Garlic Alfredo Tortellini

It's been awhile, but I have been busy trying out new recipes. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to take pictures. My most recent one was the Christmas girls party that I had at my house. Every finger food was a new recipe. I will have to make again to get some pictures!

Last night Kyle was home and I wanted to make him a new recipe, but I also was craving Tortellini.

Thanks to Damn Delicious for this great & easy recipe.  

The sauce

Ingredients:

1 package Tortellini (I choose Cheese & Prosciutto) 

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup half and half

2 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

What To Do:

• In a large pot of boiling water, cook Tortellini according to package directions
• In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat
• Add in garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute
• Whisk in flour until lightly browned
• Gradually whisk in milk and half and half (constantly) until sauce lightly thickens
• Stir in cream cheese and Parmesan cheese until melted
• *If sauce is too thick, you can add a little bit of milk to make it thinner
• When all cheese is melted, add in tortellini and toss until coated
• Top with parsley & serve

Baked Ziti (Freezer Meal)

I recently joined in on a freezer meal exchange. I mean why not? I cook 8 meals and in exchange, I receive 8 meals. Dinner is done with me throwing it in the oven or the crock pot!!

I will post these recipes as my family eats them :) One is already on here, but will post in a separate category. 

The 1st of the 8 is actually the Baked Ziti that I made. I had recently seen this recipe on Six Sisters Stuff and it was voted their favorite freezer meal! This meal lasts for 30 days in the freezer.

It makes 2  8x8 baking dishes. You can make one to eat and one to freeze if you are making for yourself. Big group coming over, no problem, pour entire recipe into a 9x13 baking dish and watch it fill to the top.

Sorry for the picture. We all dug in and I forgot to get a good picture. This corner was all that was leftover after my hubby, MIL, FIL, my son and myself attacked it.

Ingredients:

1 lb. dry ziti pasta (or any kind that you prefer)

1 onion, chopped

1 lb. lean ground beef 

2 (26 oz.) jars spaghetti sauce

8 slices provolone cheese

1-1/2 cups sour cream

6 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese; grated

What To Do:

• Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil and then cook pasta about 7-8 minutes or until almost done (pasta will continue cooking in the oven)
• In a large skillet, add onion and ground beef. Cook until beef is done
• Add spaghetti sauce and any other seasonings you would like at this point. Let simmer for about 15 minutes
• Preheat oven to 350F
• Spray 2 8x8 baking dishes with cooking spray (9x13 if you want to make one great big dish)
• Layer each pan as follows:
• 1/4 of the ziti
• 1/4 of the sauce
• 4 slices of Provolone cheese
• 1/2 of the sour cream (3/4 cups)
• 1/4 of the ziti
• 1/4 of the Mozzarella cheese (1.5 oz.)
• 1/4 of the sauce
• Top with 1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese and the other 1/4 of the Mozzarella

**When you bake the pasta, it is best to put dish on top of a cookie sheet because it might overflow a little when it cooks

BAKING RIGHT AWAY:

• Bake covered for 30 minutes

FREEZER:

• Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then bake covered for 30 minutes
• If you bake straight from freezer, cook for 90 minutes-2 hours

Chicken Parmesan Roll Ups

In our household, we love Chicken Parmesan and there are so many ways to cook it. The one thing I love about these is that you have the cheesy goeyness all rolled up in the center.

I started my 12 week shred yesterday so Sunday was my last meal to be able to eat breads, pastas, processed food, etc. so why not make my last dinner full of things I will miss for awhile. I served ours over garlic and butter noodles. I also made my own marinara sauce instead of using the canned tomatoes and all that listed below.

Thanks to "The Girl Who Ate Everything" for posting this wonderful recipe.

