Skillet Lasagna

This was so good!  It's fast and easy enough to make on a weeknight, too, which is wonderful.  The recipe calls for ricotta/cottage cheese/Greek yogurt to be added, and even though I forgot to stir it in (which I'm sure would have made it even better), it was great. 

The original post (from my favorite blog, Plain Chicken) says to use half a pound of sausage and half a pound of ground beef.  We had a pound of ground venison, so that's what I used, but I bet the addition of sausage would be delicious.

Use a large pot to boil your pasta, and then you can combine all of your ingredients in it.  I was tempted to cook more than 8 ounces of pasta, but it made plenty.  It makes four generous servings, but if you add a side salad and garlic cheesy bread, it can feed six.  Luckily, it's just as good (if not better) reheated for lunch the next day.

Skillet Lasagna

8 oz Farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 (24 oz) jar pasta sauce
8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 lb ground venison (or beef)
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp shredded fresh basil
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese or Greek yogurt)

In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

In a skillet, brown ground meat until no longer pink.  Drain grease from skillet.  In the large pasta pot, combine the cooked pasta, cooked meat, pasta sauce, cheese, Italian seasoning, basil, and ricotta.  Stir to combine, and coat thoroughly.  Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Top with additional cheese if desired.

5-Minute Tomato Sauce

Need a good tomato sauce to go with those Oven Toasted Ravioli from yesterday?  Try this! 

I know it's the summer, and a plethora of beautiful tomatoes are available.  However, I didn't have time for all that.  I needed this sauce quickly, so I used a can of crushed tomatoes, and it turned into a solid, easy, tasty sauce.  Yum.  (And don't be afraid of the red pepper flakes; it really isn't hot.) 

5-Minute Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
zest of 1 lemon

Combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, and garlic in a cold saucepan.  Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat.  Saute about 45 seconds, or until everything is fragrant but before the garlic browns.  Stir in the tomatoes, and heat to a gentle simmer, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat, and add more salt if desired.  Stir in lemon zest.

Oven Toasted Ravioli

I love toasted ravioli, and I'm so glad to discover how easy it is to make at home!  You can use thawed frozen ravioli or refrigerated ravioli, which is what I used.  It can easily make a main course for me, but it's great as an appetizer.  I'm sure you'll love it!  Thanks to Steph at Plain Chicken for sharing! 

Oven Toasted Ravioli

12 refrigerated ravioli
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
6 Tbsp Italian bread crumbs
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 375.  Whisk together egg and milk in shallow bowl.  In another bowl, combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.  Dip ravioli in egg mixture first and then in bread crumbs.  Place on baking sheet.  Repeat until all ravioli are coated.  Spray ravioli with cooking spray, and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with warm marinara or pesto.

3-Cheese Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage Sauce

These were awesome! It was my first time making stuffed shells, and it wasn't difficult at all with a little advanced planning. I boiled the shells, made the filling, and browned the Italian sausage in the morning and refrigerated them all day. Then I started to assemble everything about an hour before I wanted to eat.  Plus, using a gallon-size ziploc to mix the filling together made stuffing the shells and cleaning up a breeze!

One box of jumbo shells makes enough to feed an army; serioulsy, one box gave us 32 stuffed shells. We froze half of them and ate the other half all week long. 

These are also great because you can change up the filling.  Biz doesn't consider anything a meal if it doesn't contain meat, so that's why I added Italian sausage to the sauce.  However, I'd also add shredded chicken to the filling, and I think that would be awesome, too.  Try these; they're really good!

3-Cheese Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage Sauce

1 (12 oz) box jumbo pasta shells

1 (32 oz) container ricotta cheese

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

2 (28 oz) jars pasta sauce

1 lb mild Italian sausage

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta, and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water. 

In a large skillet, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat until no longer pink.  Remove the crumbled sausage from the pan, and drain on paper towels.  When cooled, combine with the jars of the pasta sauce in a medium bowl.

