Today is a National holiday if you didn’t know 
It’s National Spaghetti Day! I used to only eat the red sauce spaghetti, but the Pioneer Woman opened my eyes last year when she made her yummy Lemon Spaghetti, and then a friend of mine shared her delicious Chicken Scampi with me, and then Kayla and I started making our own basic Olive Oil, Lemon and Garlic Spaghetti as well. Now, I have a new one to add to the collection — Pesto Spaghetti!
This pasta is SO good and delicious. You don’t need heavy sauces. You can make your own pesto and then create this delicious and quick dinner.
- 2 tablespoons chopped pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cups basil leaves
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 pinches of pepper
- your favorite spaghetti noodles (fettuccine, angel hair, thin spaghetti, regular spaghetti)
- Add to your food processor the pine nuts and garlic through the feed chute while the motor is on. Process until finely minced.
- Add the olive oil and pulse three times. Add basil, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to the processor bowl.
- Process until finely minced, scraping down sides.
- Set the pesto aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and then add pesto to hot pasta.
- Serve hot, cold, or room temperature
So — what is your favorite pasta dish?
There is a one pot meal that my husband loves more than anything. He has grown up eating this stuff since he was a little guy. That one pot wonder is Goulash. There are many ways to make this delicious meal, but an older family friend who I found out is now 84 years old — her recipe is the best one BY FAR that I have ever tasted.
It took me like 5 years to get her to give me the recipe because she kept forgetting, and finally my own mother in law tracked her down one day and got it from here
My husband is now a very happy man because I make this meal for him!
- 1 pound of ground beef
- ½ of a large onion, diced
- 2 cups of elbow macaroni (uncooked)
- 1 (10 ounce) can of tomato soup
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
- 1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Fry the onion and ground beef together in the skillet. Remove from heat and drain. Set aside.
- Grab a large spaghetti pot and cook the elbow macaroni until al dente. Drain and leave in the big pot.
- Add the ground beef to the macaroni.
- Add the soup, diced tomatoes, and paste to the mixture.
- Add the salt and garlic powder.
- Heat for about 30 minutes or until heated all the way through.
Yes– it does taste a bit like spaghetti, but it is really a mixture of spaghetti, lasagna, tacos, soups, stews and more — all in one pot. This will be a dish that you and your family will absolutely love if you decide to fix it.
In fact, it would be great to serve at a Christmas Church dinner.
What is your favorite one pot wonder meal?
This pasta is one of my very favorites. It is SO good and filled with all my favorite flavors –garlic, lemon, olive oil, cheese –YUM. This lemon and garlic pasta is everything a carb lover could want and more, without all the calories from the heavy sauces.
- ⅔ Cup – Olive Oil
- ⅔ Cup – Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated
- ½ Cup – Fresh Lemon Juice
- ¾ Teaspoon Plus More for Pasta Water – Salt
- To Taste – Black Pepper
- ⅓ Cup – Fresh Basil Leaves, Julienned
- 1 Tablespoon – Fresh Lemon Zest
- 6-8 – Garlic Clove, Minced
- In a medium bowl, make the sauce by whisking together all ingredients excepts pasta. Set aside. Can be made ahead, refrigerated, and brought to room temp before using.
- Cook pasta, in well salted water, until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the sauce to cooked, warm pasta. Toss and add the reserved pasta water. Check seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve immediately.
I chopped my garlic up for this recipe using the Garlic Chop. It made chopping my garlic a breeze and I no longer had to have smelly garlic fingers afterwards!
Watch this video to see how easy it is to use:
The Garlic Chop is easy to clean and simple to use
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The more you turn/rotate it, the finer your garlic becomes – chopped or mush.
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Chop 1 to 4 cloves at the same time!
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Push the patented riser plate up and watch the garlic rise to the surface.
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Unscrew the rising plate and simply rinse clean.
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DIshwasher friendly!
Purchase one for your home today
You can grab the Garlic Chop for only $9.99, but purchase a combo kit for the better deal! The combo kit includes The Garlic Chop and The Garlic Peel.
The Garlic Chop website has an awesome section of recipes, so hop on over there, grab a garlic chop and find a recipe you want to create and start chopping!
I was sent a garlic chop in order to write this review. All opinions listed are my own.
Cheesy, gooey, meaty – three words that can all be used to describe one thing: a delicious pasta dish. A quick Google search will reveal hundreds of pasta recipes that are perfect for a summer picnic, fancy dinner party, a home-cooked Italian meal, and everything in between.