Rolled up and topped with tomato sauce

Top with cheese/basil mixture

Top with breadcrumbs and bake

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped fine

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 can Italian style diced tomatoes, canned

1/2 cup fresh chopped basil

1-1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 thin cut boneless chicken cutlets (I used chicken breasts and cut them in half and pounded them out)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup Italian seasoned Panko breadcrumbs

*I used my own marinara sauce that I make instead of making a tomato mixture

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 475F
2. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a cooking pan
3. Add onion and cook until it has softened
4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant
5. Add tomatoes and cook until it has thickened (about 5 minutes)
6. Remove from heat and stir in basil
7. Transfer half of the sauce into a baking dish to coat the bottom
8. Combine mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and basil in a bowl. Make sure you save half of the cheese mixture
9. Season chicken with salt and pepper
10. Top chicken with cheese mixture, leaving about 1 inch from the bottom of the chicken
11. Roll up tightly and place seam side down into the baking dish
12. Toss breadcrumbs with remaining oil
13. Top the chicken that is rolled up with the remaining sauce mixture, cheese mixture, and the breadcrumbs
14. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. If your chicken is thick, it might take a little bit longer. If the breadcrumbs start to get too brown, cover with foil and continue cooking

Chicken & Pasta w/ Tomato Cream Sauce

It's been so long that I feel like I don't know how to begin posting again. I have made lots of new recipes, but always seem to forget about taking pictures so that I can post. This recipe is one that I recently watched on the cooking channel. Who doesn't love watching Ree as the Pioneer Woman?!

I've made lots of pasta recipes and I have made lots of different tomato sauces, but this one just hit the spot. I cooked some chicken with seasonings to top it off. The recipe below is just for the pasta w/ tomato cream sauce.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. butter

1 medium onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans tomato sauce

Salt and Pepper 

Dash of sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

grated parmesan, to taste

fresh basil, chopped

1-1/2 lb. pasta (I usually love fettuccine, but had regular spaghetti in the pantry)

What To Do:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water
• Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat
• Add onions and garlic 
• Saute for about 2 minutes
• Add in tomato sauce, salt and pepper, and sugar to taste
• Stir and cook over low heat for 25 minutes
• Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream
• Add cheese and then check the taste; add more if necessary
• Stir in pasta and mix
• If sauce is too thick for your liking, pour in a little bit of the reserved pasta water to thin it out
• Once it is how you like it, stir in the basil
• Serve immediately

Chicken Alredo Baked Ziti

Gimme Some Oven posted this recipe and it looked delicious. Kyle is not that big on Alredo, but he said this recipe is a keeper for him :).

For the chicken, you will need to pre-make the chicken or you could use rotisserie chicken.

 

 

Ingredients:

12 oz. ziti

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 batch alfredo sauce (Recipe below)

1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Chopped fresh Parsley for topping

 

 

Alfredo sauce:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

4 cloves garlic; minced

3 Tbsp. flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup low fat milk

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

 

 

What To Do (SAUCE):

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet
• Add garlic and saute for 1 minutes
• Sprinkle with flour and stir to combine
• Saute for another minute to cook the flour
• Slowly add chicken broth and whisk until smooth
• Mix in milk and stir
• Let cook for about 1 minute until it has thickened
• Stir in cheese, salt and pepper until the cheese has melted
• Remove from heat and set aside

 

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Cook pasta according to directions
• Add in alfredo sauce and chicken
• Toss until combined
• Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray
• Pour pasta into dish
• Top with Mozzarella cheese
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until pasta is slightly turning a golden brown color
• Remove and top with fresh parsley

 

• 



Homemade Pizza

Yes, this really is a NO NEED TO POST dinner recipe. I just don't think about making homemade pizza when we have this delicious New York Style Pizza down the street from us. It does work to keep all the ingredients for a night where you just don't want to get out.

I can't really give you any sort of directions except for, use the Pillsbury Pizza Dough....I love it way better than the pre-made pizza dough because you can get it really crunchy and crispy, plus you can season it yourself!!!

We decided to go with what we really like...Pepperoni & Jalapeno Pizza!!

Simply preheat your oven, roll out the dough, cook for 8 minutes, top with marinara or pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, any toppings you prefer and bake for another 6-8 minutes!!!

Tomato Basil Soup

It has been a very long time since I last made homemade tomato basil soup, so long that my husband hasn't had mine yet. It is a longer process since I hand crush all the tomatoes, etc. (I will have to make that one soon and put it on here.) Until I can do that, I came up with this simple version that will tide me over.

