Pasta Fagioli

I saw this recipe when digging around the A Year of Slow Cooking blog.  I love soup.  I love using my Crockpot.  I love Italian food.  When I saw this, I knew this is something that would be healthy, easy, and delicious.  It makes a lot of food, so either make it for a crowd, plan on having a good bit of leftovers, or make it and freeze half.  It supposedly tastes like the Pasta Fagioli soup at Olive Garden, but I've not ever had that so I can't say.

Pasta Fagioli

1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained (you could also use ground turkey) 

1/2 large red onion, chopped  (I only had a white onion)
1 cup carrots, chopped 

2 celery stalks, sliced 

2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)  

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed 

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed 

4 cups beef broth  

1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce  

2 tsp oregano 

1 T Tabasco sauce  (I forgot to add this)

1/2 tsp salt  

1/4 tsp black pepper 

1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time   (I used fusilli/corkscrew-shaped pasta)
Parmesan cheese, for topping at end

Directions:

Use a 6 quart or larger crockpot, or cut the recipe in half.
In a large skillet, brown the meat on the stovetop and drain well. Let it cool a bit.  Finely chop carrots, onion, and celery and add to the empty crockpot  (I used a food processor to cut down on the amount of time to prep). Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Tobasco sauce. Finally, stir in browned and cooled ground meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. 

When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.
Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.
Serve with a bit of parmesan cheese.
Total Cooking Time: approx 9 hours on low, 4.5 on high

*** I did not put in the Tabasco sauce initially because I was unsure of how HOT it would be and if my kids would be able to tolerate the heat.  I intended to put it on the table to allow us to add it as desired while eating.  BUT, I FORGOT!  I will try the Tabasco next time.
***I cooked my soup on low for 8 hours.  I put the pasta in after the 8 hours, and it took the noodles only about 30 minutes to get soft enough.  
***Freezing suggestion:  If you plan on cooking a whole batch and freezing half of it, I would remove the half that you want to freeze BEFORE adding the pasta.  If you do this, cut your pasta portion in half when adding it to the hot soup you are planning to serve that night or you will have too much pasta.  My reasoning for this is that I think freezing the soup with the pasta, then defrosting it and cooking it at a later time may make the pasta too tender and soggy.  I would defrost the frozen soup at a later time, bring to boil or hot simmer, and then add the additional 1/4 cup of dry pasta so it is a fresh as possible.

Ravioli Lasagna

I love ravioli.  I love lasagna.  What's not to love about the thought of this dish.  My friend Amber on her This Mommy Cooks blog posted this a while back, and I immediately knew it would be something we added into our supper rotation.  What I love the most about this dish is that it is the yummy-ness and deliciousness of lasagna without all of the hassle.  The ravioli takes out the white sauce step, and boiling ravioli is much easier than boiling lasagna noodles.  Not only was it easier to prepare, it was wonderful! And, my daughter loved it!

Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 bag cheese ravioli (I purchased a package of Bertolli three-cheese ravioli from the refrigerated section.  My grocery store wasn't carrying the frozen cheese ravioli, but if I find the frozen, I will most likely use those as they are cheaper than the fresh.)

1-2 pounds ground turkey/beef, browned

4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Classico Tomato Basil)

Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown hamburger/turkey meat, drain, and add spaghetti sauce.  You don't want the meat sauce to be too saucy since it's going into a lasagna. Simmer for 10 minutes or so. Get out your 9x13 baking dish and start your layers. Begin your first with half of your meat sauce. Spread it all over the bottom of the dish. Next, layer your cheese ravioli in a single layer. You can place the frozen ravioli (if using) in the lasagna; it will bake just fine. Next sprinkle 2 cups of mozzarella cheese on top evenly. Next, spread the remaining meat sauce over the mozzarella cheese, then another layer of ravioli, and the remaining 2 cups of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the top with a little bit of Parmesan cheese. Place in preheated oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes tent or lay a piece of foil on top of the casserole dish and bake another 15-30 minutes, until raviolis are cooked through, and no longer frozen.

