Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Tortellini

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Tortellini:
Yield: Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 package of seven cheese tortellini
1 oz sun dried tomatoes (dried)
2 rotisserie chicken breasts (cooked)
4 cups of homemade tomato sauce (my recipe here)
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, heated on Medium, add your tomato sauce, diced chicken breasts, and diced sun dried tomatoes. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Bring a large, salted, pot of water to a boil. Add your tortellini. Cook for 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Add your heavy cream and cheese to your tomato sauce mixture. Stir for 1-2 minutes until incorporated.
4. Add your cooked tortellini to your sauce. Turn off your heat and gently mix together for 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

I came up with this recipe a couple nights ago on the fly. I needed to get dinner on the table fast because I had two melting down children who desperately needed food in their bellies. This whole dish took twenty minutes from start to finish to make. Paired with roasted asparagus and rolls, in the oven, dinner was ready! Both my children chowed down on the pasta and my husband devoured two large helpings like it was going out of style! I hope you all enjoy as much as they did!

Chloe chowing down! :)

Three Cheese Lasagna

Three Cheese Lasagna

Yield: Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

1 box lasagna noodles (the regular kind NOT the no-cook kind)

2 pounds ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)

1 egg

pinch of salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of dry basil

6-8 cups of homemade tomato sauce (my recipe here)

Directions:

1. In a large pot bring your salted water to a boil. Boil your lasagna noodles for exactly 6 minutes, drain, and rinse.

2. In your Kitchen Aid mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together your ricotta, 1 cup of your mozzarella, parmesan, egg, salt, pepper, olive oil, and basil. Whisk for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. 

3. In a large dish pour half of your tomato sauce on the bottom. Place a layer of noodles across the bottom length-wise. depending on the size of your dish 3-4 noodles should fit. I do a layer of 4 noodles with about 1/4" overlapping. You will have a total of four layers in this lasagna!

4. Spread out 1/3 of your cheese mixture across your layer of noodles. Place a second layer of noodles on top. Spread out another 1/3 of your cheese mixture and pour some tomato sauce in this layer. Repeat this process again, finishing your cheese mixture. Place your last layer of noodles on top, pour the remainder of your tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle the remainder of your mozzarella cheese on top of your lasagna!

5. Bake at 375 F for 40 minutes. I do not put tin foil on top of my lasagna because I feel like it makes the noodles more mushy. It could just all be in my head though.... :)

Lasagna is a family favorite here! This dish makes enough to feed our whole family for at least two days so plan for left overs! Let me know if you try out my recipe and what you think of it! Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers

Yield: Serves 6-8

Stuffing Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, minced

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 cup of rice, cooked

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 jar of tomato sauce 

1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning

1-2 teaspoons of dried red pepper flakes (heat preference of your choice)

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Cook your rice in a separate pot or microwave. Set aside, when cooked.

2. In a large saucepan, add your vegetable oil and bring to a medium heat. When your pan is hot, add your ground beef, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. With a spatula, gently incorporate your meat. Make sure to brown your meat on all sides while breaking it up into smaller pieces. This takes about 10 minutes. 

3. Add your cooked rice to your browned meat, along with your jar of tomato sauce.

4. Cut up your onion, garlic, and your tomatoes, and mix into the meat and rice. 

5. Turn your heat down to low, cover and let simmer for about 30-40 minutes until your onions are translucent. Continue to mix your stuffing every 10 minutes when covered.

Making Stuffed Peppers:

1. Cut off the tops of your green bell peppers and with your fingers scoop out the inside pulp and seeds. Set your empty bell peppers on a foil lined baking sheet and preheat your oven to 400 F.

2. Spoon in your Stuffing until you are at the brim of the pepper. Don't over fill or else the stuffing will not stay in while baking.

3. Sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese on the tops of each pepper. 

4. Cover with foil (gently so as to not knock over the peppers) and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes take the foil off and let the cheese brown for another 10 minutes. 

5. Serve with your favorite pasta dish (my Linguine with Tomato Cream sauce shown above), and some yummy steamed veggies! I love the greens from the vegetables and the reds from the sauces popping off the plate!

6. Any left over Stuffing can be frozen in Ziploc bags. I actually double this recipe when I make it to be able to freeze half. When you wish to use your frozen stuffing, just pull it out the night before and pop it in your fridge to let it unthaw. 

Note: I picked these bell peppers from my garden and that's why they are a little on the small side. If you also have small peppers to use lower your bake times by half: 15 minutes with foil and 5 minutes without foil in the oven. Enjoy!! 

Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese

Homemade Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 box of Penne
1 stick of butter
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1 pinch paprika
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup shredded Munster Cheese
3 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heated on low-medium (on a 2 or 3 notch) add your stick of butter and your pepper, mustard, and paprika. Let melt completely.
2. In a separate, large, saucepan fill with water. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Heat on high and cover. This is for your Penne.
3. Add you flour to your melted butter and whisk flour until lump-free and smooth. Let the mixture come to a light golden brown color and will take 3-5 minutes. Make sure not to let it burn. Continue to mix very well with your whisk.
4. Add your box of Penne to your boiling water in the large saucepan. Cook for 9-10 minutes.
5. Slowly add in your milk with little splashes at a time. Mix very well while adding your milk in or else it will curdle. Your arm should start to feel like you are holding you 25 pound baby now as your are whisking with all of your might. This process takes 3-5 minutes to incorporate your milk properly. Your mixture should be slightly thick and white....looking almost like paste.
6. With little handfuls at a time, slowly add in your cheese. Keep whisking with all of your might or else your cheese will separate. Nobody likes a chewy cheese sauce. To reach the perfect cheese sauce yummy goodness it will take you about 5-8 minutes to add all the cheese in. Keep on whisking!!
7. Drain your Penne and in a large serving bowl mix together your Penne and your cheese sauce. Serve immediately.

This is a family favorite of ours! It is super unhealthy so we only eat it on occasion, but it is the only macaroni and cheese that I like. The irony, of course, is that no macaroni is involved. I hope you all enjoy and happy whisking! :)


Note: I am actually in the process of trying to loose weight and am using My Fitness Pal to try and help facilitate that. I plugged all the ingredients into the recipe builder and it told me that per serving this recipe is still under 500 calories. I honestly thought it would be more than that. It still is a heavy meal, but I am glad that it isn't as devilish as I originally thought. Plus, you get a super awesome arm workout while making it so that burns some calories! :)

Beef Bolognese Sauce

Beef Bolognese Sauce
Yield: Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

3lbs of ground beef
5 medium onions, diced
1 1/2 cups of chopped baby carrots or one whole carrot diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 15oz can of tomato sauce

2 jars of tomato sauce or 6 cups of homemade sauce
3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
1 head of garlic (about 8-10 cloves), minced
1/3 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup fresh basil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Prep all of your vegetables, dice and mince when needed and set aside.
2. Turn your large saucepan on medium heat, coat with oil, and add you beef.
3. Sprinkle your salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic on your beef and brown for 5-10 min.
4. Turn your slow cooker on LOW for 8 hours, add the contents of your saucepan to the basin of you slow cooker.  You can also cook this overnight. The longer you cook it for the more flavors marinate together.
5. Add your canned tomatoes, sauce, all your vegetables, and seasonings. Mix well and cover.
6. Serve immediately or cool and freeze in containers! Enjoy!

I make this huge batch every couple of months and freeze in containers for easy dinners. This flavorful and hearty sauce makes for a filling dinner and sneaking in the veggies makes me extra happy as I watch my kids gobble it up!

Rotisserie Chicken Fajitas

Rotisserie Chicken Fajitas  
Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients:

1/2 a Rotisserie chicken, de-boned and skinned
1 green bell pepper
1 jalapeno
1 onion
1/2 a cup of fresh cilantro
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 a cup of olive oil

Directions:

1. Drizzle your olive oil in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish
2. Take your cooked meat, dice it, and toss it into your baking dish.
3. Slice up your bell pepper, dice your jalapeno, and chop your onion. Toss all into the baking dish.
4. Sprinkle your salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and taco seasoning into your baking dish coating your meat and vegetables.
5. Juice your lemon and drizzle the lemon juice over your ingredients. With a spatula, mix everything together well, cover with tin foil, and let marinate in your refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
6. Bake your dish at 375 F, with foil still covering the dish, for 15 minutes. Take the foil off and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes.
7. I added this mixture of meat and veggies to a base of black beans and cheese on a tortilla and topped it all off with some yummy salsa and sour cream!

Do you ever buy a Rotisserie chicken, eat half, and then wonder what to do with the thing? We buy one weekly because it is a great buy on meat at under $5 for a whole, cooked, chicken! I usually end up with half a chicken and have to come up with ways to use it in the rest of the meals I am fixing for the week. This is one of those many ways you can use that cheapo bird!
Overall, this is a really easy recipe and is pretty fool proof! My husband is currently sitting next to me devouring his food and narrating every bite for me, "Mmmm the peppers still have a nice little crunch to them..." "How many jalapenos did you add to this?" "The chicken is nice and tender..."  Oh husband of mine...

Note: This recipe is on the Medium/Mild end of the heat spectrum so if you want it spicier add a second jalapeno. Also, I seeded my jalapeno and did not add the seeds to the mixture. The seeds hold a lot of the heat so you could just keep the seeds for a little more heat! Enjoy! :)

Strawberry White Wine Spritzer

Strawberry White Wine Spritzer

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 750ml bottle of white Moscato wine 

1 liter of Sprite

2 cups of diced fresh strawberries

Directions: 

1. In a pitcher, add your bottle of wine and diced strawberries. Chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours prior to serving. 

2. Immediately before serving, add your chilled Sprite. Pour into wine glasses and garnish with a fresh strawberry.   Enjoy!

Note: I used Barefoot Moscato, but you could use any brand that you like!

We went strawberry picking at a local farm earlier in the day, so I was left with two huge buckets of fresh, ripe, strawberries. I made this recipe up on a whim mixing two of my most favorite ingredients together: alcohol and strawberries! Yummy! The strawberries got very drunk by the end of the evening and I ate them with a spoon out of the bottom of my glass because I am super Klassy like that! I hope you all enjoyed this beverage as much as I did! Leave a comment and let me know what you thought!

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