In a gallon-size ziploc bag, mix ricotta, half the mozzarella, the Parmesan cheese, and the Italian seasoning until well combined.  When ready to assemble, snip off a corner of the bag, and pipe the filling into the shells.  Place stuffed shells into two 9"x13" baking dishes, and top with pasta sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese.  (You can freeze the shells at this point.) 

Bake in oven preheated to 350.  Cover dish with foil for 35 minutes, and uncover for 10 more minutes. 

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

So delicious!  This was a very quick and easy summer recipe.  The most complicated part of the recipe is boiling the water for the pasta.  The rest of the ingredients you just add to a food processor or blender. 

The sauce is very thin, so if you like your sauce chunkier, don't pulse it as much in the food processor--or you can heat it in a saucepan for a while; it might reduce and thicken that way. 

I took a serious shortcut and used the jarred roasted red bell peppers.  It was wonderful, and that's the way I'll continue to make it.  I love goat cheese, and it added the perfect creaminess to this recipe.  Just to add something extra, I sauteed 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms in olive oil while the pasta was cooking, and I added those to the dish at the end.  It was great!

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

3/4 cup jarred roasted red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil, plus more for garnish
8 oz whole wheat pasta
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a food processor or blender, add bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, chicken broth, lemon juice, sugar, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and basil; pulse until smooth.  Add sauce to cooked pasta.  Crumble cheese on top, garnish with fresh basil, and serve.

Chicken Mediterranean

We liked this, and it was easy enough to make on a weeknight.  To be honest, I took out the most Mediterranean aspect out of this by leaving out the 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives it calls for.  We're not olive people, but if you are (like most people are), then add them with the tomatoes. 

You can use any short pasta; the original Southern Living recipe called for penne, but I had some rigatoni that I needed to use.  The feta on top never really melts, but when it gets soft and warm, it's just so good. 

Hope you like it!

Chicken Mediterranean

1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/3 cup crumbled feta
4 ounces short pasta, cooked

Combine chicken, garlic, and olive oil in a zip-top bag.  Seal and marinate at least 2 hours.  When ready, cook chicken mixture in a large skillet over medium-high for 8 minutes or until chicken is done; remove from skillet.  Add tomoatoes and Italian seasoning to skillet.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often for about 7 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet.  Sprinkle with feta cheese, and remove from heat.  Cover and let stand 5 minutes.  Serve immediately over hot cooked pasta.  Yield: 2 servings.

Meatballs a la Pizzaiola

Have you recently watched one of Giada's shows on the Food Network?  She always looks beautiful, and she always makes food that sounds so delicious.  One thing that doesn't sound so great to us, however, is her pronunciation of Italian words.  Let's be honest.  It's annoying.  I have her cookware and her food processor from Target, but I roll my eyes when I hear her say mozzarella.  Or, if you hear Buck imitate her, MOZZZAREELLLLLLA.  She's a wee bit ridiculous.

Anyway, we made these very good meatballs with some pasta (PASta) and a side of marinara sauce.  You could do these as a hearty appetizer or with spaghetti. (spaGHEtti)  Next time, I'd either bake them on a rack over a baking sheet (so some of the fat will drip out) or just pan fry them entirely (so they will develop a good crust).  The half and half that I did wasn't strong.  I also used 1 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes, and they were just a little spicy; you can adjust the seasoning to your liking.

During our Italian lesson with Giada, we learned that the title of this dish means that they're meatballs with all the flavors from a pizzeria: sundried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, tomato paste, not to mention the little cube of mozzarella in the middle.  They didn't especially taste pizza-flavored to us, but they were very good either way.  The recipe below makes a whopping 3 dozen meatballs, so cut the recipe to make it suit your needs.