And best of all, pasta dishes are easy to make! Just pick your favorite noodle – shells, tortellini, lasagna, angel hair – they’re all great choices. Combine noodles with sauces, cheeses, and spices for a fantastic dish that everyone will love. Pasta is also a great dish for busy families because it’s quick to make and packages well as leftovers so you can enjoy it throughout the week.
Check out these four pasta recipes to get ideas for the next time you’re in the mood for pasta:
Sausage-Vegetable Ragout Pappardelle
Sure, the name sounds complicated but we promise it’s an easy dish to make. This pappardelle combines spicy Italian sausage with a selection of fresh vegetables for a wonderful treat.
- 1 pkg. (8 oz.) pappardelle pasta
- ¾ lb. Italian turkey sausage (about 3 links), casings removed
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 small each zucchini and yellow squash, quartered lengthwise, then sliced crosswise
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
- ⅔ cup reduced-fat Italian cheese & herb cooking cream
- Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
- Meanwhile, cook sausage and onions in large nonstick skillet on medium heat, stirring occasionally to break up sausage. Add zucchini and squash; cook and stir 6 to 7 min. or until sausage is done and vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes and cooking creme; cook and stir 3 min.
- Drain pasta; place on platter. Top with sauce.
- Refrigerate any leftovers.
Make-Ahead Unstuffed Shells
This recipe is a great one to make ahead of time if you know you’ll have a busy evening. You can prepare the whole casserole the night before – or on the weekend – and just stick it in the oven 45 minutes before you’re ready to serve it.
serves 6
Ingredients
4 cups medium pasta shells, uncooked
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 jar (24 oz.) marinara sauce
1 tub (10 oz.) cooking cream
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in marinara sauce; simmer on medium heat 2 min. Remove from heat.
Drain pasta. Mix cooking cream, basil and parmesan in large bowl; stir in pasta. Spread half the meat sauce onto bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with layers of pasta mixture and remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella; cover with foil. Refrigerate up to 24 hours.
Heat oven to 375ºF. Bake casserole, covered, 40 to 45 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 30 min.
Refrigerate any leftovers.
Parmesan-Pesto Tortellini
Pair this delicious pasta with a green salad for a meal that satisfies your taste buds. Tortellini comes in several different flavors, so feel free to switch it up a little bit by choosing something other than cheese.
6 servings
2 pkg. (9 oz.) frozen cheese tortellini
2 cups fresh basil leaves
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
Directions
Cook tortellini as directed on package, omitting salt.
Meanwhile, process basil, cheese and garlic in food processor until well blended. With motor running, gradually add oil through feed tube at top, processing until well blended.
Drain tortellini; place in large bowl. Add pesto; mix lightly.
Refrigerate any leftovers.
Cheese-Lover’s Pasta Roll-Ups
Both kids and adults will love this cheesy pasta roll-up. It combines a blend of delicious cheeses with tomato sauce for a unique dish that is popular with the whole family.
8 servings
1 egg, beaten
1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
4 green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce, divided
16 lasagna noodles, cooked
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Mix first 5 ingredients until blended.
Spread ½ cup spaghetti sauce onto bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish. Spread each noodle with 3 Tbsp. cheese mixture; roll up. Place, seam-sides down, in dish. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan; cover.
Bake 40 to 50 min. or until heated through, uncovering for the last 10 min.
Refrigerate any leftovers.
Enjoy your pasta dishes!
While not working part-time as a bank teller, Jennifer fills her time with hiking, writing, time with her kids, and – of course – cooking. She looks forward to the weekends when all of her hobbies can finally come together.
This month for the Crazy Cooking Challenge, we had to find and cook a red sauce and spaghetti noodle type dish. I already knew in my mind that I wanted to try Spaghetti Pie. I had heard that it tasted delicious and was much different than regular spaghetti, so I gave it a whirl.
I used the recipe that I found at My Crazy Adoption. Her photo did nothing but make me drool all over my new computer. It was gorgeous!
I think the reason that I decided to go with Spaghetti Pie is because my family is bored with the same old same old spaghetti and meatballs and has been turning their nose up every time I mention spaghetti (we ate it faithfully during the year that things were extremely tight). I think it reminds all of us of that scary time in our lives and so I wanted to recreate spaghetti with new memories.
Here is the recipe! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
This is the most delicious spaghetti you will ever taste!
