And that's that! My skillet lasagna! Hope you try it and love it!

Skillet Lasagna:

1 lb ground sausage
1 box bow tie pasta
1 jar marinara sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp garlic powder
a drizzle of olive oil

Brown meat. Boil pasta to al dente. Drain pasta & dump on top of meat. Drizzle with olive oil.

Add remaining ingredients, reserving half the cheese. Stir to combine well.

Top with remaining cheese & put under broiler for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Macaroni Salad

There are as many different recipes for macaroni salad as there are people making it! You can change it up in so many different ways by adding one thing or another. Of course I'm totally biased, but this is my favorite macaroni salad. Ever. Whenever I make it for a get together I am always asked for the recipe. Even my mom says it's way better than hers! LOL I hope you think it's delicious, too!

I forgot to put the memory card in my camera when I took the *ingredients* picture & I can't find the cable to get it straight off the camera. If I find it I'll add the picture, but for now you just get boring old black letters. Sorry! You'll need:

Macaroni, green bell pepper, celery, onion, apple cider vinegar, sugar, mayonnaise, mustard, salt & pepper.

First step? Boil up your macaroni according to the package directions. When it's done just drain it, run some cold water over it to stop the cooking & then set it aside.

While that is going we'll work on the rest of the stuff. Dice up your veggies! This takes a bit of time. We're not making a CHUNKY macaroni salad - we're just going for CRUNCH! So dice them up on the finer side. I'd say max out at 1/4".


There's your crunch! Now we'll make the dressing. Pour the mustard, mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper in a bowl & then whisk it up!


Now you have your diced veggies, mixed up dressing & cooked macaroni... the magic's about to happen!


You know what's coming next..... Toss it all together!


Now, ideally, you'd chill this in the fridge overnight. And I did... but the next day we had the mad rush of packing for our camping trip so I just threw it into a gallon ziplock bag & put it in the cooler. So I didn't get a picture of it all set up. As it sits in the fridge the macaroni soaks up all the dressing so it's not as runny as it looks in this picture.


THIS IS SOOOOOO GOOD! Seriously. So good. Even if you think you don't like bell peppers or onions, they are so finely diced that you don't just taste it on it's own. You taste it all together. And it's fantastic!

Macaroni Salad

4 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cups white sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small onion
3 stalks of celery
1 green bell pepper

Boil up your pasta according to package directions. After it's done drain & rinse with cold water. While that's going finely dice your veggies.

In a large bowl whisk together mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper.

Stir in the cooked macaroni & diced veggies then stick it in the fridge for at least 4 hours - preferably overnight.

Baked Spaghetti

Had a baked spaghetti for dinner tonight. It's just a good, warm, yummy, comforting food. Almost everybody loves spaghetti, but with a little extra effort - and I meant little! - you can take good old spaghetti and make it great! I use my homemade spaghetti sauce for this. You could use jarred sauce & it would probably be great - but I'm absolutely in love with my sauce! Give it a go - definitely worth it!

The ingredients don't get simpler than this:


Spaghetti noodles, sauce & cheese! I usually go with Cheddar/Jack.

Get your noodles boiling - half a bag...

(Action shots are hard when you're doing the cooking AND taking the pictures!! LOL)

While this is going preheat your oven to 350. And you should probably heat your sauce up a little - it'll spread smoother/easier... not that we're going for perfection here. Once the noodles are done drain them & set aside.

Now put just a little sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 dish. You don't need much - you're really just using this to 'grease the pan' so the noodles don't stick.


Now add in half the spaghetti noodles & spread them as evenly as you can. Then put half the sauce on top of that. And then half of the cheese!


Don't skimp on the cheese!

Now repeat those layers - use the rest of the noodles & the rest of the sauce but DON'T put the top layer of cheese on yet. If you do it'll brown & turn a little crispy - which is delicious - just not what we're going for here.


Not super heavy on the sauce - I only used 2 cups for the whole thing - maybe would like a little more for this because I LOVE red sauce, but when I make my jumbo batch of sauce I break it into 2-cup bags, so that's what I had.

Bake it in the oven for about 25 minutes. Pull it out & top it with the rest of your cheese. Pop it back into the oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese into an ooey-gooey goodness.


Ahhh...... the noodles just soak up all that sauce & get a nice layer of cheese - perfection.

DO YOU SMELL THAT!!!???

Serve it up and enjoy!!

Baked Spaghetti:

1/2 a bag/box of spaghetti
2 cups of spaghetti sauce (a jar is about 3 cups, so if you go that route don't use the whole thing!!)
2 cups shredded cheese (I use Cheddar/Jack)

Preheat oven to 350. Boil spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

Spread a small amount of sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Add half the cooked noodles. Spread half the remaining sauce over the noodles. Cover with half the cheese. Top with remaining noodles, then sauce.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove, top with remaining cheese, return to oven for 5 minutes.

Let sit for a few minutes before diving in to let it set up. ENJOY!!

Tortellini Veggie Toss

Zac's at work so I went easy tonight. Tortellini Veggie Toss!

Here's what we're using for this:

A jar of spaghetti sauce, frozen broccoli/cauliflower/carrots, cheese tortellini & shredded Parmesan cheese.

First you pour the sauce in a sauce pan & bring it to a boil over medium heat. Once it's bubbling (& spattering a mess all over your stove top!) pour in the bag of frozen veggies.