What goes best with Tomato Basil Soup, yup that's right, grilled cheese sandwiches!!! (A craving with this 2nd baby)

Ingredients:

1/2 onion; diced

3 cloves of garlic; diced

Container of fresh basil leaves

2 large cans of crushed tomatoes

32 oz. tomato juice

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup Half and Half

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

What To Do:

• In a sauce pan, cook onion and garlic until translucent and soft
• Add in tomatoes and tomato juice and let simmer for about 15 minutes
• In a blender, add your sauce from the sauce pan along with the basil and puree until smooth (Unless you like chunky tomato soup)
• Pour back in sauce pan and add in your butter along with half and half
• Cook over low heat until butter is melted and soup is hot
• Garnish with fresh basil leaves
• ENJOY!!! 

Mom's Chicken Spaghetti

We call this my Mom's Chicken Spaghetti because she used to always make this growing up, especially to make and take to friends and family when a new baby arrived, house warming, death, sick, etc. I used to be a VERY picky eater and would never really eat this b/c of the tomatoes, etc.

I look back and just think that I am crazy that I would never eat it. I decided it was the perfect night to make it since we had a friend come over for dinner & this serves a lot. I usually add green chilies to mine, but since my son was eating it, I didn't add them.

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken

1/2 cup olives, chopped up (Omitted in mine)

1/2 thing of Velveeta cheese

1 can stew diced tomatoes, juice and all

spaghetti noodles, about thumb to middle finger

2-3 pieces of cooked chicken, cubed (we like ours shredded)

**I usually add 4 oz. can of chopped green chilies 

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Cook chicken if you haven't done so already and then cube or shred
• Cook noodles and drain
• Heat cheese, cream of chicken, olives & tomatoes over low heat
• Mix chicken, cheese sauce and noddles 
• Pour in a baking dish
• Bake 30 minutes
• ENJOY!!!! 

Spaghetti Bread

Okay, so I know the name throws you off & you might be thinking ummm..I can't do spaghetti inside bread. I was thinking the same thing and was really iffy about making this recipe, but hey, why not try it.

This recipe turned out really really good!! I served it with a side of extra marinara sauce (spaghetti sauce) because the spaghetti sauce soaked in to the bread and left the spaghetti a little dry.

Recipe came from the actual Rhodes website! However, I did add in some of my own ingredients (like meat to my sauce)

Ingredients:

1 loaf Rhodes bread dough or 12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed to room temperature

6 oz. spaghetti, cooked

1 cup thick spaghetti sauce

8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes (I just used grated mozz. cheese)

1 egg white

Parmesan cheese

parsley flakes

*I added:

meat for the sauce (I made my own sauce)

garlic powder

crushed red pepper flakes

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Spray counter top with cooking spray or use parchment paper
• Roll loaf into a 12x16 rectangle
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 minutes
• Cook spaghetti and drain
• Add sauce to spaghetti and mix
• Remove wrap from dough and place the spaghetti lengthwise down the center of the dough
• Top with cheese cubes (or grated cheese)
• Make cuts along the sides of dough (see picture 1)
• Begin braiding the dough by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left and finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid
• Lift braid with both hands and place on large sprayed baking sheet, or just transfer parchment paper to baking sheet
• Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley (I added garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes)
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until brown
• Slightly cook and slice to serve!

Jalapeno Ranch Chicken Tenders (Spicy Ranch Chicken Tenders)

I know it's not always the healthiest of choices when you bread food, but I just can't get enough of Panko bread crumbs. This recipe called for it so how could I not try it!! 

Simple and easy chicken tenders that were so tender & juicy! Thanks to Real HouseMoms for this recipe. She called hers Jalapeno Ranch Chicken Tenders. I took the easy way out and instead of making my own jalapeno ranch (which I will next time), I decided to use bottle (I am not a big fan of ranch from a bottle..I usually will not eat it). I couldn't find the Jalapeno that I have seen before so I decided to go with Spicy Ranch instead.

I also decided to bake mine in the oven instead of using the stove top!