Ingredients
- Non stick cooking spray
- 3 ounces spaghetti
- 1/2 pound ground chuck
- 1/4 cup minced broccoli
- 1 large egg white
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2-2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded carrot
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander.
- In a small bowl, mix the ground beef with the minced broccoli, egg white, Parmesan, and garlic. Form 1/2 inch balls from the mixture.
- 4. In a large bowl, stir the cooked pasta, spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese, carrots, and salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into the pie plate and smooth the top. Scatter meatballs on top and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, until the center is firm and the cheese is bubbly, 25-30 minutes.
A couple of weeks ago, Kayla and I had a girls night in while the guys were out doing guy things. We love when we have these nights to ourselves because it gives us the opportunity to create new foods and spend some quality mommy daughter time together.
We both were in a pasta mood so I decided to do some browsing and find a delicious new pasta recipe. I came upon a Baked Lemon Pasta recipe from the Pioneer Woman that I knew I could twist and adapt to fit our style.
I loved the flavors of this creamy and delicious Lemon Pasta. I did not bake mine as the Pioneer Woman did and it still turned out fabulous. This one is quickly becoming a favorite among my daughter and I.
A delicious and yummy pasta dish that will make your spaghetti noodles love you forever!
Ingredients
- 1 box of Spaghetti
- 4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
- 1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
- 2 cups Sour Cream
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
- Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
- Extra Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti. If you like it al dente, then cook it like that. Be sure and salt your water before putting your spaghetti in so that it absorbs the salty water flavor. Drain your pasta and reserve a cup of the cooking liquid. Set everything aside.
- In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium low heat. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.
- Add your sour cream to the butter mixture. Add lemon zest and salt. Stir everything together and then taste. You might want to add some more salt if it needs it. Pour sour cream mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together. If the sauce seems to thick, use some of the pasta water to loosen it up a bit.
- Move it to a beautiful serving bowl and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley.
- Sprinkle lemon juice over the pasta one more time.
I served this pasta dish with some bread that I got on sale and a delicious Spinach and Strawberry salad (recipe coming soon).
This entire meal costs me around $6 to make for the entire family (enough to feed a family of 6-8)! It was filling, delicious and so inexpensive that I will be making this again real soon!
What have you made lately?
This month for the Taste and Create I was paired up with Seduce Your Tastebuds. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to find something that I liked or not because the tag line says that everything is tastefully vegetarian. Then I came upon this delicious sounding recipe — Moroccan Spaghetti.
This recipe was really good. I have discovered that I like the Moroccan taste of food so I will definitely be looking for more recipes to try out!
Be sure and stop by Seduce Your Tastebuds and check out all the other recipes she has available.
If you are looking for a Moroccan dish this is a great one to start out with. The spices really flavor up this dish.
Ingredients
- Spaghetti- 1 small pack
- Onion-1,chopped
- Tomato-1,chopped
- Garlic cloves- 3,grated
- Turmeric powder- a pinch
- Cooked chick pea-1/2 a cup
- Tomato paste-1 tablespoon
- Salt to taste
- Olive oil-1 teaspoon
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti as per the instructions and set it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and saute onion and garlic till onion is translucent.
- Add the tomato,tomato paste and turmeric powder,salt and cook till the tomato is soft.
- Add the chickpeas and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the cooked spaghetti and mix.
- Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.
Since I have been working a lot of hours lately, I have been trying to find super quick meals I can throw together, and yet still taste like I spent hours making it. (Using your slow cooker to make dinner is a lifesaver!)
This dish is just that!
3 simple ingredients, 2 hours to cook in the slow cooker, and you have a great meal on the table in no time flat!
Quick and Easy Ravioli Dinner
Ingredients
25 oz bag of frozen ravioli
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese or your favorite Italian blend cheese
Directions
Pour the jar of sauce over the ravioli.
Stir the ravioli to evenly coat with sauce.
Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours. You could also cook on low for a longer period of time.
About 20 minutes before you are ready to serve, sprinkle the top of the ravioli with finely shredded mozzarella cheese.
Put the lid back on and let it melt- about 20 minutes.
Once the cheese is melted, serve with corn, salad, and garlic bread.
In an effort to clean out my pantry which seems to be completely overloaded in every area, I have been trying to create my own versions of meals that sound appealing to me.
Y’all know I love me some chicken alfredo, but I am out of chicken—ACK! I know, right? I never run out of chicken! But I refuse to buy anything else until we eat up what we have
That is how this meal came to be! I had some stir fry steak pieces I had purchased from the butcher, which happened to be on sale for $3.59, a box of pasta noodles that I purchased on the markdown shelf for .29, and a delicious and easy alfredo sauce burning in my mind. So I decided to create the perfect pasta dish!