Hope you enjoy! It's a new favorite in our kitchen-ette!

Easy Easy Crockpot Italian Chicken

The other day I defrosted some chicken breasts to cook for the kids and I one night over the weekend.  Well, as our weekend unfolded, I realized that I wasn't really going to have time to cook a meal, unless I used the crockpot.  Another problem seemed to unfold because I realized that I still hadn't gone to the grocery store since we've returned from our trip to New Orleans, so I had to come up with some way to cook the chicken breasts in the crockpot with things I already had on hand in my pantry.  So, here's what I did.  Seriously simple!


Easy, Easy Crockpot Italian Chicken

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (I'm sure you can add any other dried or fresh herbs that you like)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:  Place chicken in bottom of crockpot.  Pour spaghetti sauce over chicken.  Add garlic powder, oregano, and other seasonings.  Stir a bit to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

***I let mine cook all day Saturday.  After church on Sunday, I put the chicken and sauce in a large skillet and heated it up, breaking up the tender chicken into pieces.  Meanwhile, I boiled some whole wheat rotini pasta, then combined the chicken and pasta covering it with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  It was delicious!

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti is one of those meals that just screams comfort to me. It's simple to prepare, and it is always so satisfying and warming. Another reason I love spaghetti is that it's a guarantee that Nora will eat it. She's a girl after her mother's heart in that she, like me, LOVES Italian food. So, if we're in a bind or need to throw together a meal in a hurry, spaghetti is one of my go-to meals.

A few weeks ago, a came across a recipe for Spaghetti Pie from the Easy Meals for Busy Moms Blog. It seemed really simple to make, and the added ingredients that it calls for sounded DIVINE. Cream cheese--chive and onion cream cheese, mind you-- and sour cream. It's like spaghetti only heavenly spaghetti. Cream cheese and hot, melted cheese. Um.

So, I did what any good hostess is NOT supposed to do. I cooked this brand-new recipe for some company without trying it out beforehand. (You are NOT supposed to do that!) But, the company was just my sister-in-law and another good girl friend of ours, so I knew that even if the recipe was a flop (which, seriously, how could it be?), things would be fine.

Lordy me. Was it good! Everyone loved it, so we will DEFINITELY be having this Spaghetti Pie in the near future. Try it out, folks. Comfort Food. To the max.

Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground meat
1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce (or any homemade tomato sauce you like)
1 lb. thin spaghetti, cooked according to directions
1/4 cup chive and onion cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups low far sour cream
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish or any casserole dish of your choice.
2. Prepare pasta as directed, making sure you don't overcook pasta as it will go into the oven for 20-30 minutes and continue cooking. I left mine a bit al dente, and it was just right after baking.
3. Prepare tomato sauce just as you would for regular spaghetti. I browned the ground beef in a skillet with a small onion, drained the fat, added the spaghetti sauce and some other seasonings (Italian seasoning, garlic, black pepper, etc.)
4. Combine cream cheese and sour cream in a small bowl.
5. Layer: Place cooked spaghetti in bottom of casserole dish. Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta. Spread spaghetti sauce/meat mixture over cream cheese layer. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and turning golden brown.

*** Serve with a salad and hot bread!

Lasagna

I have a wonderful Chicken Lasagna recipe that has been in my repertoire for a few years now, but I have never had a true, traditional Italian meat lasagna recipe.

Until now.

For Jonathan's 30th birthday dinner, I made The Pioneer Woman's lasagna from her new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks! It was amazing. It was phenomenal. It was so delicious, and heart-warming, and filling, and ugh. We just loved it! This is now my go-to recipe that I'm sure I'll cook for my husband and kids till I'm a little old woman. This will be the recipe I pass on to my grandchildren. It may even be the first meal Nora cooks for her future husband. Who knows! It's in the family now.