Meatballs a la Pizzaiola

Cooking spray
2 large shallots, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained (5 or 6)
1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds 20-percent fat ground beef
1 pound ground pork
6 ounces smoked mozzarella, cut into 36 (1/2-inch) cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cups marinara sauce, warmed


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside. In a food processor, pulse together the shallots, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and salt. Process until blended. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the beef and pork and, using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Form the mixture into 36 equal-size meatballs (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter).  Insert 1 cube smoked mozzarella cheese into the center of each meatball and form the meat around it, completely enclosing the cheese.


In a large nonstick skillet, heat half the oil over medium heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs.  Place the browned meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes for medium doneness. Set aside to cool slightly, and serve with warm marinara sauce

Spaghetti Pie

(The picture above was taken before I put it in the oven.  Just imagine that the cheese has melted.)

This is such a delicious way to make spaghetti!  We made this for Buck's parents for Sunday lunch, and it was a hit with everyone!  We used ground venison, but you can use hamburger meat, too.  We served it with a salad and crescent rolls.  This would be a great weeknight meal.  It definitely serves a crowd. 

Spaghetti Pie

1 lb ground venison
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
8 oz spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 1/3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3 Tbsp olive oil
Tony Chachere's (or other Cajun seasoning), to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add the venison and brown well.  Season with Tony's, to taste.  Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Adjust seasoning and remove from heat. 

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, and green onions.  Set aside.

Coat a two-quart casserole dish with cooking spray, and add the cooked pasta.  Spread the sour cream mixture over the pasta.  Add the meat mixture on top, and sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and bake for 25 minutes.  Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. 

Pasta Ponza

Okay, this isn't really Giada's recipe for Pasta Ponza, but it's what I based this recipe off of.  It was so easy and so delicious.  I especially love pasta dishes because they're so great as leftovers for lunch the next day, and this was just as good reheated the next day.  

One of the secrets of this recipe is tossing the hot pasta with cheese immediately.  The cheese sticks to the hot pasta, and then the sauce will stick to the cheese.  It was fantastic.  We loved this, and we'll definitely make it again.

Pasta Ponza

Cooking spray
13.25 oz penne pasta (I used whole wheat pasta)
1 cup (or 6 oz) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a shallow glass baking dish with cooking spray, and place the halved tomatoes in the dish.  Drizzle olive oil on top of the tomatoes, sprinkle breadcrumbs on top, and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, and cool for 5 minutes.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling, salted water.  Cook until tender but still firm to the bite.  Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining. 

Place the hot pasta in a large serving bowl, and toss immediately with the cheese.  Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the pasta, and mix.  Thin the sauce with the pasta water, if necessary.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle the fresh basil on top.  Serve immediately. 

Southwestern Pasta Bake

This is a recipe from Rachael Ray's old cookbook, 365: No Repeats.  We both liked it and went back for seconds, and I know it would have been better if I'd actually had all the ingredients (no cilantro or parsley worth buying in the grocery store, so none went into the food; I also didn't have coriander, which it called for originally).   It was a spicier form of mac-and-cheese with chicken with some onion and jalapeno. 

The recipe really did go quickly, according to her 30 minute promise, but I'm in no hurry, and I don't want to use every pan in my kitchen to make it all in 30 minutes, so I used the pasta pot to make the cheese sauce while the pasta was hanging out in the colander.  (If you do it in half an hour, you have so many dirty dishes!  Everything cooks at the same time.  Make it easy on yourself; spread it out.)

I think she stuck it under the broiler at the end for the 30 minute promise, but if you wanted everything to firm up and get some color, you could put it in the oven at 350 for 15 or so minutes; we sprinkled breadcrumbs on top and put it under the broiler, and it was really good.

Southwestern Pasta Bake

1 lb pasta (I used farfalle; she suggested penne rigate)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1.25 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Preheat the broiler and position the rack on the 2nd shelf.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta.

While the water is coming to a boil, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil.  Season the chicken with cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the seasoned chicken to the hot skillet, and cook until lightly brown, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the onions, garlic, and jalapeno, and continue to cook for 5 minutes.  While the chicken is cooking with the onions, make the Cheddar sauce.

