Baked Ravioli

This is an easy one, sorta don’t even need a recipe kind of meal.   But, all my kiddos ate this and I liked the seasonings in it so I’m recording it here. 🙂

1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tbs minced garlic
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1 can stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 can diced Italian flavored tomatoes (14.5 oz)
2 lbs ravioli ( fresh or frozen, doesn’t matter)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 425. Heat olive oil in saucepan. Add minced garlic and sauté for a minute. Add thyme, oregano, and tomatoes. Bring sauce to boil, then reduce to simmer. Blend tomato chunks till chunks are gone. You could use a hand blender, magic bullet, etc. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Cook ravioli until they float atop. Pasta doesn’t need to be completely cooked as it will cook more in oven. Drain water from pasta and toss with sauce. Poor into 9×13 pan. Top with parmesan, then mozzarella.  Bake for 20 minutes, until pasta is golden.  I served with salad, bread, and smoothies.  All kiddos loved it!

Chicken Enchiladas

People. This is good. Even better?  The recipe makes two casseroles…one to eat and one to freeze. Now, we are having this meal from the freezer this week so I’ll let you know if it doesn’t freeze well, but the recipe says it does!  I also used the skinny crockpot chicken to make this.

12 corn tortillas

2-3 cups skinny crockpot chicken

1 cup brown rice

1 cup frozen corn kernels

3 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cups tomato sauce

chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

ground cinnamon

Monterey Jack cheese

Wrap tortillas in foil and warm in 275 degree oven while you prepare everything else.  Mix shredded chicken with rice, tomato paste, 1/2 cup cheese, and frozen corn.

For the sauce, mix 3 cups tomato sauce, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, and heat through, keeping warm until needed.

Remove tortillas from oven and switch to broiler on high.

Using two different square or round 9 inch containers, layer the following…1. Spread a little sauce on bottom 2. Tortilla layer (I used 2 for each layer) 3. About a quarter of chicken mixture for each dish 4. More sauce 5. another tortilla layer 6. Rest of chicken 7. More tortillas 8. Last of sauce 9. Grated cheese on top

wrap, label, and freeze other casserole now.

Put the other casserole under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until cheese melted.

White Chicken Enchiladas

 

Pinterest – seriously amazing.  Ok, the original recipe here came from pinterest.  But, I did make some changes and used leftover skinny crockpot chicken in mine. So good.

• 10 soft taco shells
• 2-3 cups skinny crockpot chicken (original recipe calls for 2, I used more like 3)
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9×13.

Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to a boil, you don’t want curdled sour cream.

Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Kayla did eat a bit of this.  The other two wouldn’t touch it.  One is better than none, right?

Martha Stewart’s Creamy Mac-and-Cheese

Holy amazing.  This is the best homemade mac-n-cheese I have ever had.  Little bit of a spice to it so my kiddos wouldn’t eat it.  They did try it though 🙂  BUT, I’ll still make it again.  So good.  Some neighbors had a get together with catered bbq and this was great with it.

Serves about 12 so definitely a good recipe for a get together.

• 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for casserole (I actually bought unsalted butter for this and then forgot to use it and it was fine)
• 6 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces (really I just quickly ripped it apart)
• 5 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tspns coarse salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cups grated romano cheese
• 1 pd elbow macaroni

Preheat oven to 375.  Butter a 3 qt casserole dish; set aside.  Place the bread in a bowl.  In a small saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter.  Pour the butter into the bowl with the bread, and toss.  Set the breadcrumbs aside.

Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat.  Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat.  When the butter bubbles, add the flour.  Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

While whisking, slowly pout int he hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth.  Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick 8-12 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat.  Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 cup romano; set cheese sauce aside.

Boil pasta until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone, 2-3 minutes.  Transfer the macaroni to a colander and rinse under cold running water.  Stir the macaroni in to the reserved cheese sauce.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.  Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup romano, and the breadcrumbs over the top.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese

This was a hit tonight!  Even Andrew, the pickiest eater EVER, loved it.  Wahoo!!!

The combination of onion and garlic powders plus fresh dill creates a flavor similar to ranch dressing.

8 oz uncooked elbow macaroni
1 slice applewood-smoked bacon (not enough for us, next time I’ll use 2 slices)
8 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into pieces (again, next time I’ll use more)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/2 cup fat free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3/4 cup shredded six cheese Italian blend
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt
cooking spray
1/2 cup shredded colby-Jack cheese

1. Cook pasta according to pkg directions, omitting salt and fat, drain.

2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan.  Finely chop bacon;set aside.  Increase heat.  Add chicken to drippings in pan; saute 6 minutes or until done.

