Last Minute Dinner Recipe: Three-Cheese & Chicken Baked Pasta

I was searching this weekend for a last minute dinner idea. You know how it is...it's Saturday and you've been busy all day, look at the clock and it's already 4:30. I searched around the net and came across this Southern Living recipe for  Three Cheese Baked Pasta and decided this was what was going to be for dinner. I thought the recipe sounded easy and fantastic!

I did, however make two adjustments. There is no way my meat eater hubby was going to have a non-meat meal. I  added chicken to appease my meat eater.  I also did not have ricotta on hand but did have cottage cheese and substituted with that. This turned out so good, easy and the family raved on its deliciousness!  Now, I never eat leftover pasta but my husband does. He said it was as delicious reheated as it was the first time!   

Three-Cheese & Chicken Baked Pasta

Ingredients

1 (16-oz.) package ziti pasta

2 (10-oz.) containers Alfredo sauce 

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream 

1 (15-oz.) container ricotta cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten 

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Stir together Alfredo sauce and sour cream; toss with ziti until evenly coated. Spoon half of ziti mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Stir together ricotta cheese and next 3 ingredients; spread evenly over pasta mixture. Spoon remaining pasta mixture evenly over ricotta cheese layer; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

I hope your family enjoys this as much as ours!

Cold Weather Meal: Slow Cooker Ham & White Beans

While I may live in South Florida, it has had a chill in the air for a week or so now. For us, it comes and goes. Some days it may be 40's in the morning but get to 60's and 70's by day. Then there are some days it just stays cool. It is days like that when I yearn for those meals that we ate in the Midwest. Now, I do know it doesn't have to be cold. But, there is nothing like a cool or winters day and a cold weather meal. 


Since I also work outside the home, some of those meals are difficult to attain unless it is on the weekend. What I rely on heavily is the use of my slow cooker. I can capture the slow cooked taste and not come home from a long hard day at work and cook for hours. Last nights dinner was both... a cold weather meal utilizing my slow cooker. 

Slow Cooker Ham & White Beans

1 lb package dried northern beans
ham bone, hocks, shanks or diced ham (about 1 pound)
2 tsp onion powder
6 cups water
salt & pepper to taste


Rinse and sort the beans. Add the the rinsed beans, onion powder, salt, pepper, and ham to slow cooker. Add water. Cover and cook on low about 8 hours, until beans are tender. Serve with cornbread. I swear by Jiffy :)

Slow Cooker Sausage Breakfast Casserole

I am always on the lookout for breakfast recipes that are convenient and doesn't make us stand in the kitchen for hours on end. I know when I first get up, the last thing I want to do is stand in the kitchen cooking a large breakfast. One of our go-to breakfasts is Egg Strata. If you've never heard of this and would like the recipe, let me know. I am happy to share!

This weekend we tested a new recipe we found we liked well. This will now be another of our go-to breakfasts!

Slow Cooker Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. (26 ounces) frozen shredding hash brown potatoes
  1 pkg. Jimmy Dean® Hearty Original Sausage Crumbles
  1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
  1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded parmesan cheese
  1/2 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
  6 green onions, sliced
  12 eggs
  1/2 cups milk
  1 teaspoon salt
  1/4 ground black pepper  

Directions

1. Spray a 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Layer 1/2 of the potatoe on the bottom of slow cooker. 

2. Top with half of the sausage, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes and green onion. Repeat layering.

3. Beat eggs, milk and pepper in large bowl with a wire whisk until well blended. 

4. Pour evenly over potato-sausage mixture.

5. Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours or on high setting for 3-4 hours or until eggs are set. 

Yield:

12 servings (about 1 cup each)

NOTE: Our variation on this was to omit the sun-dried tomatoes (hubby does not like them) and we added a bag of real bacon Bacon Bits. 

Crock Pot Recipe: A1 Steak Sauce Roast

Moms know, the crock pot can be a lifesaver! I have go to recipes from breakfast to sides to dinner to dessert! What Have you been cooking in your Crock Pot lately?  

A1 Steak Sauce Roast

1 roast, 2-3 pounds
1 pound baby carrots
1 pound red potatoes
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup A1 steak sauce
1/2 cup water
1 packet onion soup mix

Place roast in crock pot. Cover roast with onions, carrots, and potatoes.
Combine soup mix, A1, and water. Pour this mixture over the vegetables.
Cook on low 7-8 hours.

ENJOY!

Cookies and Cream Oreo Bark

 

Cookies and Cream Oreo Bark

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Easy Christmas Tree Appetizer

Ingredients:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
Yellow or green bell pepper
1 piece (2 inches) green onion
1/4 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
1/4 cup apricot preserves or orange marmalade
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
Assorted tortilla chips, crackers or sliced vegetables, if desired

Directions:

1. Cut block of cream cheese diagonally in half; arrange on serving plate with shallow rim to form triangle.

2. Cut star out of bell pepper with star-shaped cookie cutter; place at top of tree. Place green onion piece at base of tree.