I invite you to try it out yourselves and make it part of your family, too!

Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
10 ounces lasagna noodles
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1.5 lbs. hamburger
1 lb. hot breakfast sausage
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 14.5-ounce cans whole tomatoes
2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper
10-12 fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the olive oil and a dash of salt. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the noodles and lay them flat on a piece of aluminum foil.

3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the hamburger, sausage, and garlic until brown. Drain off excess fat.

4. Add the tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and freshly ground pepper.

5. Stir together well. Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Cut the basil into a chiffonade by stacking leaves on top of one another and rolling them tightly, then cutting across. Finely chop parsley. Add half the herbs to the meat mixture and stir together.

7. In a medium bowl, combine the cottage cheese, beaten eggs, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and the other half of the herbs. Stir together well.

8. Now time to assemble: Begin by laying 4 lasagna noodles in the bottom of a deep rectangular baking pan. The noodles should slightly overlap.

9. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture onto the noodles. Spread to distribute evenly.

10. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese on top of the cottage cheese mixture.

11. Spoon just under half of the meat mixture on top of the cheese. Spread evenly, being careful not to disrupt the layers below.

12. Now repeat the process: noodles, cottage cheese mixture, shredded mozzarella cheese, and finally the remainder of the meat mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over the top.

13. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the lasagna is hot and bubbly. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Serves 8 generous portions.

***Lasagna can be fully assembled and frozen, unbaked.
***You can view the Pioneer Woman's step-by-step process for her lasagna on her website by clicking here.

Creamy Chicken Lasagna

Creamy Chicken Lasagna
I got this recipe from one of my close friends, Amy Louise Townsend. It is so yummy and it is one of Nora's favorite things to eat EVER.

CREAMY CHICKEN LASAGNA

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (26 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce


1. Bring large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 8-10 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, & set aside.

2. Place chicken in saucepan with just enough water to cover & bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, or until no longer pink & juices run clear. Remove from saucepan & shred. I put mine in my food processor for about 20 seconds and it's done!

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dissolve chicken bouillon cube in 1/4 cup hot water. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the bouillon, cream cheese, & 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

4. Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce in bottom of 9 inch square baking dish. Cover with chicken mixture, & top with 3 lasagna noodles; repeat. Top with remaining sauce, & sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

5. Bake for 45 minutes in preheated oven until golden and bubbling.

Enjoy!

Chicken Marsala

This is one of our favorite dishes at Italian restaurants. We really fell in love with it at the restaurant that used to be in Turkey Creek called Vinny and Me. Unfortunately, I think the economy got to the owners and they closed down after we had only just discovered it. Anyways, Jonathan and I came across this recipe on weightwatchers.com the other night and I gave it a whirl for supper. It is delicious and is very simple to make. Jonathan said, "This would be something I'd love to eat even if it wasn't on Weight Watchers." So, here it goes!

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, fresh, sliced
1 lb. uncooked, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (four 4 oz. piece)
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup Marsala wine (I bought Marsala cooking wine)
1 1/4 cups canned beef broth, reduced-sodium, divided
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until tender and releasing liquid, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place chicken on a plate and season both sides with thyme, salt, and pepper. Move mushrooms to outer edge of skillet once cooked. Place chicken in center of skillet and saute until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side.
3. Add wine to skillet; simmer 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of broth and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 8 minutes. (I scraped the bottom of the pan to get all the good stuff off of the bottom and into the sauce, just like Rachael Ray tells you to).
4. Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup of broth in a small bowl; add to skillet. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly and incorporating mushrooms into the liquid, about 1 minute. Serve chicken with mushroom sauce spooned on top. Yields about 3 oz of chicken and 1/3 cup of sauce per serving.

***I served this with roasted asparagus and whole grain pasta mixed with butter and parmesan cheese. It was yummy!
***For anyone interested in the weight watchers points here, one serving is 4 points (chicken and mushroom sauce only).