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

Italian seasoning to taste

1 cup jalapeno ranch dressing

oil for cooking (rack & pan if you use the oven)

What To Do:

• Pour oil to cover the bottom of your skillet & set to medium-high heat
• **If you decide to use the oven, preheat oven to 400F
• Pour some jalapeno ranch dressing on a plate
• Mix bread crumbs, cheese and seasonings in a shallow bowl
• Dip chicken in the dressing and then coat in the bread crumbs (I also sprinkled kosher salt on the chicken before hand to give some more flavor and to help keep chicken juicy)
• Place in pre-heated skillet
• Turn halfway through cooking & cook until no longer pink in the middle
• **Place on a wire rack on top of a pan (Spray the wire rack)
• Cook for 25 minutes in the oven, flipping chicken halfway through
• 
  

Baked Ravioli

Quick and simple recipe!!! I ended up going with jar marinara sauce because I didn't have my homemade one handy. Next time, I will and & I will probably add meat to my sauce as well.

Thanks to Tasty Kitchen for this tasty recipe.

Ingredients:

1 bag (25 oz.) Ravioli

1 jar (26 oz.) Marinara Sauce

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese, for topping

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 400F
• In a baking dish, spray with cooking spray
• Spread 3/4 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of baking dish
• Arrange half of the ravioli in a single layer on top of the sauce
• Top with half of the remaining sauce and then half of the mozzarella cheese
• Repeat layers once more (I had a little bit of ravioli leftover that was not used)
• Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes
• Remove foil and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes
• Let stand before serving

Crock Pot Sausage & Tortellini

Ice Cream with a Fork put out this delicious recipe. So simple and yet really good. However, I did make a few changes :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage

20 oz. frozen three cheese tortellini

32 oz. low sodium chicken broth

2 cans diced tomatoes w/ seasonings

8 oz. cream cheese

grated Parmesan cheese (for topping)

*I used Spinach and Cheese Tortellini instead of just cheese tortellini

*I also threw in some crushed red pepper flakes to add a bit more heat

What To Do:

• Take out your cream cheese to soften while you brown your sausage
• Brown sausage and drain excess grease
• Add the sausage and tortellini to your crock pot
• Pour the tomatoes, liquid and all, and broth over the top
• Add your cream cheese in chunks
• Stir everything together
• Cook on low for 4 1/2 hours with the last 1/2 hour removing the lid so that the sauce can thicken
• Top with Parmesan cheese (optional)

Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake

If you like cheese (and lots of it) then you will definitely like this recipe. Kyle loved it, but for me, there was just a little something missing. I haven't quiet figured it out yet, but once I do, then I will be making it again. Hmm..maybe it is because I am not a huge fan of jar pasta sauce. I will make my own Alfredo sauce next time.

Thanks to Life as a Lofthouse for this cheesy goodness.

This would be perfect to serve with garlic bread and a salad if you are having friends over. Too much for Kyle and I unless we wanted it for dinner and lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz.) box Penne pasta noodles

2 (10 oz) containers Alfredo sauce

1 cup Sour Cream

1 (15 oz) container Ricotta cheese

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

2 cups cooked, diced Chicken

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. dried Parsley

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Cook chicken if you didn't cook ahead of time
• Boil the pasta in a large pot of water
• Drain pasta and then return it back to pot
• Add all the remaining ingredients, except for the mozzarella cheese
• Stir together to combine
• Pour mixture into a greased baking dish
• Sprinkle the top evenly with the mozzarella cheese
• Bake for 30 mintues

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

Thanks to Plain Chicken for this simple recipe. I love spaghetti so this was definitely a good recipe to keep that throws just a little spin on regular spaghetti. I usually make my own sauce from scratch, but with this one, I just stuck to the original recipe.

Step by step pictures are below!

Ready to bake!!

