Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

This is a recipe I have had bookmarked FOREVER and I finally got around to making it...

And it did NOT disappoint. YUM!

2 cans evaporated milk
1 packet (1 oz.) dry Ranch dressing mix
1/8 tsp pepper
enough lasagna noodles for a 9x13 pan (this is usually 6 for me)
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

Boil noodles according to package directions and set aside.

Mix together evaporated milk (don't use the fat free kind) and the ranch dressing packet in a 3 qt. saucepan over medium heat stirring frequently. Let simmer 25 minutes and then add chicken and pepper. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Grease your 9x13 well before layering your ingredients. Layer your pan like this: Noodles, sauce then cheese- then repeat. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

The last time I made this, I had tons of squash from my garden, so I added in some cut up squash to my layers. I just added it after the sauce and put the cheese on top. It was a yummy addition to the meal and made it more hearty and filling (and healthy!)

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

Is that recipe title long enough for you?

I got this recipe from the Kraft Foods magazine that I used to receive in the mail... until I moved and I couldn't get the subscription changed over for some reason...Sad.

This recipe makes 4 servings and each serving is only 460 calories! This was delicious- especially for being under 500 calories!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups multigrain penne pasta, uncooked
9 oz. fresh spinach leaves
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp dried basil
1 jar (14 1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz. Neufchatel cheese, cubed (you could use cream cheese if you aren't worried about the calorie content)
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese

Right after I took the picture of my ingredients, my little cheese-monger stole a whole bunch of cheese and I had to grate more.
Heat oven to 375. Cook and stir chicken and basil in large skillet. Add sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer 3 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Stir in Neufchatel cheese.
Cook pasta according to package directions
Add the spinach to the boiling water for last 1 minute. Remember that spinach will boil down to almost nothing when you put it in the water, so put in WAY more spinach than you think you should... TRUST ME!

Drain pasta mixture and add to skillet of chicken, tomatoes and sauce. Add 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and stir until mixed well.
Transfer to a baking dish. I used an 8x8 pan. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese. Bake 3 more minutes.
You could easily make this vegetarian by just leaving out the chicken and it would still be delicious! Enjoy!

(Picture from Kraft Foods magazine, pg. 22 Holiday '08/Winter '09 Magazine)

Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes

This is a recipe I got from Pioneer Woman Cooks and it is so delicious! We loved this. I am so glad that Josh is not the type of guy that HAS to have meat at every meal, because we couldn't enjoy the yumminess of meals like this... This was so good, but I could see most kids not liking it.. I wouldn't have liked it as a kid, I can tell you that!

Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1 14.5 oz. can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice (I used petite diced...I like them small!)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth, more as needed
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound thin spaghetti
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan chese
2 Tbsp chopped olives or other herbs (I didn't use anything here!)

Cook spaghetti til al dente. Drain and set aside. While pasta is cooking, melt olive oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Stir and cook for 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste (don't UNDERsalt!!) Cook over low heat until heated through, then turn off heat. (My sauce was a little too runny- maybe leave it to boil down a little longer) Place drained pasta in a large bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Pour sauce over top. Add chopped olives or other herbs. Toss lightly to combine and coat. Delicious!

DISCLAIMER!: I realize this isn't a TRUE vegetarian meal since it uses chicken broth, but it is meatless and it was delicious! Enjoy!

Classic Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

This is a recipe I got off Tried and True Cooking with Heidi and we really like it. Super simple and I had all the ingredients on hand!

CLASSIC CHEESE STUFFED MANICOTTI

1 package manicotti noodles (14 pieces)

1 3/4 cups (15 oz container) ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese... its all I had!)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 cups (28 oz jar) spaghetti sauce

extra mozzarella and Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Cool in single layer on foil. Heat oven to 350.

In large bowl, stir together cheeses, parsley, salt and pepper; Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish; spoon the cheese mixture into cooled pasta tubes
It is really hard not to split these when you're stuffing them. Here are my tricks. First off, just wash your hands and use your hands to stuff. Trust me, using a spoon to stuff them just doesn't work. If you do rip the manicotti, just place the torn edge face down in the dish.
Arrange filled pasta in single layer over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over pasta; cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Remove foil; top with extra cheese if desired and bake 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.Serve with a yummy vegetable like squash... Yum! Enjoy!

