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 :)

Gerber Sandwiches

I have mentioned many times that we previously lived in St. Louis and I often rave about the food. In my opinion, the food in my part of Florida is uninspired and bland. Although I love living in Florida (because of the beautiful weather), I absolutely miss the food in St. Louis. One of those foods I miss is a simple sandwich that I can, and often do, replicate. This is the Gerber Sandwhich. The Gerber sandwich started at a restaurant in St. Louis called Ruma’s Deli. As a teenager I worked there and ate these daily. Yummm. This sandwich is often requested in my home. I hope you will give it a try and come to love it as we do!

Gerber Sandwiches

Ingredients:

·         1 loaf French bread

·         1/4 cup garlic butter, spread

·         3/4 lb deli ham

·         1/2 lb provolone cheese, sliced thin

·         paprika

·          

Directions:

Slice the loaf of French bread lengthwise. Place on a cookie sheet. Generously spread butter on both pieces of bread. Here is where my version differs… At this point we put our sandwich in under the broiler (keeping an eye on and never leaving. It will burn before you know it!) until slightly browned. Remove and put a layer of ham on both pieces of bread. Top the ham with a layer of cheese. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. We usually skip the paprika.

Place this back in the oven on 350°F for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. This is an open-face sandwich. 

12 Chocolatey Cookies

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Ready,Set,Eat!

With the help of Ready, Set, Eat, there is no excuse to eat out anymore! What a time saver and we can sit down as a family!

Hi Denise! Fall back into your routine with these quick and easy crowd-pleasers. They're all ready in 30 minutes or less and use no more than seven ingredients; so cook one up tonight!

Ravioli Lasagna 15 PREP TIME 30 TOTAL TIME 6 INGREDIENTS Beany Mini Pizzas 20 PREP TIME 30 TOTAL TIME 5 INGREDIENTS BBQ Chicken Salad 15 PREP TIME 15 TOTAL TIME 7 INGREDIENTS Lasagna doesn't have to take hours to prepare. Chef Duran shows you how to make a quick and easy Ravioli Lasagna. Ease into your fall routine with these family-pleasing recipes that are deliciously quick and simple to prepare.