Give it a good stir & then cover it. Let it go for 10 minutes, stirring a time or two.

While that is simmering get the tortellini cooked - according to package directions. Mine was boiled in water with some olive oil poured in - 7 to 9 minutes.

Once the pasta is cooked & the sauce is all simmered up drain the tortellini & then toss it all together.

Serve it up with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Because it was a lazy no-Daddy dinner we just had a Caesar salad with it - nothing too fancy!


ENJOY!!!

Tortellini Veggie Toss

1 jar spaghetti sauce (gor for a move savory one - not the sweeter one)
1 16-oz bag frozen broccoli, cauliflower/carrots
1 package cheese tortellini
shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta & drain. While it's going bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat. Pour the veggies into the boiling sauce & cover. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring a time or two. Once it's all cooked toss it together. Top with some Parmesan & dig in!

Chicken Alfredo Penne with Broccoli

One of my friends (thank you, Kristi!) posted this on her blog & I thought it sounded good so we tried it out at our house! She's not a measurement sort of a girl so I had to guess on amounts - and I think I was a bit off in some areas. I'll say what I used and then what I think we'll try next time.

Here's our group of ingredients:


Penne, broccoli, Parmesan, Alfredo & some cooked chicken (not pictured).

I grilled the chicken on the stovetop while the pasta boiled & the broccoli steamed. If you have leftover chicken or canned chicken or those pre-cooked strips you could use those, too. Whatever you have, just dice it up into bites.

I cooked up 6-7 of those frozen chicken tenders.

Boil up your pasta & steam your broccoli. I have a nifty pot that is made for boiling pasta - and it has a steaming basket that sits on top, too, so I just did it all together.

Heat up your Alfredo sauce & then just mix it all together!


Top it with some shredded Parmesan & call it done! We put it with Caesar salad & peaches tonight. Who knew my kids would inhale their salads the way they did tonight!!?? I think we found a new 'veggie' to add into the rotation!



I used 1 jar of Alfredo sauce, 1 box of pasta, maybe 4 cups of broccoli & probably 2 cups of cooked chicken. I didn't think it was saucy enough so I think next time I'll either just use 1/2 a box of pasta (which would be plenty for our family) or use more of EVERYTHING else.... which would give tons of leftovers.

Also, the gal at the grocery store check out was saying this is something she likes to make but she uses steamed green beans instead of broccoli. Sounds good to me!

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound sirloin
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/2 an onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 10-oz can beef broth
1/2 cup water
(optional) 2 cups mushrooms
1/2 cup sour cream
4 servings egg noodles, cooked

Cut sirloin into strips. Mix flour, salt, paprika & pepper in a gallon Ziplock bag. Add steak & shake to coat.

Melt butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Remove steak from bag & saute in the butter with the onion & garlic, until just-browned. Add water, broth & mushrooms (I leave them out). Mix well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, until meat is very tender.

Stir in the sour cream. Heat to a serving temperature but don't let it boil.

Serve over hot egg noodles.

Tuna Casserole

Tonight it was Tuna Casserole! The kids are kinda hit-or-miss on this dish. One day they love it, next time they act like it's poison!! I always think it's delicious.... and I am NOT a tuna (or any fish, for that matter) person. I think the garlic, potato chips & cheese help to make this fantastic (and completely unhealthy! LOL)

Let's take a look at your ingredients:

Egg noodles, tuna, onion, milk, cream of mushroom with garlic, peas & carrots, shredded cheese & potato chips!

Put everything but the chips & noodles in a bowl together:

Then boil up the egg noodles until done, then drain them. Add them to the bowl & mix well.
Pour this all into an 8x8 pan (I'll give doubling instructions if you're more of a 9x13 family!).

Crush up a bunch of potato chips all over the top of it.


Some people cook with wine so they can take a sip here & there while in the kitchen.... I'm more of a chip girl myself! I'll admit I had one (or a few) while making this dish!

Now top it all with some more cheese & pop it into the oven!

Now that it's in the oven you should check on that baby you've been neglecting (and by you I mean ME!)



Helloooooooo gorgeous!

(Yes, I have the Ove-Glove! You know you're jealous!)

Dig in & enjoy! Even if you're not a tuna casserole lover I think you'll change your mind on this one! And if you get through it & take that first bite & decide you don't love it... well, it's nothing a little hot sauce won't fix!!

Ohhhh the steamy goodness!

Tuna Casserole:

1/2 a bag of egg noodles (6 oz)
1/8 cup diced onion
1 cup shredded cheddar or cheddar/jack, divided
3/4 cup frozen peas & carrots
1 6-oz can of tuna, drained
1 can cream of mushroom with roasted garlic
1/4 cup milk
potato chips

Preheat oven to 425.

Boil up some water to cook the egg noodles. Drain after cooking.

While the noodles are going mix onion, 3/4 cup of cheese, veggies, tuna, soup & milk in a medium bowl. Add cooked noodles. Give it all a good mixing.

Pour into an 8x8 baking dish, Top with crushed potato chip. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake 15-20 minutes, until cheese is good & melted & just starts to brown.

***For 9x13 pan just double everything, but use 1 can cream mushroom with roasted garlic & just plain old cream of mushroom for the second can!