Ingredients:

12 oz. spaghetti

1 (28 oz) jars prepared spaghetti sauce

1 lb. ground beef

1 tsp. Italian seasoning (I used more)

1 clove garlic, minced

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Fill your pot up with water and start boiling your pasta
• In a skillet, brown the ground beef. Once cooked, drain the fat, stir in the spaghetti sauce and set aside
• When your pasta is ready, drain it and then stir in the cream cheese, garlic, & seasonings to make sure the spaghetti is coated
• Lightly grease a 9x13 pan
• Spread a small amount of the meat sauce in the bottom of your dish
• Put spaghetti on top of the sauce (I also added more seasonings on top) and then top with the remaining meat sauce
• Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top
• Bake for 30 minutes

Tomato Basil Chicken

Although we are trying to eat healthier around our household, we still need some carbs from pasta :). It is hard to turn down Italian dishes because there are so many. Thanks to Menu Musings for this great and easy recipe. (And fattening one if you decide to use all the butter)

There is nothing better than FRESH ingredients especially during the summertime and when you can find a farmer's market anywhere now days.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

kosher salt and black pepper

2 Tbsp. EVOO (olive oil)

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

2 tsp. minced fresh garlic

4 Tbsp. cold butter

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano cheese

Any type of pasta that you want to serve with it (I choose bowtie bc I had a lot leftover in the pantry)

What To Do:

• Season your chicken breasts with kosher salt and black pepper
• Add a couple of Tbsp. of EVOO into skillet and let the oil heat up pretty hot
• In the meantime, start boiling your water for your pasta &  then cook 
• When oil is hot and the chicken sizzles when it touches it then add your chicken
• Cook about 5-6 minutes per side
• After the second side has been cooking for about 4 minutes, add in the tomatoes
• Next add in the fresh basil, cold butter and then the minced garlic last
• To help season the sauce, add in some more salt and pepper
• Stir all the ingredients and let the sauce start to mix together
• If pasta is still cooking, you can remove the chicken and cut into slices
• Divide the pasta into bowls, top with chicken, pour the sauce over it and then add some fresh grated cheese

Saucy Italian Chicken

Like I have said plenty of times...nothing better than a crock pot recipe when things get busy (plus having a little one). I don't want to spend all my time in the kitchen when I don't get all day with him and my husband.

Of course the chicken was tender and the recipe had good flavor. I ended up making the full recipe, but only did 2 chicken breasts instead of 4.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup tomato sauce

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp. Splenda

1 tsp. dried onion flakes

*I added in some extra garlic and a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes. I also coated the chicken with Kosher salt before I put it in the crock pot.

What To Do:

• Spray crock pot with cooking spray
• Place chicken in the bottom (you can even do frozen chicken if needed)
• Mix together remaining ingredients in a bowl and the pour over the chicken
• Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours (7 hours was definitely long enough)

Mini Chicken Parmesan Cupcakes

Thank you Pinterest and pictures! I saw this one and could not resist making it right away. So simple yet so delicious!!

I made these using a regular size cupcake tin instead of using the mini. Just seemed easier to me. The recipe made 6 big chicken parmesan cupcakes :)

Yes, I should have taken the pictures on a nicer plate, but with a baby, husband, etc. paper plates are just easier right now! I also should have taken pictures of the steps, but the whole thing is pretty straight forward.

Ready to bake!

Ingredients:

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. EVOO

1 Egg

1 lb. ground Chicken breast

1/2 cup diced Red Bell pepper

1/2 cup diced Onion

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. dried Oregano

6 fresh Basil leaves, torn

1 pinch Salt and Pepper

Mozzarella cubes (I used string cheese)

2 cups Marinara sauce

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• In a small bowl, combine the Panko, half the Parmesan cheese and the olive oil. Combine mixture until evenly coated
• In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the chicken, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, oregano, remaining Parmesan cheese, basil, and pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands
• Lightly coat a muffin tin with cooking spray
• Place a couple of tablespoons of the chicken mixture in each (I made sure I had some extra mixture leftover)
• Nestle a cube of mozzarella in the center of the mixture
• Pat the chicken over the cheese to completely cover it (This is where I used the extra mixture I set aside to cover the cheese)
• Sprinkle the Panko mixture on top of each chicken mound, lightly pressing it into the meat
• Bake for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the Panko is golden brown
• Let rest 5 minutes before loosening each cupcake from the muffin tin
• In the meantime, warm up your marinara sauce to serve with the chicken cupcakes

Italian Wonderpot

Gotta love pinterest. I saw the picture and it looked really good so I definitely put it on my list of recipes to make. It is another cheap meal that you can make for under $7. Doesn't get much better than that. Next time I will half the recipe because it yields 6 servings.