3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan.  Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk.  Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick.  Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155.  Add Italian cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, and salt, stirring until cheese melts.  STir in past and chicken.

4. Preheat broiler.

5. Spoon mixture into an 8 inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and colby-Jack cheese.  Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Mostaccioli

So, I don’t make this all that often because, 1. It makes a TON and 2. it is sort of time consuming.  BUT, it’s great for a big gathering and gets great reviews every time I make it.  It’s usually a hit for family birthday parties, big family gatherings, etc.

2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced (I’m lazy and use the already minced garlic in a jar)
28 oz diced tomatoes (I think I usually use the petite cut diced tomatoes)
24 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
2 tsp basil
1 and 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 lb pepperoni, thinly sliced
1 1b box mostaccioli noodles
1 and 1/2 lbs mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms

In a skillet, brown the beef, onion and garlic; drain off all excess grease.  In a large pot, put meat mixture, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, basil and oregano.  Simmer for 1 and 1/2 hours. (**I know I do not simmer quite this long because I get impatient.  Really, I should just start putting everything together earlier!)  Add pepperoni and mushrooms to tomato mixture.  Cook for 30 minutes.  Cook noodles to desired texture.  Mix the noodles with the tomato mixture.  Spray and 11 x 15 baking dish with cooking spray.  Alternate the mixture in the baking dish with the cheese.  Bake, covered, for 45 minutes at 350; uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

***I thought of this recipe for a couple of reasons.  One, I’m starting to try and think of great meals to make ahead of time because I have baby #4 coming in just 9 short weeks.  I’m thinking this could be a good freezer meal, thought I haven’t tried it before.  Two, I’m thinking this might be a good one to put in a 9 x 13 for another family and then make a much smaller dish with what’s left for us if I need to do that in the future.

Mom’s Lasagna

I just realized, much to my horror, that I did not include my mom’s lasagna recipe in the cookbooks I made for my family last year!

I put this together this afternoon for our dinner tonight. It was so easy because I had the sauce frozen and thawed it yesterday…that’s my best tip for this recipe. Because making the sauce is time-consuming, it’s a good idea to double the batch, and then freeze it in portions you’ll use. I freeze it in half-recipe portions because otherwise we’d be eating lasagna for several meals, and none of us does that well with leftovers. Then, on a day like today that’s going to be crazy because of Luke’s ballgame, I have a good meal ready to go in almost no time.

Here’s the recipe for one 9×13″ pan:

1 lb ground beef (I use the leanest possible)
garlic salt
1 T parsley flakes
1/2 T basil
14.5 oz can tomatoes (I use petite diced)
6 oz can tomato paste
(you can also add in finely chopped carrots or carrot puree and no one will be the wiser)
10 oz lasagna noodles (about 12 noodles)
24 oz low-fat cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
pepper
2 T parsley (of course, you can use fresh, too!)
1/2 c parmesan cheese
2 cups (or however much you want) mozzarella cheese – the original recipe calls for a pound of cheese, but I’ve never come close to using that much

Brown the meat; drain. Add the next 5 ingredients. Simmer uncovered, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally (this can be a little bit messy). Cook noodles for 8 minutes, rinse in cold water. Combine cottage cheese with next 4 ingredients. Place half of the noodles in a 13×9 pan, spread half the cottage cheese mixture and a cup of cheese over the top. Add half of the meat mixture. Repeat layers. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes.

Corn Bread Deep Dish Pizza

Kelli sent this recipe to me, and I made it last night for dinner. Very rarely does something get eaten without a “how many bites do I have to have?” from Luke or Bennett, and they both gobbled up large portions! Matt and I loved it, too, and I’m honestly not dreading the leftovers for tonight’s dinner (I generally don’t like leftovers).

I’ll post it how I made it, since I made a few small changes.

