The Easiest Homemade Lasagna

If you are still buying frozen lasagna, this is the recipe for you.

It really could not be easier and is so delicious.  I mean, who doesn't love homemade lasagna?!  Whip up a green salad and some garlic bread and you are golden.  A super easy meal that people will be super impressed by.

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 jar marinara (I use Trader Joe's tomato basil)

16 oz. cottage cheese

8 oz. sour cream

1 cup parmesan

18 slices of mozzarella (or shredded works, too)

8 oven ready lasagna noodles (I use Barilla)

*Brown the ground beef on stove.  Add marinara sauce and simmer.  In a 9x13 pan, put a little bit of the meat sauce.  Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.  Lay down 4 of the noodles.  Mix the cottage cheese and sour cream together in a bowl.  Spoon half of that mixture over the noodles and spread.  Put 6 slices of the mozzarella over that.  Pour half of the remaining meat sauce over the mozzarella.  Sprinkle half of the parmesan.  Start again with noodles and repeat steps.  Top with remaining slices of mozzarella.  Cover with foil (without it touching the cheese) and bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes.

Sidenote:  You can make the lasagna bigger by doing more meat sauce and more white sauce.  I will often do that when we are feeding more than just our family of six.  All the other ingredients stay the same.

Red and White Pasta

I saw this recipe a couple of years ago on one of my favorite blogs, 71toes.  It's a great way to feed a lot of hungry kids.  It has become the favorite pasta dish at our house.

For the RED SAUCE:
1 lb. mild breakfast sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle of marinara (I use Trader Joe's Tomato Basil)

*Cook sausage with onion and garlic, drain grease, add marinara.

 For the WHITE SAUCE:

4 Tbs. butter

1 cup whipping cream

1 8oz. package cream cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

*Melt the butter, then add whipping cream, cream cheese, garlic and parmesan.  Whisk together on stove for a couple minutes until smooth and thick.

*In a 9x13 pan, layer one box of cooked penne pasta, the white sauce, the red sauce and then cover with shredded mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

RIGATONI w/MINI-MEATBALLS AND PINK SAUCE

I love pasta - of almost any kind! And I love "pink sauce" the most!  Husband - not so much, but he loved this! That's huge at our house! Picky-eater-of-the-pickiest-kind!! I adapted this recipe from another recipe my good friend Loni gave me. Her sauce was made with ricotta and husband doesn't like the texture - remember I said he was picky?  If you don't want to make your own meatballs, I suppose you could use the frozen ones that are already cooked from Costco, but those kinda freak me out. Not my favorite.  If you like them, it's completely ok!! I like making these because you don't have to fry - just bake. So much easier!! Please excuse the photography - I'm horrible at it!! 

In a large pot bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add 1 lb. Rigatoni noodls and cook to al dente. Drain and set aside.  Do not rinse - the sauce will coat the noodles better if you don't.

MEATBALLS

1/4 c. Italian style bread crumbs

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 T. milk

3/4 grated Romano cheese

1/4 c. chopped flat leaf parsley (Italian parsley)

a little salt and black pepper

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground sausage (you can use Italian sweet if you want,    or omit the sausage and use 2 lb. ground beef. I like the        mixed)

Mix all ingredients well with your hands or a large spoon, being careful to not overwork the meat. It makes the meatballs tough. I like to make them mini so I scoop them with a melon-baller for the perfect size. You can make larger if you want - just bake them a little longer.  Lay them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes - just until done.  If they are a little underdone that's ok.  They will continue to cook when you bake the pasta.  Remove from tray with a slotted spoon and set aside.

**This makes A LOT of mini-meatballs.  I usually spread half of the cooked meatballs on a cookie sheet and freeze. When they're frozen, remove them from the cookie sheet and place in a Ziplock freezer bag to use another time. No need to thaw - just put them in whatever dish you're making to bake.

Heat oven to 350.