If you remember, back in November I shared a recipe for making your own homemade alfredo sauce. It tastes deelish on this steak pasta!
Here is the recipe friends
Hope you enjoy!
Grilled Steak Alfredo
Ingredients
1 package of stir fry beef strips from the butcher
1 box of penne pasta
McCormick Montreal steak seasoning
1 clove of garlic sliced thin
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of butter
3/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
1 cup of heavy cream
Shredded 5 cheese Italian cheese (optional) for garnish
Directions
Marinate your steak strips with 2 tablespoons of the steak seasoning, the clove of sliced garlic, and the olive oil. Place all in a bag in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
When you are ready to begin cooking your steak, get out your grill pan and grill a few pieces at a time. Don’t overcrowd the pan or steaming will occur instead of grilling. When the meat is done to your satisfaction, remove from the pan and set it aside to rest.
While the meat is cooking, make your alfredo sauce using the butter, parmesean cheese, and heavy cream. In a medium sauce pan, add cream and butter together. Heat until it is all melted. Add Parmesan cheese and continue to stir until sauce just starts to thicken.
When the noodles have finished cooking, drain almost all the water from the pan, leaving about a 1/4 of the cup in the bottom. This will allow your sauce to stick to the noodles
Slice the steak into little chunks and throw in the pan with the noodles. Pour the alfredo sauce over the noodles and steak and mix together to combine.
Serve with garlic bread and a salad for a complete meal!
This post is linked to: Presto Pasta Nights, Potluck Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Food Fridays, Friday Favorites, Foodie Fridays, Feasting in Fellowship Friday, Sweets this Week, Fun with Food Friday, What’s Cooking in the Kitchen, Who Made What Weekends, Foodie Friday, Food Trip Friday, Fresh, Clean, and Pure Fridays, Food Fridays,
Fusion Fridays, Fresh Food Friday, Friday Food, Its a Keeper Thursday, Recipe Swap Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Tip Day Thursday, Making it with Allie, Creative Juices Thursday, Almost Friday Flaunts, Sweet Treats Thursday
I made an interesting dish the other night with just a few ingredients I had in the pantry. I have been trying to use up all my things that have been hanging around so I can replace them with new things, and this meal just kind of came together.
My family loves lasagna, but it takes SO long to prepare. This meal is a spin off on lasagna and allows you to get that same flavor, but cuts the cooking time in half!
P’sagna (pasta lasagna)
Ingredients:
1 box of penne pasta
1/2 pound of ground beef, cooked and drained
2 cans of Hunts Fire Roasted Tomatoes with garlic
1 block of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon of italian seasoning
salt and pepper for taste
parmesean cheese for garnish
Directions
Cook ground beef and drain. Set aside.
In a food processor or blender, puree your cans of tomatoes until it resembles spaghetti sauce. Add salt and pepper for taste and the tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Mix together once more then remove and set aside.
Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain then add the tomato sauce and hamburger meat. Mix together well and place in a 9×13 pan.
Once you have put the noodle mixture in a 9×13 pan, cover with the shredded mozzarella cheese and put in a 350 degree preheated oven until cheese melts and is brown and bubbly.
Sprinkle parmesean cheese on top and serve!
This post is linked to: Anti Procrastination Tuesday, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Tuesday Tasty Tidbits, Tasty Tuesday , Wander Food Wednesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s On Your Plate
My new pan arrived a couple of weeks ago. My very firs piece of Le Creuset. I have always wanted one of those pieces since Ree (aka The Pioneer Woman) showed them on her blog.
CSN stores gave me an opportunity to review a piece from their Cookware.com store (my favorite store by the way), and I had *just enough* to get this neat dish and pay for shipping.
It arrived and my heart sank because it was broken in five places. I called CSN and they immediately took care of the problem! In two days I had another one to replace the broken one–free of charge! CSN stores ROCK y’all!
Anyway, I got my new piece of cookware in and decided it was high time for some of my all time favorite lasagna. Its the kind that will make you cry and sing hallelujah all at the same time (it’s really good–I promise)!