In a medium sauce pot (or the pot you cooked the pasta in), melt the butter, and add the flour to it.  Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, and then whisk in the milk.  When the milk comes to a bubble, stir in the cheese, cilantro, and parsley. 
Combine the pasta, chicken mixture, and cheese mixture in one large pot, and stir to combine.  Transfer to a baking dish, and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to lightly brown.

Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

I recently discovered Framed, a really fun food blog with gorgeous pictures.  She had this great idea for macaroni and cheese cupcakes, and since we needed a good comfort meal last week, we happily tried it out. 

I'll tell you this: The macaroni and cheese recipe itself is good and very simple, but it's not outstanding.  It's the individual servings that make this dish so fun.  If you have a favorite mac and cheese recipe, go ahead and whip it up, and then bake it in the muffin tin; if you don't have a favorite mac and cheese recipe, try out one of mine--like this fancy Caramelized Onion Macaroni and Cheese or Biz's favorite Creamy Mac and Cheese. 

We tried it out in a regular sized muffin tin with paper liners, and we also sprayed mini-muffin tins and just spooned the mixture in there.  Wouldn't mini mac and cheese cups be the perfect appetizer for your next dinner party?  When your guests see this to snack on before the main meal, they'll feel relaxed and at home.  You should try them! 

Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

8oz elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1 cup milk
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400.  Line a muffin tin with paper or foil liners (or coat well with cooking spray).  Cook the macaroni in boiling water until done; drain and immediatly return to the pot.  Add cheese and stir briefly until melting.  In another bowl, mix beaten eggs into milk, and then pour mixture into macaroni.  Mix well.  Ladle macaroni mixture into muffin tins, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top, and bake for 20 minutes.  Cool slightly before serving.  Recipe yields 1 dozen regular-sized cupcakes.

Penne Pasta with Bacon and Cream

What's not to love about this?  This is a Southern Living recipe that I changed a little bit, and it was delicious.  It's hearty enough to be an entree, but you could serve it on the side of other dishes as well. 

The original recipe called for whipping cream instead of half and half and pasta water, but I wanted to lighten it up and use the leftover half and half I had in the fridge.  I also added sun dried tomatoes because I can't get enough of them.  It made 4-6 servings, but if there are just two of you eating, I'd still make the whole thing.  It's even better reheated for lunch the next day; leftovers are the best.

This recipe came together really quickly; boiling the pasta was the longest step.  Thankfully, it also didn't require many dishes.  I boiled the pasta in one pot, then put the pasta in a colander and sauteed the mushrooms in the same pasta pot.  Give it a try!

Penne Pasta with Bacon and Cream

7 bacon slices, cooked
4 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 (8.5 oz) jar julienned sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
10-12 oz penne pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup pasta water
1/4 tsp pepper

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions.  Coarsely crumble cooked bacon and set aside.

In oil from sun dried tomatoes, saute sliced mushrooms and garlic for about 3 minutes or until tender.  Stir in cooked pasta, Parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes, half and half, pasta water, and pepper.  Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often, until sauce thickens (about 5 minutes).  Stir in bacon, and serve hot. 

Italian Sausage Pasta

This was so tasty!  I'd never cooked with Italian sausage before now, but it had a sweeter flavor than what I was used to (even though I got the hot Italian sausage).  I think this was the closest I've ever gotten to a 30 minute meal.  It made a lot for just the two of us, so I can tell you that it was still great reheated for lunch.  I'll make this again.

Italian Sausage Pasta

1 lb penne pasta

1 lb hot or sweet Italian sausage, removed from its casing

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup diced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup reserved pasta water

Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta in boiling water for 8-10 minutes and drain. 

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.  Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly browned.  Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender.  Stir in tomatoes, and cook for 8-10 minutes.  Stir in pasta and cup of pasta water, and heat through.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.