In a small sauce pan heat 1 pint of heavy whipping cream just to simmering. Do not boil.  When simmering, stir in 6 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese with a wire whisk and stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a very large bowl, mix 48 oz of your favorite Marinara or red sauce with the Parmesan, cream sauce. This makes your pink sauce.  Stir in cooked Rigatoni noodles and the meatballs.  Spread in a 9x13 baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray.  

Cover the top of the noodles with 2 cups of shredded mozarella mixed with 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.  I like to let the cheese get a little brown on top.  Serve with a nice green salad and some crusty garlic bread.

Walnut Pesto

Here's the story...

A few days ago, our friends, Evan and Lisa, brought us a big, beautiful bag of basil from their garden.  I knew right away that I would be making pesto ASAP.  We had just run out of parmesan and I didn't have any pine nuts, so I went to Costco the next day to get what I needed.  As you probably know, pine nuts are not cheap. Like $25 for not-even-that-big of a bag.  So I went out on a limb and decided to try walnuts instead.  It was a success!!  We loved the walnut pesto!  Give it a try and see what you think.

2 cups packed basil leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup grated parmesan
couple shakes of salt

*Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until thoroughly combined.

Chicken Sausage Pasta

A year and a half ago, Brett and I flew to New York to visit Holly and see some sights in Palmyra and NYC.  On part of our flight, we sat next to a really nice man who we found out is the CEO of a natural and organic meat company called Bilinski's.  He told us all about his company and what they make and who sells it.  One of their products is chicken sausage and I had seriously never heard of such a thing.  (I don't get out much).  In my mind I was thinking, "ew that sounds gross," but I told him I would have to try that some time.  

Fast forward to last week when I was in Trader Joe's and I sampled some chicken sausage and it was good!  I decided I needed to give it a chance and make something with it for my family to try.  This is what they suggested at Trader Joe's and we loved it!

1 16 oz. bag of Farfalle pasta (I used about 3/4 of the bag)
1 jar pasta sauce (TJ's creamy tomato basil is our fave)
3 links chicken sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used Italian flavored)
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

*Boil pasta according to package directions.  Drain pasta and then pour into a casserole dish.  Pour in the jar of sauce and mix together.  Sprinkle in sausage and mix again.  Top with some shredded mozzarella and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

EASY TORTELLINI LASAGNA

Thanks to my cute friend, Loni, this is a delicious and easy way to make lasagna! We had it for "Sundee" birthday dinner yesterday and it was a hit! Mrs. Sam's Club and Mrs. Costco sure can make cooking a breeze! Sam's Club carries the Artisan Fresh brand of ravioli and it comes in a 2 pack.  Costco carries a different brand but they both taste the same. They are stuffed with chicken and cheese and some herbs. The two pack will make a 9x13 pan of "lasagna" but if you want a smaller amount, only use one pack and make it a 9x9 pan.  You could actually use any ravioli! A good idea for taking a quick meal to someone (especially if you forget and it's 4 o'clock)! I may or may not have done that a few times!!

1 two pack of stuffed ravioli (see above)
1 small container Ricotta cheese 
1 container shredded Parmesan cheese (or a blend)
Mozzarella cheese
Your favorite marinara sauce 

Spoon a small amount of marinara sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan.  I used a bottle of Ragu mixed with a little leftover sauce I had from spaghetti last week. Lay one of the two packs of ravioli in a single layer on top of sauce.  Spread Ricotta cheese on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  sprinkle with a layer of Mozzarella cheese.  Spread with a layer of marinara sauce.  Repeat the next layer without the Ricotta. (There is only Ricotta in the middle). 

 I actually made two of these yesterday and left Ricotta out of one of them--some in my family don't like it.  Bake at 350 for 30 min.  Serve with a nice green salad and garlic bread.

Easy Beef Stroganoff

Happy 2013!!

Hope it's been a good year for you so far.

I didn't do a lot of dinner-making during the month of December. In fact, we may have set a record for largest number of hot-and-ready Little Caesar's pizzas consumed in one month.  I hope the person that came up with that idea got a raise.  Best idea ever.  