This is my recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
Jennifer’s Lasagna
Ingredients
1 box of lasagna noodles (use the no cook noodles to speed up prep)
1 jar of Ragu Parmesean and Romano Spaghetti sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
1 lb of hamburger meat, cooked and drained
1 tub of cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup of parmesean cheese
2 (8-ounce) blocks of mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine spaghetti sauce, hamburger meat, and diced tomatoes together in a bowl. Set aside
Combine cottage cheese, egg, and parmesean cheese in another bowl and set aside.
If you purchased noodles that need to be boiled, do so now, otherwise, open your box of no cook noodles and set them aside.
Layer your lasagna in this fashion:
On the bottom of the dish, spray with non stick cooking spray.
Spread a thin layer of the tomato and meat mixture on the bottom of the pan.
Place a layer of noodles covering the whole bottom.
*Spread another layer of tomato and meat mixture on this layer.
Spread some of the cottage cheese mixture on top of that layer.
Sprinkle with some of the mozzarella cheese.
Repeat layers from * until you begin to run out of room.
Save enough meat mixture to place all over the whole top of the last layer of noodles.
Take the remainder of the mozzarella cheese and cover the entire top of the lasagna.
Cook in the oven for about an hour to an hour and a half. If your cheese begins to brown to early, cover with aluminum foil until done baking.
Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
This post is linked to Tip Me Tuesday, Anti Procrastination Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Shutter Love Tuesday, and Tasty Tuesday.
Do you remember awhile back when I said that I liked jarred alfredo sauce? Well, the other night I tried my hand at homemade alfredo sauce.
It rocks!
It is so simple to make, even your two year old could make it.
Here’s the recipe. Enjoy. Eat up. Pasta is my drug of choice (ha ha)!
Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
Directions
(To cook chicken, season with salt and pepper and fry until it is done all the way through. Cut up into chunks and toss with sauce and pasta).
This post is linked to Tip Me Tuesday, Anti Procrastination Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Shutter Love Tuesday, and Tasty Tuesday.
I was chosen to host the Kraft Homestyle Dinners House Party. Can you say excited???
When my box arrived, I was jumping up and down with joy, for in it was more kitchen stuff!
I got tons of stuff in my box; macaroni socks (they are the coolest. Slipper slocks with noodles on the bottom), 7 or 8 bags of homestyle noodles (these feed a family of 6 people), a new pot, a pyrex dish, and a pyrex spoonula.
So here is the recipe I fixed the first night. I made the bag of pasta the main meal by adding some cooked, chunked chicken to it.
Follow the instructions on the bag, then add the chicken, place in your dish, sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and then place in the oven. When it is done, it will look like this–YUMMY!
What have you been cooking up lately?
My family has fallen in love with Chicken Alfredo. Since eating it the last time that Kayla and I went to Olive Garden, I decided to try my hand at home.
If you don’t have time to make the sauce homemade, you can just use the jarred stuff. It tastes awesome!
Here is the recipe that I have been using. It is from the Kraft website. Enjoy!
What You Need
Make It
COOK pasta as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 to 7 min. or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet. Mix broth and flour in same skillet. Stir in Neufchatel, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, garlic powder and pepper; cook 2 min. or until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly with whisk. Stir in chicken.
DRAIN pasta; place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
Kraft Kitchens Tips
This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Dining with Debbie, and Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.
Last night, as I was trying to decide what to fix for supper, I moseyed on over to the All Recipes website to see what I could find. The thing that I love most about this website is the fact that I can put in ingredients and it will give me recipes based on what I have on hand.
So last night, I had pesto, rotini noodles, and chicken. This is the recipe it gave me: Pesto Pasta Chicken. This recipe kind of gave me a base for what I wanted to do. I did change it up just a bit, so here is my version below. It is SO good!
Basil Chicken Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package rotini pasta
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/2 cup pesto sauce
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender, then stir in chicken. Season with red pepper flakes. Cook until chicken is golden, and cooked through.Add tomatoes and toss.
- In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken and tomato mixture, and pesto. Toss to coat evenly.
This recipe was SO good that I only had a very tiny bowl left over. Hope you enjoy!
I found this really yummy recipe at Tasty Kitchen the other day called Chicken Vegetable Lasagna. I had to change the recipe some to suit those in my family. My recipe is below, but if you want the full, fledged version, you can find it HERE. This recipe is a little time consuming to make, but the results are just delicious!
Ingredients
12 whole Lasagna Noodles
6 cups Chicken Broth
½ cups Flour
¼ teaspoons Dried Thyme
½ teaspoons Dried Basil, Divided
½ teaspoons Dried Oregano, Divided
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 pieces Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Halves, Cubed
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cups Shredded Carrots
2 whole Medium Tomatoes, Chopped
3 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 dashes Salt
2 dashes Pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place lasagna noodles in a 9×13 pan. Fill pan with hot water and a drizzle of olive oil and let noodles soak while preparing the other ingredients (omit this step if using oven-ready lasagna noodles).
