Italian Pasta Bake

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion or 3 Tablespoons dry minced onion
4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons basil
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder or one clove fresh garlic
Sea salt to taste
10 ounces whole wheat pasta, any shape (we like bionature brand)
2 cups shredded cheese (we use white cheddar, but you can use mozzarella or any combination of your favorite cheeses)

Brown meat and onion together. Meanwhile, bring tomato sauce, water and herbs and spices to a boil. Stir in pasta and boil until tender. Do not drain. The pasta should have absorbed the liquid! Mix in cooked meat. Salt as desired. Spread mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350° for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through and through.

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

*Note: If asparagus aren't in season, cut 1 pound of broccoli into small spears for roasting. Toss them with 2 tablespoon oil and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper and roast for about 15 minutes.

1 pound fresh asparagus spears
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
1 pound penne pasta
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ of the pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the asparagus roasts, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the vinegar is reduced to about 3 tablespoons, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.

Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until just done, 11-13 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Stir in the butter and vinegar mixture. Toss to combine well. Add in the asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt.

Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese for serving.

Serves 4-6

Recipe From: My Kitchen Cafe

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced
1 pound Penne Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente
½ sticks Butter
4 whole Lemons, Juiced
½ cups Heavy Cream
½ cups Half-and-half
1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped

Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander.

In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 4 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.

Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!

Recipe From: Pioneer Woman

Easy Mac & Cheese

1/2 pound elbow macaroni (or penne)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups lowfat milk
1 large egg
12 oz shredded cheddar
salt & fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Boil pasta in olive oil to al dente (about 6 or 7 mins) and drain. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium pot and whisk in the flour. Keep it moving so it doesn’t get lumpy. Begin to stir in the milk and let it simmer for 10 mins. Crack an egg in a separate dish. Temper the egg by taking a spoonful of milk mixture out of the pot, adding it to the egg and whisking. Do this a few more times until you’ve brought the egg to the same temperature as the milk. Then pour the egg (which now has 3 or 4 spoonfuls of milk in it) into the milk mixture. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the macaroni (or penne) in with the cheese. Pour it into a 2-quart casserole dish and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes and then let it rest before serving. Serves 8.

Recipe From: Cooking with my kid

Spinach Bacon Penne Pasta

16 oz package of penne pasta, cooked al dente
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 large handfuls fresh spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan, toss all ingredients in and cook on medium-high heat until fresh spinach is cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

This was good! We all liked it, although Nate said it could use some breadsticks or something to go with it.

I just made this again, and this time I added some zucchini from the garden. I cooked the zucchini with garlic and bacon grease, thinking this might encourage Nate to eat it. It was delicious!

Recipe From: Sweet Savory Life

Creamy Cajun Chicken with Pasta

1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbs. butter
12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 tbs. cajun seasoning
1/3 c. green onions, chopped
1 c. heavy cream
12 ounces thin spaghetti
2 tbs. parsley
grated parmesan cheese

In a skillet cook garlic in butter for approximately 30 seconds on medium heat. Stir in chicken and cajun seasonings and cook until lightly browned. Stir in onions and cook 1 minute. Add cream and turn heat to high, boil until slightly thickened. Meanwhile, cook and drain spaghetti according to directions. In a serving dish combine chicken mixture with pasta and parsley. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Crockpot Stroganoff

1 - 1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp salt
4 tsp pepper
1 lb mushrooms chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 C water
1 C sour cream
Pasta

In crock pot stir together all ingredients except sour cream. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add sour cream right before serving, cook on high and stir for 10 minutes.
Serve over pasta.

I got this from some friends of ours in California. It's super easy and very yummy!

Husband's Delight

1 lb ground beef
10 oz egg noodles (I've used spaghetti noodles and spiral noodles)
1 (14oz) can italian diced tomatoes (I use regular and just add some italian seasoning)
1 tsp salt
1 T sugar
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
about 1/4 onion, chopped
about 1/2 pound cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook Pasta and drain.

Cook ground beef and onion (I also added about a tsp of chopped garlic) on medium heat. Drain. Add tomatoes with juice, salt, and sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes. Combine sour cream and cream cheese.

In a 9x13 pan layer noodles, meat mixture, and sour cream mixture. Top with sliced cheese ( I used shredded cheese instead). Cover and bake 20 min. Remove foil and cook an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

(Caleb thinks it might be a little better if you mix everything together instead of layering it. That way the topping would be more evenly spread with the pasta, especially if you use shredded cheese. We'll probably try it that way the next time I make it.)

Recipe from: Melody

Hamburger Stroganoff

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 C)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (4 oz) can mushroom pieces and stems, drained (I omit this while cooking and add some to the top of mine when dishing it up.)
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sour cream
Hot cooked noodles or rice

Cook beef, onion and garlic in 10-in skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.

Stir soup, mushrooms and salt into beef. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes; reduce heat to low.

Stir in sour cream; heat until hot.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Recipe from: Betty Crocker

Mostaccioli

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion (I don't use all of it)
1 can (jar) tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can water
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp chili powder
salt
1 lb mostaccioli noodles

Brown the hamburger with the onion. Blend together and add to meat the next 8 ingredients. Add noodles and simmer on low for 1 hr.

This was always a favorite of the kids growing up. Be sure you check the simmering pan so all the liquid doesn't cook itself out.

(p.s. you can do it with less hamburger & I usually do)

Spinach Alfredo Sausage Lasagna

12 oz. lasagna noodles, cooked according to pkg directions
1 lb. pork sausage
10 oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
17 oz. jar alfredo sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown and drain sausage. Add spinach, alfredo sauce, salt, and pepper. In separate bowl combine egg and all cheeses except mozzarella. Mix well. In ungreased 9X13 pan layer 1/3 sausage mix, 1/3 noodles, 1/3 cheese mix. Repeat 2 more times. Sprinkle top with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Parmesan Ham Pasta

16 oz. bow tie pasta
2 c. cubed fully cooked ham
1 can 4 oz. mushroom pieces (I omit this ingredient)
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
1 pkg. 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute ham and mushrooms in butter. Stir in flour and salt until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat. Stir in spinach and cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Drain pasta; stir into the ham mixture.

Spinach Ravioli Bake

2 c. spaghetti sauce
1 pkg. (25 ounces) frozen Italian sausage ravioli or ravioli of your choice
2 c. (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pkg. (10 ounces, but I used 16) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Place 1 c. sauce in a greased shallow 2 quart baking dish. Top with half of the ravioli, mozzarella, spinach, and parmesan. Repeat layers.

(If I were to make this again I would probably put the sauce, ravioli, cheese, all the spinach, and then ravioli, sauce, and cheese. The spinach on the top got a little toasted doing it the way the recipe said.)

Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Zesty Italian Crock Pot Chicken

2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 pkgs. Zesty Italian dressing mix
2 c. water
2 tsp. parsley
6-8 chicken breasts cut into halves or smaller, if desired
2 pkgs. (8 oz.) room temperature cream cheese

Mix together soup, dressing mix, water, and parsley. Put in crock pot. Add chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours. One hour before serving add cream cheese. After it has melted a little while you can use a whisk to blend it. Cook for the last hour with the lid off. Serve over noodles or rice.

When I've made this I ususally cut the recipe in half and it still feeds Nate and I 3-ish times each. So basically it makes a lot.

Alfredo Sauce

1 pint heavy cream

1 stick butter

2 tablespoons cream cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Heat heavy cream, butter, and cream cheese together until melted and combined. Add Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until thickened. Serve with noodles and breadsticks.