3. Mix salsa and preserves; spoon over cream cheese. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.

No-Bake Fudgy Snow Balls

 

No-Bake Fudgy Snow Balls

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Melted Snowman Cookies

 

Melted Snowman Cookies

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A Family Favorite...

 Believe me when I tell you that I am NOT the cook of the house. While I think that I can cook, and it is definitely edible, I do not LIKE to cook. I do, however, love to bake. I am blessed with a husband that missed his calling (being a chef). He makes fantastic meals that I wouldn’t even attempt. I do, however, like to give him a break so that he does not get burnt out from always being the one to cook and try to think of something.

I have a few go-to staples that I enjoy making because they are easy and my family likes them. One of them is a recipe that has been passed through my family for many, many years. It is called Chicken Londoff. I made this over the weekend so my hubby could have a day off from the kitchen. While you will see it is easy as you read it, believe me when I tell you it tastes great and this is a requested meal (that I am willing to cook…lol).

Chicken Londoff

Ingredients

6 Chicken breast halves
6 slices Swiss cheese or 1 c grated swiss cheese
1 can Cream of chicken soup
1/2 c Cooking sherry
2 cups Peppridge Farm herb stuffing
1 stick Butter or margarine

Preparation

Place the six chicken breast halves on bottom of 9x13" pan sprayed with Pam.

Top chicken with swiss cheese.

Mix cream of chicken soup and cooking sherry and pour over the chicken.

Spread herb stuffing evenly over soup mixture and drizzle melted margerine (or squeeze margerine) over stuffing.

Bake at 350F for one hour.

Cook's Notes:

This recipe can be very budget friendly, in fact I adjusted it just this weekend. The chicken breasts were purchased on a deal, for the cooking sherry we use the cheapest jug of white wine and I picked up the rest of the ingredients at our Dollar Tree! They have swiss slices in the refrigerator and for the stuffing I used the turkey flavored boxed stuffing they carried!

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A Taste of Fall...

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Created by: No Biggie

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Breakfast Tacos

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Created by: Annie's Eats

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Yum-Yum chicken bone...

This weekend I was on a fall kick…wanting to see the leaves change, go to a pumpkin patch, pick our own apples and bake pies with them, all the things we did when we lived in the midwest but most cannot be done in South Florida. I wanted a fall friendly meal but I also wanted easy. While we have many things to do over the weekend (laundry, cleaning, etc), family time is of the utmost importance. We enjoy a good meal and eat all our meals together but none of us want to be stuck in the kitchen all day. I am always on the lookout for great tasting easy meals (feel free to send me your favorites!) that take little time or can be cooked in a crockpot. So, I came across this recipe for Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches and had filed it away. Hubby was wanting hot wings and I was not going to be spending my day over a fryer and I certainly wasn’t ordering them in. Have you seen the prices of wings in restaurants? So, Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches to the rescue.

Oh my gosh, if you have not had these and like hot wings, please try this for an easy weeknight meal. 

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

·         4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

·         1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided

·         1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix

·         2 tablespoons butter

·         6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Directions

1.  Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.

2.  Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.

ENJOY!

AFI LYRICS

"Chicken Song"

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Ahhhh…fall has descended upon us (even here in Florida).  Cooler temps, Starbucks Pumpkin Lattes and Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin treats are a sure sign of fall for me.  So, for our first fall-ish weekend, we made chili and these amazing Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes. I just love fall!

 Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. espresso powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
½ cup coffee or espresso, for brushing

For the whipped cream:
2¼ cups heavy cream, chilled
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

For garnish:
Ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners or grease and flour.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  Stir together and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  With the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.

Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full.  Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.  Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans.  While the cupcakes are still warm, brush them two or three times with the coffee or espresso, allowing the first coat to soak in before repeating.  Let cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-low speed at first, gradually increasing to high speed.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar gradually.  Whip until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-beat.  Use a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip to frost the cooled cupcakes.  Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce.  Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

 With little ones around, I am always on the lookout for kid-friendly recipes. By kid-friendly, for me, that means:

·       appealing to them

·       little mess

·       easy for them to eat

As soon as I saw the Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza Puffs, I was sure they would be perfect! They loved them and I had little  cleanup. Perfect!

Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

3/4 cup flour 
3/4 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup whole milk 
1 egg, lightly beaten 
4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) 
2 oz mini turkey pepperoni, (about 1/2 cup)
4 oz low-fat sausage, cooked and crumbled 
1/2 cup pizza sauce

Pre-heat your oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, sausage and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Italian Chicken Soup

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Created by: Pioneer Woman

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