But now it's a new year and we don't have an activity every night of the week and I'm cooking again!  Hooray!

This dinner is so easy and family-friendly.  Kids like anything with ground beef and noodles, right?  And it tastes great!

Just make sure and serve something green with this dish because it's not exactly the role model for healthy dinners.

1 pound lean ground beef
diced onion
1 can cream of mushroom
3/4 cup sour cream
salt
fresh ground pepper
garlic powder
egg noodles

*Brown beef with onions.  Add soup and sour cream.  Mix well.  Add a little salt to taste and a generous amount of pepper.  Add garlic powder to taste.  Let simmer over medium low for 10 minutes or so.  Serve over cooked egg noodles.

Trader Joes Gnocchi

I love it when people introduce me to new food I have never tried. I had heard of gnocchi but didn't really know quite what it was. I'm not a very adventurous eater so this wasn't surprising. My friend made this for us and we loved it. Then when she told me how easy it is, I loved it even more! Its from a Trader Joes recipe book so you can buy everything you need from TJ's. Another great perk!

Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients

1 (17.6 oz) bag dry Potato Gnocchi

1 cup Organic Vodka Sauce, or combine ¾ cup marinara with ¼ cup heavy cream

½ cup frozen peas, thawed

2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

2 Tbsp bread crumbs

1.) Preheat oven to 400 F

2.) Bring salted water to a boil and add gnocchi.   When gnocchi float to the top, they are done.   Drain.

3.) In a medium bowl, combine sauce, peas, basil, and ¼ cup parmesan.  Stir in gnocchi.  

4.) Lightly spray or oil a small casserole dish (8 inch oval). Transfer gnocchi mixture to casserole.   Top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs.  

5.) Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.  

CHICKEN WITH BASIL ARTICHOKE SAUCE

I used to subscribe to Taste of Home recipe magazine, but haven't for a long time. Every recipe had a little personal note about the submitter (is that a word)? They always seemed like such nice people--the kind that would bring you a warm loaf of home made bread and a jar of jam "just because".

I was looking for an old recipe on the internet and this one turned up from--you guessed it--Taste of Home. I made a few changes--I always seem to and my family really loved it. Pasta is not my husband's favorite (I could eat it every day) and he even said it was a "do again". And credit for the photo also goes to Taste of Home. Forgot to take a photo--AGAIN!!

6-8 boneless skinless chicken breast (I pounded to flatten them evenly)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 T. canola or olive oil (I used olive)
3 T. lemon juice

SAUCE:
7 T. cornstarch
3 c. milk (I used 1 cup half and half, 2 c. milk)
1 can (14 oz.) water packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and quartered
6-8 T. grated Parmesan cheese
4 T. minced fresh basil
2 c. chicken broth
3 t. lemon juice
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Pound chicken breasts so they are even thickness. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper. In a skillet on medium high heat, brown the chicken on both sides. Place in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Drizzle with the lemon juice. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done.

In a heavy saucepan, whisk the cornstarch and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil (it will be thick) and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Thin the sauce with the 2 c. of chicken broth. Stir in the remaining ingredients and heat through.

I sliced the chicken in slices, served it over pasta noodles with the sauce and a little fresh basil and Parmesan sprinkled on top. It would be good over rice also. Tell me what you think!

Creamy Italian Noodles

I got this recipe years ago out of a magazine and kind of forgot about it until just recently.  It's nothing fancy, but very kid friendly and easy to make.  A nice side dish for an Italian meal or a quick dinner for those busy December nights.

1 package (16 oz.) bowtie pasta
1/2 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix

*Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.  Add butter and mix until butter is melted.  Add cream and Parmesan and mix well.  Add seasoning and mix again.  Serve right away while it's creamy and hot.

Taco Pasta

 I made this taco pasta dish last week and it was delish!  It was a fun change to regular 'ole pasta with marinara sauce.  I loved the addition of cream cheese and sour cream.  And it tastes just like a taco!  Another great recipe from this blog.

