Pesto Penne

Since the hubs has been working out of town lately, I have been left with just little ole me to feed. It barely seems worth cooking for. However, the other night while I was rummaging through the cupboards, I came across my penne noodles and they just screamed, "EAT ME." So, I did and I loved it. This is my own little creation of ingredients I had in my kitchen. I think this would be great with some garden tomatoes or black olives as well. This makes two servings.

Pesto Penne

Source: Mrs. O

Ingredients

6 ounces penne noodles

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp pesto

1 tsp minced garlic

a sprinkle of shredded Italian blend cheese to garnish

Directions

Prepare penne as directed on the box. Drain. Place noodles in a medium bowl, stir in pesto, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Stir until evenly distributed. Lay shredded cheese over warm noodles. Allow to slightly melt or place in microwave for 10-15 seconds. Enjoy!

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Rolls

So, I picked up a tub of Ricotta cheese. Then I didn't know what to do with it. It was almost like a Christmas miracle that this recipe came across my google reader because it was delicious. A warning though, it truly is a cheese filled delight and 1 will, more than likely, be plenty for a hungry adult. I followed the recipe exactly except the hubs is afraid of eating anything green so I left the spinach out. If I made it again, I would add it because I feel that it would break up the immense cheese flavor! I reduced the recipe by half for the two of us and that is the recipe I am posting below.

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Rolls

Source: JennandFood

Ingredients:

Rolls

6oz. chicken breast, poached and shredded

6 oz. part skim ricotta cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

6 lasagna noodles, cooked according to the package

Sauce

4 tablespoons

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, minced
shake of dried oregano

Grease 8x8 in pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl combine the chicken, ricotta and Parmesan cheese. Spread the mixture down the center of each noodle, leaving an inch and a half at each end. Roll each noodle and place in pan.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Whisk in the cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the Parmesan cheese, garlic and oregano.

Pour the sauce over each noodle. Top with the 2 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes.

Mom's Amazing Alfredo

As much as I love to cook, I find it hard to beat anything that is made at a restaurant. One of the few items that I will only eat at home is my mom's fettuccine alfredo. No other alfredo sauce can compare. Perhaps it's the love that is stirred into every bite...or the cream cheese. I can't decide which but point is, it's amazing! This is a recipe that she has been making for years and is often a company favorite. Everyone who has tasted this glorious mixture has been astonished by the great taste.

I am not sure where this original recipe came from as it has been a family favorite for years and is ingrained into our memories, but I am guessing it's from Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe book as that is the main ingredient.

Now for mine, as shown in the picture, I made a half batch of the sauce (just for the hubs and I) and placed it over some frozen cheese tortellini. The recipe I am listing below is the original and paired with fettuccine noodles. Take your pick of how you want to pair it, we have used penne as well, but the main message here is, YOU MUST MAKE THIS! I promise you will not regret it!

Mom's Amazing Alfredo

Source: My mom and possibly a Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe book, once upon a time

Ingredients:

1 lb fettuccine noodles

1 (8oz) package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened (I used 1/3 fat and it tasted just as good, shhh don't tell my mom)

1 stick margarine

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a medium saucepan cook fettuccine noodles in boiling water until tender, drain.

In a small saucepan melt margarine and cream cheese until combined. Add milk and parmesan cheese. Stirring constantly until bubbly. Pour over warm, drained fettuccine noodles.

Enjoy!

Lighter Taco Bake

I enjoy marinara sauce. The hubs does not. And so the fight begins. I try to honor his tastes most of the time but I have been craving Mexican lately and this recipe just looked so dang good. I thought the adjustments StephanieCooks made were perfect and followed them almost to the T. It resulted in a great meal that even won over the hubs, leaving me amazing leftover for lunch the next day.

Lighter Taco Bake
Source: StephanieCooks

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (I used 1/2 pound to lighten it up)
1 packet taco seasoning (I used half since I halved the recipe)
15 oz. tomato sauce (I used around 8 oz. on the hub's behalf)
8 oz. seashell pasta (again, half)
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened in microwave (I used 4 ounces)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat)
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used about 1/2 cup of 2%)

Directions
1. Brown ground beef, drain. Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. ( I simmered for about 7 since I had less tomato sauce)
2. In the meantime, cook pasta according to directions. Drain.
3. Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in separate bowl.
4. Spray bottom of pan. Put pasta in bottom of pan.
5. Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta.
6. Spoon ground meat mixture over this.
7. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.
8. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. (I may have over cooked a little initially, so I peeled off the cheese and remelted some cheese on top. Turned out perfectly)

Taco Mac and Cheese

As previously mentioned, I love Mac and Cheese, so when I came across this recipe in Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine I knew I had to give it a try. I also loved that it involved 4 ingredients with endless additional possibilities. Feel free to jazz this meal up with fresh veggies to give it an extra kick. I could see loading it up with some green peppers, tomatoes or corn. I also halved the original recipe as it was very filling and it easily fed the two of us with some leftovers. The recipe listed below is the full recipe, serving 4 hungry people. It was a great weeknight very quick meal.

Taco Mac and Cheese

Adapted from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine Oct/Nov 2009

2 boxes Mac and Cheese

1 lb ground beef

1 packet of taco seasoning

Prepare boxes of Mac and Cheese according to the box. Brown ground beef, drain and add seasoning according to the pouch. Finally, dump it all together, stir and enjoy!

See, I told you it was easy!

Gourmet Mac and Cheese

The first meal I ever made was Mac and Cheese and one of my favorite birthday gifts was when this glorious creation came in a huge bucket! I hope my mac and cheese skills have improve because I remember a time when I added so much milk that it was more of a soup...and my mom never said a thing! She just ate it and told me it was great...now that's love!

Now that I have 'grown up' it is a meal that I make frequently for the hubbs but I have been looking for something more. This is the third baked mac and cheese recipe I have tried and this is the only one I plan to make again because, it was amazing! Very quick and easy because you just toss a bunch of stuff into a pan and bake for 30 mins! What more can you ask for?

Hubbs approval rating: Initially after seeing cottage cheese: "What are you trying to feed me?!?!" After tasting: with a sheepish grin "It's actually really good, filling."

Gourmet Mac and Cheese

Taken from IceCream&Wine

Ingredients:

8 oz. package elbow macaroni ( I used Penne because that was what I had in the cupboard)

8 oz. package shredded sharp cheddar cheese

12 oz. container cottage cheese

8 oz. container sour cream

1/2 cup Italian cheese blend (parmesan, asiago, fontina)

Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta - cook until done and drain. In a 2.5-quart baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Italian cheese, salt and pepper. You may sprinkle additional cheese on top before baking.Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

Feeds 4 hungry people