Grilled Chicken and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

This was so good!  This recipe was in the latest Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.  We're always looking for macaroni and cheese recipes, and we love grilled chicken, so this seemed like the perfect way to join the two.  This recipe can serve up to 6 people, but if you're cooking for a smaller crowd, go ahead and make the whole thing; it was great when I reheated it for lunch the next day.

I couldn't ever get the sauce to thicken, even though I cooked it for long enough, so once it was in the casserole dish, I baked it at 350 for about 15 minutes before putting it under the broiler for a few minutes.  The only thing I'd change next time, for appearance's sake only, would be to use penne instead of macaroni; it would taste the same but probably look a little more "grown up."  I love Rachael's recipes, but I can never get them done in 30 minutes.  If you are good, you can get this done on quickly; if you're like me, it's more of an hour-long meal. 

Grilled Chicken and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

6 slices smoky bacon
1 lb pasta--penne or macaroni
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
4 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 rounded tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
Nutmeg, to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 375.  Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler pan or on a rack placed over a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes.  Chop and reserve.  Switch on the broiler, and position the rack in the center of the oven.

Bring a pot of water to a boil; salt it, add the pasta, and cook to package directions.  Drain and return to the pot. 

While the pasta is working, heat a grill pan or griddle over medium-high heat.  Drizzle the chicken with olive oil to coat lightly, then season evenly with the paprika, salt, and pepper.  Grill the chicken for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally.  Transfer to a cutting board and thinly slice pieces. 

While the chicken cooks, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until light golden and very soft, 15-20 minutes.  Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute.  Whisk in the chicken stock, then the milk.  Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until the sauce is thick, 3-4 minutes.  Add the thyme and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Stir in the cheeses until melted. 

Add the chicken, bacon, and sauce to the pasta and transfer to a 9"x13" casserole dish.  If the dish needs to be thickened, bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Otherwise, broil until bubbling and browned, about 5 minutes. 

Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

If you haven't been to Plain Chicken's blog, you have to go; she always has such great recipes, and this is one of them.  Biz and I made this along with yesterday's sirloin steak, and it was good!  I hadn't had gnocchi in years, and it was great covered in cheese (but what isn't?).  The original recipe called for Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese, but I used Parmesan because I'm cheap; it also called for Gruyere, but I used Swiss (for the same reason).  I didn't know any substitutions for Fontina, so I went with it.

Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

1 pound gnocchi
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shredded Swiss
1/4 cup shredded Fontina
1 tsp basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375.  Prepare gnocchi according to package directions.  Drain and place gnocchi in a single layer in a 1-1/2 qt. shallow baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles; then whisk in milk and Dijon. 
Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. 

Combine Swiss and Fontina cheeses.  Add by the handful to the milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful.  Once all cheese is melted, add basil, salt and pepper. 

Pour sauce over gnocchi, and sprinkle with Parmesan over the top.  Bake gnocchi until they puff and cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes.  Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Bizzuck's Birthday Dinner

Happy Birthday, Bizzuck!

Since today is Biz's birthday, I don't have any new recipes to contribute, but I will highlight some good ones I've already posted--the ones Bizzuck requested for his birthday dinner.  He chose the Pesto Chicken Panini Sandwich, the Creamy Mac and Cheese, and of course, Texas Sheet Cake.  That can attest to how delicious they are! 

I'll be back with a new recipe soon.  We're off to celebrate tonight!

Spinach, Mushroom, and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Every time I cook pasta, I wonder why I don't cook more of it.  It's cheap, it makes so much, and it's delicious.  I got the idea for this recipe from AllRecipes and added changed some things up.  To be completely honest, I didn't measure the amount of sun dried tomatoes, spinach, or mushrooms I put in, so I'm estimating on the recipe.  Use the measurements I'm using if you're curious, but if you know you love mushrooms (or any other ingredient), add more!   To make it heartier next time, I'll add grilled chicken strips.  Hope you enjoy!