Meatball Soup

This yummy recipe came from my friend Ashley. We tried it last night and it was great! It hit 3pm yesterday and I hadn't even thought of dinner and Josh said he'd be on his way home in a couple hours and was starving... So I threw this in my crock pot and away we went! I halved this recipe and we still had TONS left over! (so... plan according to your family size! I might even third this next time for us!)

6 cups water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
1 jar spaghetti sauce
meatballs
egg noodles

Mix first 4 ingredients in a crock pot on high heat. Most crock pots should take 3-4 hours, but mine is super fast (and I boiled the water in the microwave before I added it... Because I needed it to hurry!)

20-30 minutes before serving, add egg noodles and they should be perfect when you serve it. Serve topped with a little bit of mozzarella cheese. We also had fresh Parmesan cheese, so we threw some of that on too! This was delicious and even the little B-man approved (who went straight into the bath after dinner!)

Homemade Mac N Cheese

Josh and I are pretty much kids at heart and love macaroni and cheese. But... making it from a box just does nothing for me... that powdered cheese.. clumping up in the noodles.. Ughh.. So this homemade stuff is great! Its so easy and uses real ingredients. I had a recipe from Martha Stuart that called for Gruyere cheese... and I have NEVER been able to find that... so I've never made it. I am perfectly happy with this recipe... It is yummy (and our kid really likes it too!) 1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

5 Tbsp Margarine

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 ounces Velvetta

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp dry bread crumbs

1. Cook Macaroni according to package directions. Drain and place in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Set Aside

2. In a saucepan, melt 5 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth (I always add more flour- enough to make it a thick pasty mixture) Gradually add milk and bring to a boil (I also add more milk than it calls for...) Cook and stir for 2 minutes; Reduce heat- I boil until it is the thicker consistency that i want- If it seems like your white sauce is getting too thick, just add more milk.

3. Stir in cheeses (I add about4 oz velveeta and then the cup of cheddar... I like it cheesy) and salt and pepper until the cheese is melted. Pour over the macaroni and Mix well

4. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top (or if you don't want the bread crumbs you can just skip this step!) Bake, Uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes. YUMMY!!

Creamy Chicken Lasagna

Alright, so I know I've fallen behind! I've been on vacation and I promise I haven't forgotten about this blog!!
Here is a yummy yummy meal that I made last Sunday for my sister's birthday dinner. Seriously yummy Lasagna- It tastes TOTALLY different than a normal Lasagna... Mmm...
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves9-10 uncooked lasagna noodles1 cube chicken bouillon1/4 cup hot water1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese1/4 cup parmesan cheese1/2 cup spinach, fresh or frozen1/2-1 tsp garlic--to taste1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
• Meanwhile, place the chicken in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from saucepan, and shred.
• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Dissolve the bouillon cube in hot water. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the bouillon, cream cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, parmesan, spinach and garlic.
• Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with the chicken mixture, and top with 3 lasagna noodles; repeat. Top with remaining sauce, and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

Sorry for the lack of pictures for this recipe, but you will have to trust me... it is yummy!

Susan's Lasagna

This is, BY FAR, Josh's favorite dinner to have. The recipe for Lasagna is his mother's and we love it. It is simple and uses normal ingredients that I have around the house all the time- I don't usually have ricotta cheese like most lasagnas call for, but I always have cottage cheese. I usually just make an 8x8 since there are only 2 of us eating, but I will give you the recipe for the 9x13 pan instead. Susan's Lasagna:6 lasagna noodles, cooked according to directions on package1 tub of cottage cheese (I buy the bigger tub, the 32oz, but maybe would only use 25-ish oz. for the 9x13 pan)2 eggs1 Tbsp parsleySpaghetti sauceGrated cheddar cheese (however much you like on your lasagna)Parmesan cheeseAbout 1 lb. browned ground beef, seasoned with dried onions, garlic, salt and pepper.(see my post before this about how I cook my ground beef)Mix eggs and parsley into cottage cheese mixture. Spread small amount of spaghetti sauce on bottom of pan to keep noodles from sticking. Lay down 3 lasagna noodles, layer with spaghetti sauce, 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 lb. ground beef, 1/2 of grated cheese, then layer again with noodles, spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese, meat, and cheese. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 350 for about 35-45 minutes or until bubbly throughout. We like our lasagna a bit runny, so that there is sauce to dip our yummy breadsticks in... mmmm