1 (8 1/2-ounce) box Jiffy brand corn-muffin mix (I used Betty Crocker and it worked fine)
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
TOPPING:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I didn’t use b/c I didn’t have any onion)
1 large onion, chopped (omitted)
1 garlic clove, chopped (I used a Dorot frozen garlic cube)
1 (26-ounce) jar of your favorite pasta sauce (Ragu Traditional for us!)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound sausage of your choice, cooked and crumbled or sliced
1/2 pound Monterey Jack, shredded (I used Colby Jack, but mozzarella or any Italian blend would be fine too)
I added:
1/2 cup carrot puree
several large, sliced mushrooms to half of the casserole

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9×13″ baking dish. Prepare the muffin mix using the egg and 1/2 cup of milk. (Note: this amount of milk is different from what’s called for in the package directions.) Add the Parmesan, then spread the batter evenly across the bottom of the pan.

Heat the oil in a large skillet, then sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the pasta sauce, (pureed carrot), oregano, and salt and pepper. Cook the sauce until it thickens, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Arrange half of the cooked sausage (or sausage and mushrooms) on the cornmeal batter. Pour the sauce over the batter, spreading it evenly, then layer on the remaining sausage. Bake for 15 minutes, then top the mixture with cheese and bake until the cheese is bubbling, about 10 minutes. Cut into slices and serve. Makes 6 servings.

Tamale Pie

I remember making this years ago for just Matt and me, and I have no idea why I haven’t made it again, because it turned out really good! Now, the kids didn’t enjoy this (and I only made them try a bite because I was in no mood to have people not eat their dinner) so it was just for the adults. And because I felt like it made SOOO much, I mixed up the entire casserole part and then froze half of the mixture for another time. Notes about halving the recipe at the end.

Tamale Pie
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb lean ground pork (not sausage, just ground pork)
NOTE: I think that you can just do ground beef in this, or even better, shredded beef from a roast or something. I’m sure shredded chicken breast would be good, too. I made it with the beef/pork combo, and I’m not really sure why it calls for this.
1/2 cup chopped onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce with chili seasonings (I couldn’t find this, so I just used regular and sprinkled in chili powder)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles (like Rotel)
1 can (11 oz) Mexicorn, drained
OPTIONAL (but I omit): 1 can (2.25 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 pkg (8 oz) shredded Mexican cheese blend (or cheddar or colby jack)
1 box (8.5 oz) cornbread mix (I used Jiffy this time)
1 tsp chili powder
Sour cream (optional but good!)

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble meat into skillet; add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned. Drain off fat. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, corn, olives and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. Pour into a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish.

In a small bowl, prepare corn muffin mix as directed on package. Stir in chili powder. Spoon batter over meat filling to within 1/4 inch of pan sides. Bake in 400 oven for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Serve with sour cream.

Makes 8 servings.

If you halve the recipe: freeze half of the mixture for another time. Pour the half you’re using into a lightly greased 8×8, 9×9 or similar-sized dish. Then, top with about 2/3 of the cornbread batter. Pour the rest into a muffin tin (there might be enough to make 1 or 2 muffins, I’d guess) and bake alongside the casserole. If you put all the batter on top, it won’t be ruined, but there’s so much cornbread that it outweighs the casserole (and this is coming from someone who LOVES cornbread).

Lasagna Bianco

Normally, I don’t like posting main dishes so totally devoid of nutrition (I like to save that for the appetizers and desserts). But this is just so good, and such a good dish for having company over, that I had to share. I haven’t made it in a while (and truthfully, it’s perfect for summer when everyone has zucchini fresh from their gardens…not me, but other people) and it sounds so good right now! There are a lot of ingredients and it takes a little time, but this is not a difficult recipe.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz alfredo sauce*
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained completely
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
1 pkg Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
16 oz shredded Italian cheese blend
1 zucchini, thinly sliced

Cut chicken into 1/2 inch pieces. In skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 3-4 more minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. In medium bowl, stir together ricotta, spinach, egg and Italian seasoning.

Here is how you layer it in a 9×13 baking dish that you’ve coated with cooking spray (these measurements are approximate):
1/3 cup sauce
4 noodles
All of spinach mixture
1/3 cup sauce
1/3 of the cheese
4 noodles
All of the chicken mixture
1/3 cup sauce
1/3 of the cheese
4 noodles
All of the zucchini
Rest of sauce
Rest of cheese

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

This will feed 6-8 adults (at least, when you factor in salads/bread/sides/etc).

*Quick homemade alfredo sauce that is AMAZING:
2 cups half & half (do not use fat-free…trust me)
6 T butter
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat half & half and butter. Add garlic and salt and pepper. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Blend in cheese. Continue to cook sauce to a medium-thin consistency.