Spinach, Mushroom, and Sun Dried Tomatoes

1 lb penne pasta
1 cup reserved pasta water
3  Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
1/4 cup baby portabello mushrooms
1 handful fresh spinach, runsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Pour in penne and cook for 9-12 minutes or until al dente.  Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.  Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes over medium heat, and saute the garlic for 1 minute or until tender.  Mix in the spinach, and cook until almost wilted.  Pour in the reserved pasta water, mushrooms, and sun dried tomatoes.  Continue cooking 2 minutes or until heated through. 

In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the mushroom-tomato mixture.  Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Creamy Mac and Cheese

When Bizzuck told me recently that his favorite food was macaroni and cheese, I knew it was time to search for another good recipe.  Found it!  Thanks, AllRecipes!

We loved how creamy this macaroni and cheese is, and I loved that this particular recipe won't break the bank.  Sometimes, the fancy macaroni and cheese recipes can get pricey when you have to buy 3 ounces of this fancy cheese and 3 ounces of that expensive cheese.  This recipe isn't putting on airs.  It uses Velveeta.  And it is delicious. 

When you're making it, you may wonder, like Biz did, where the rest of the macaroni is.  Don't worry; the ratio is perfect after it's baked.  I hope you like it as much as we did. 

Creamy Mac and Cheese

1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups milk
8 oz American cheese, shredded (I used the four-cheese Mexican blend)
8 oz Velveeta, cubed
1/4 cup seasoned dry breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.  In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Blend in flour, mustard powder, and pepper until smooth.  Slowly stir in the milk, beating out any lumps.  Add the cheese and Velveeta, stirring constantly until smooth. 

Drain the cooked noodles and stir into cheese sauce.  Transfer the mixture into the casserole dish, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs over the top.  Cover the dish, and bake fro 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is thick and bubbly.

Caramelized Onion Macaroni and Cheese

Oh, man.  This is so good--so good, in fact, that Bizzuck deemed it Thanksgiving-worthy, and that's really saying something.  Sixteen ounces of white cheddar cheese?  Yes, please. 

I love caramelized onions, too, but they almost got lost in all of the cheesy goodness (and so much eggs and milk at the end--it all tasted incredible, but I wonder if it would be okay still to cut some of that out).  Those would probably be my only complaints.  

Oh, wait--I gained three pounds, too.   

The Ritz cracker crumbs add such a good crunch, and I cannot tell you adequately what the pecan topping does to this.  You want your first bite to have a few chopped pecans.  Believe me: you want it.  Once again, Southern Living knows what it's doing.  Forget seconds; we were going back for thirds. 


Caramelized Onion Macaroni and Cheese

1 (8oz) package uncooked elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp butter
2 large onions, hlaved and thinly sliced
1 tsp sugar
1 (16oz) block white Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 sleeve Ritz crackersk, finely crushed
6 large eggs
4 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cook macaroni according to package directions and set aside.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add sliced onions and sugar.  Cook, stirring often, for 15-20 minutes or until onions are caramel-colored. 

Layer half of the cooked macaroni, half of the onions, half of the cheeses, and half of the cracker crumbs in a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish.  Layer with remaining macaroni, onions, and cheeses.  Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper; pour over macaroni.  Stir together remaining cracker crubs, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and pecans.  Sprinkle evenly over macaroni.

Bake at 350 for one hour or until browned and set.  Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving. 

Penne with Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Whenever I make this, I always wonder why I don't do it more often. It's so good, so easy, and it makes enough for lunch the next day; it's one of Bizzuck's favorites. My food processor decided to cut my finger and then not work to chop up the ingredients for the pesto, so we just had whole sun-dried tomatoes--still delicious. I can't say enough good things about this tasty pasta dish. Thanks, Giada!

Penne with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto


1 lb penne pasta
2 chicken breasts, grilled and shredded
1 (8.5oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper


Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water. Reserve one cup of the cooking liquid before draining.

In a food processor, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, the garlic, the basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour in a bowl. Add pasta and parmesan cheese to pesto mixture, and toss to coat. Add enough of the cooking liquid to moisten. Enjoy!