Taco Pasta

1 pound ground beef
8-12 ounces medium pasta shells or other small dry pasta shapes, cooked and drained
1/2 cup pasta water
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, drained (if making this for kids, you might want to use just plain diced tomatoes)
1 packet (4 tablespoons) taco seasoning
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper

In a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the meat is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet.  Add in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.  Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit if it is still too thin.  Toss in the cilantro right before serving.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese and serve.

Creamy Pesto Pasta

*Pesto+Cream=Delicious*

I am all over any pasta dish that involves pesto.  So when the Pioneer Woman made a list of things you can do with pesto, and one of them included adding cream to it and putting it over pasta...I was a done deal.  My kind of dinner for sure.  Next time I'm going to throw some grilled chicken on top for the hubby.  It took some convincing to get the kids to try it, but once they did, they loved it.

1 1/2 cups basil pesto (I used Costco's)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbs. butter
16 oz. pasta of your choice
2-3 roma tomatoes, diced
salt/pepper to taste

*Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add cream and stir well.  Add pesto and heat over medium-low, stirring often.  When it's nice and hot, pour over your cooked pasta and toss to coat pasta.  Add the diced tomatoes and toss again.

Skillet Parmesan Chicken

Who wants to turn on their oven when there is a heat advisory going on outside?  This recipe is all done on the stove top and only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.

10-12 chicken tenders
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
3 eggs
jar of favorite spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
olive oil for skillet

*Heat skillet over medium-high heat with just enough olive oil to coat the bottom.  Mix together eggs in a bowl.  Combine bread crumbs and parmesan together in another bowl.  Dip chicken tenders in egg mixture and then in parmesan mixture until well coated.  Place gently in the skillet and brown for a couple of minutes on each side.  Pour sauce into skillet around chicken (I didn't use the whole jar).  Cover and simmer on low until chicken is cooked through.  Remove lid and cover with mozzarella cheese.  When cheese is melted, serve over your favorite pasta.

Fajitas

I saw this recipe on my cousins blog and knew I had to try it. My husband didn't think he was going to like it by the picture he saw, but he did admit after we had it for dinner that he really liked it. I think the noodles add a fun new twist instead of using tortillas.

Red bell pepper, julienned


Green bell pepper, julienned (I used yellow)


1/2 onion, sliced


2 Tbls olive oil


1/2 bag fajita meat (or full bag depending on how big the bag is) (see picture below)


1 can Original Rotel


Angel hair pasta


*Cook pasta according to directions. Saute bell peppers & onions in olive oil. Add meat for the last 5 minutes. Add Rotel. Drain water from pasta and add to fajitas. Mix well & Enjoy!


**This meat can be found at your local grocery store, but you get more bang for your buck at Costco/Sams Club.

Creamed Spinach and Pasta

 My sons and I recently discovered a library within walking distance of our house.  We finally decided to walk to it and get ourselves a library card.  It has become one of our weekly activities to walk to the library and check out books for Griffin.  Since I don't read books, I quickly found the cookbook isle.  It's so fun to check out a different cookbook each week to read and get recipes from.  This recipe is adapted from one of the cookbooks I checked out recently.  I didn't have all of the ingredients so I changed it a bit.  It's a super quick and easy dish.  And mighty tasty!

Creamed Spinach and Pasta

2 Tbs. butter
1/2 bag fresh spinach leaves
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
garlic salt

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.  Add spinach and saute until wilted.  Pour in cream.  Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and add cheese.  Stir well and let simmer until sauce begins to thicken, about 3 minutes.  Remove from stove and season with salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Serve over pasta.  (I used orzo pasta).

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

 I got this recipe from Nat who got it from her mother-in-law, Janet.  I have had it for a few years and finally decided to try it out.  I changed it slightly after comparing it to other recipes I found on the internet.  I always thought homemade spaghetti sauce would be so time consuming to make, but I was wrong!  It was easy and I actually had most of the ingredients already.  We loved this sauce and it was even better the next day!