**It was just a pasta dish so I added ground sausage because Kyle and I like meat in our pasta most of the time.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground sausage (optional)

4 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp. olive oil

12 oz. fettuccine

8 oz. frozen chopped spinach (I used fresh baby spinach)

1 (28 oz.)  can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 medium onion

4 cloves garlic 

1/2 Tbsp. dried basil

1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 oz. feta cheese (we didn't use cheese)

What To Do:

• Add 4 cups of vegetable broth to a large pot
• Break fettuccine in half and add to pot
• Add canned tomatoes undrained, olive oil, spinach, onion (thinly sliced), garlic (I minced mine instead of slicing it), basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes
• Make sure the ingredients are submerged under the liquid
• Place lid on top and turn the heat to high
• Allow pot to come up to a full boil and then remove the lid and turn heat down to medium
• Allow the pot to continue to boil over medium heat, without a lid, for 10-15 minutes
• Most of the liquid will be absorbed
• After the pasta is cooked, crumble the feta cheese over top (If you choose to use cheese)

**If you decide to use meat in this pasta, cook it in a separate skillet and then drain the excess grease. Add it to the pot when there is about 5 minutes left 

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

This one is really simple, but Kyle and I are unsure about the sauce. It was missing something when we first tasted it before I served it. I ended up adding some more ingredients for a little bit of flavor. 

The whole dish still cost me under $7 to make it. You can't beat that, plus with just the 2 of us, I have leftover for lunch the next day and still some.

Before I added the cheese and green onions

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. chicken breast, uncooked

1 cup enchilada sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

12 oz. uncooked pasta

1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese

2-3 whole green onions

*I added:

crushed red pepper flakes

salt

Tony's creole 

What To Do:

• Dice the onion and mince the garlic
• In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil and then add the onion and garlic
• Cook until soft and transparent
• Meanwhile, slice the chicken into thin strips
• Add chicken to skillet and cook until no longer pink
• *When chicken is almost done, add the crushed red pepper flakes, salt and creole
• While chicken is cooking, warm up the enchilada sauce and then whisk in the sour cream
• Set aside and then slice the green onions
• Cook pasta and then drain
• Combine the pasta, sauce, and chicken mixture 
• Sprinkle with shredded cheese and sliced green onions

Italian Crescent Casserole

It has been awhile since I last posted any recipes, but I have been pretty busy being a new Mom and getting things straight between being a wife, mother and now back to a working woman.

This is a recipe that Kyle and I have had before when we had friends over to our house. I love crescent rolls and so this was the perfect recipe to make again, especially since Kyle says that we never have the same meal twice in our house. (That will be changing though with a new little one. I will try to make 2 new recipes a week instead of aiming for 4 times.)

This time, I decided to just use a square casserole dish instead of a circle one. The picture isn't as neat as the first time I made it (wish I had a picture of it) bc I just threw it together really quickly.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained

1 cup garlic tomato pasta sauce

1 can (8 oz.) Pillsbury crescent rolls

1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend

1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves

I added:

1/2 Tbsp. garlic

1/4 tsp. parsley

dash of oregano

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 375 F
• In a skillet, cook ground beef and drain grease
• Put back in skillet and add pasta sauce (garlic if you choose to) and cook until warm
• Separate crescent dough into the 8 triangles
• Place dough in an ungreased 9 inch glass pie plate with the narrow tips overlapping the rim of the plate about 3 inches (This is where mine looks different this time because I used a square dish)
• Press dough in side and bottom of pan to form crust and cover the pan
• Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese over dough
• Spoon meat mixture over cheese
• Bring tips of dough over filling to meet in the center
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the dish followed by the basil (parsley and oregano)
• Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes (we did 20 so that the edge of the crust was brown and crunchy