In a large saucepan, whisk together chicken broth, flour, thyme and 1/4 teaspoon each of basil and oregano. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and allow sauce to simmer and thicken while preparing chicken and vegetables.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cubed chicken, remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of basil and oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
In the same skillet, melt the butter, then add the chopped onion, garlic and carrots. Cook and stir until vegetables are tender. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until heated through. Return chicken to skillet with vegetables.
Spread a scant cup of the thickened chicken broth in the bottom of a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/3 of chicken and vegetable mixture over noodles. Top with 1/3 of the thickened broth (about 2 cups), followed by 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat twice, ending with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Top with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, until lasagna is bubbly and cheese is golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Bacon is always a winner in my house. When I found this recipe on the Hillbilly Housewife website, I knew it would be a winner!
Here is the long awaited post on the Mexican Spaghetti! The night I made this I was low on everything, but I was bound and determined I was not going to the store. I really was trying to clean out my pantry and use all my stuff left over instead of buying unnecessary items.
This dish was really fabulous. Sometimes paring together ingredients that normally would not sound good together, make a wonderful taste combination and that is what took place here.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 1 (12 ounce) package spaghetti noodles, broken in half
- 5 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.Cook chicken breasts in the oil until nicely browned on the outside.Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to the skillet, and add the broken spaghetti. Cook,stirring constantly until spaghetti is browned. Drain off any excessoil, and add tomatoes and onion. Dice the chicken breasts, and returnthem to the skillet. Season with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.Pour in water, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until pasta istender, and water has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Check towardsthe end, and add more water if necessary.
- Spoon the chicken mixture into bowls to serve, and garnish with shredded cheese.
You can find more recipes like this at one of my favorite cooking websites, All Recipes.
This recipe is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
My family and I should have been Italian. We LOVE pasta. One of our favorite meals is lasagna. I think I could swim in a sea of it. Anyway, I was watching Food Network this week and Big Daddy’s House was on. I love that show! He was making his rendition of lasagna, BUT he was frying it in little bite size pieces. This got my attention!
He mixed up his lasagna mixture of ground beef, cottage cheese, marinara sauce, and mozarella cheese. Hmmm-hmmm goodness! He stuffed all this in cooked manicotti shells, then dipped them and rolled them in bread crumbs and fried them. All I can say is OH MY GOSH! Check them out!
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Cook manicotti shells according to package directions.
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Brown ground beef
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Pour in about 1 cup of sauce.
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Pour this into a bowl and allow to cool.
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Also allow manicotti shells to cool once removed from boiling water.
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After ground beef is cooled, mix cottage cheese and mozzarella together with ground beef mixture.
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Stuff into manicotti shells until completely full.
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Freze until firm and can be sliced into thirds easily.
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Once sliced into thirds, roll each section in flour, then dip into egg mixture, then roll in bread crumbs.
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Fry until golden brown.
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Use remaining spaghetti sauce as a dip for your bites!
I love chicken…it is no lie! Around here, every meal could easily be made out of chicken! Something that I started making a few years ago has become one of my favorite go to meals when I need something filling, tasty, and delicious!
This is the most tastiest dish I have learned to make so far! Full of flavor, garlic, lemon taste…hmm hmmm good! So here is the recipe for you! Make your own! In fact, I think I will make some this evening for myself!
Bon Apetit!
- ½ Cup butter
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 TBSP lemon juice (use the real stuff not the bottled mess)
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1″ chunks
- 1 package of your favorite noodles
- In a 10″ skillet, melt the butter and oil together.
- Once the butter has melted, add the parsley, basil, oregano, garlic,and salt. Stir together for about a minute.
- Add lemon juice and continue mixing.
- Add chicken to skillet and saute until chicken is done.
- While chicken is cooking, prepare your noodles.
- When chicken and noodles are done, combine the two and mix together.
Hi! I am Jen--a wife to the most amazing man ever and a homeschool mom to one teenager. I just graduated my oldest.
I have been blogging since 2007. I love to watch movies, spend time in the kitchen, crochet, dance, drink coffee, and lay on the beach. Between recipes, reviews, and hilarious life story moments you'll find many helpful posts on this blog. Welcome, pull up a chair and stay for a while!
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