Spaghetti Sauce

2 Tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 lb. ground beef
2 6oz. cans tomato paste
1 large can pureed tomatoes (I used 28oz. can crushed tomatoes)
1/2 Tbs. oregano
1/2 Tbs. basil
1/2 Tbs. parsley
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 cups water 
3 Tbs. Parmesan cheese

Put oil in large pot, then add onion.  Saute until translucent then add garlic.  Stir for 1 minute.  Add beef and brown.  Pour in pureed tomatoes and tomato paste then add water.  Next, add spices and sugar.  Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Serve over spaghetti noodles and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

*This makes a lot of sauce.  I used half one night and made lasagna with it the next night.  You can freeze the sauce to use later.

Mexican Lasagna

I love lasagna.  I love Mexican food.  Put them together and you have Mexican lasagna!  I was both intrigued and skeptical of such a combination.  But I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  A delicious blend of spicy, creamy and cheesy with tender lasagna noodles in the middle.   We ate this for 4 days straight for dinner.  It makes a lot!  I liked scooping it up with tortilla chips.  Thanks to Mel from Mel's Kitchen Cafe for the recipe! 

Mexican Lasagna

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
dash of ground cayenne pepper (I left this out)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ cup frozen corn kernels, white or yellow (I used a can of corn)

10 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream, light or regular
8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular

Brown beef in skillet.  Add onions and garlic.  Saute until done.  Add tomato paste, spices, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans and corn.  Mix well let simmer on medium heat for about 5 minutes.  In a 9x13 pan, pour 1/2 cup sauce on bottom.  Layer 4 noodles over the sauce.  Pour a 1/2 of the sauce over the noodles then dollop half of the sour cream and cream cheese on top.  Then sprinkle with half of the cheese.  Repeat.  Cover the lasagna with foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Uncover and bake 10 minutes more until cheese is bubbly.  Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

 I'm a big fan of Pioneer Woman, as I'm sure most of you are.

Her recipes are family-friendly and she uses real ingredients that are easy to find.  Plus she gives away tons of awesome stuff.

When I saw this recipe on her website, I knew immediately that it was going to become a favorite at our house.  Anything involving ground beef, noodles, and cheese is sure to be a winner around here.

1 1/4 lbs. lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
salt/pepper
8 oz. egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup sliced green onion (I left this out)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar

*Brown beef in a skillet.  Add tomato sauce and salt and pepper.  I used quite a bit of freshly ground pepper.  Let simmer while you prepare the rest.  Cook noodles according to package.  Drain and set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese.  Add some freshly ground pepper.  Add to noodles and stir.  Add green onions and stir.  Grab a casserole dish and begin by adding half the noodles.  Then add half the meat and half the grated cheese.  Repeat with noodles, meat, cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

Crock-pot Ravioli Casserole

I found this recipe in a Rival cookbook at my Aunt Annette's house.  I get so excited about good crock-pot recipes.  They come in so handy on busy days and especially on Sundays, when we come home from church starving and ready to eat.  This was filling and flavorful and the kids loved it!  Three stars in our house.

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (I used fresh spinach)
16 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

*Brown ground beef with onion and garlic.  Put in crock-pot and add sauce, tomatoes and seasonings. Cook for 6-7 hours on low.  Add the last 4 ingredients during the last 30 minutes of cooking and turn crock-pot to high.  I added the fresh spinach, pasta, parmesan and 1 cup of the mozzarella and I mixed it all up really well.  Then I added the last 1/2 cup of mozzarella to melt on the top.

Spinach and Orzo

Whenever I need an easy, healthy dinner, this is my go to meal.  I usually have all of the ingredients on hand and it only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish.  So easy and so delicious!

1 box orzo pasta
2 cans chicken broth
1 bag fresh spinach
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbs. olive oil
garlic salt
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Bring chicken broth to a boil.  Add orzo and cook according to package directions.  Meanwhile, pour olive oil into a saute pan and add spinach.  Cook on medium heat until wilted.  Add garlic and seasonings to taste.  When orzo is finished cooking, drain then add to spinach mixture.  Stir and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Serves 4-6.