Baked Ziti III

This is from allrecipes.com 

Tried and tested very good!

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 (28 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces sliced provolone cheese
• 6 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream (use light or fat free)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• try layer spinach in it also

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions; saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce; simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. In a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish, place about half of the pasta; top with a layer of provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture and sour cream.
5. Cover with remaining pasta, cheese and sauce; sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

1 bag of chicken tenders or the amount for your family
chop in bite size pieces and cover with Tony's Cajun
seasoning (generously)

cook in pan with 2-3TBLS. of butter

meanwhile chop up 5 green onions 2-3 peppers(1green 1yellow and red)

spinach (optional but good)

in a bowl mix  cups light whipping cream with...
2-3TBL. of fresh basil torn
2 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. salt I didn't use any the other seasoning is good enough
pepper

when chicken is done add in veggies and cook until soft then
reduce heat slightly and add cream mixture and little more Cajun seasoning
if it needs it, stir until the mixture thickens add a little flour if you need to
but don't let the cream boil. Serve with Angel Hair or linguine pasta. you can toss
a couple of handfuls of spinach in the warm pasta
Add fresh grated parmesan cheese.

This recipe is from Carly thanks it was very good. Sorry we ate before we
got a picture.

RR #1 DOWNLOAD OF 2010

BAKED SHELLS CASSEROLE (yes Rochelle you would like it to)

We almost forgot to take a photo.

First impression was "YUMO" as RR would say. The sauce was great, I loved the

homemade taste. We used our canned tomatoes from last summer and chopped

them in the quisinart I wished I would have made extra to save for something else.

All the flavors were good use all the different seasonings it makes it taste great.

We used half wheat shells half regular don't use to many or it won't be saucy enough.

We also used fresh spinach chopped up and then microwaved for a few minutes.

You can omit the wine also, we did and just put a little extra broth. Also start early

enough to let your sauce reduce, we didn't so we ended having dinner at 7:30 ish-

late for us.

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped, divided
• 1 large or 2 small to medium onions, finely chopped, divided
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped or grated
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano or marjoram, half a palmful
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1/3 palmful
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed by pressing under flat of your knife
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, 5 to 6 sprigs
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white or red wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 28-ounce cans Italian crushed tomatoes
• 1 pound medium or large shell pasta (not extra-large stuffing shells)
• 2 boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry in clean towel
• Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/4 teaspoon
• 2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus some to pass at table
• 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

• Yields: Serves 4-6

  Preparation

  In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons EVOO, 3 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 3/4 of finely chopped onion and the carrot. Season with salt, pepper, oregano or marjoram, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds and thyme, and gently sauté 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in parsley, stir, then add wine and reduce a minute. Add stock and tomatoes, bring sauce up to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer sauce 45 minutes.

  After sauce has been simmering for 30 minutes, preheat oven to 375˚F.

  Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt water and cook pasta 5 minutes.

  While pasta water comes to a boil, heat remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO in a small skillet over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and onion and sauté to soften, 5 minutes. Add spinach, pulling it apart and separating it as you add it to pan. Stir to combine well and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Turn off heat.

  Drain undercooked pasta and return it to the hot pot. Add spinach mixture to pot along with ricotta and grated Parm. Stir to combine, adjust salt and pepper then add eggs and stir.

  Pour a thin layer of marinara sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish. Fill dish with pasta then top with another thin layer of red sauce. Save remaining sauce to pass at table. Bake 30 minutes until bubbly.

  Serve casserole directly from casserole dish, passing extra sauce and cheese at the table.

Homemade spinach pasta

Homemade pasta isn't as daunting as it sounds! If you've got a few extra minutes this is a good way to throw in some more veggies to your dinner.

Spinach Pasta:
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs
1/4 c water
1/4 c cooked spinach, well drained and finely chopped


1. In a large bowl stir together 2 cups of the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl combine eggs, water, spinach and oil. Add to flour mixture, and mix well.
2. Sprinkle counter with remaining 3/4 c flour. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. (8-10 min)
Cover and let rest for 10 min.
3. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion out until about 1/16 in thick. (go thinner than you think, they plump up in the water.)
4. Cut with a pizza cutter to desired length and size.
5. Cook in boiling water for about 2-3 min.

We added ours to chicken noodle soup, which made it very tasty!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup:
2 chicken breasts cooked, chopped or shredded (reserve water for the soup)
2-3 carrots, celery stalks, and red potatoes chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 carton or 2-3 cans of chicken broth

Add noodles when vegetables are done!

Chicken Pesto with Spaghetti

Super easy and can easily be adjusted to any number of servings

Whole wheat Spaghetti amounts per servings

1-Chicken cutlet per person

Salt and Pepper to taste

pesto sauce in a jar enough to cover pasta

Shredded Parmesan to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. 2. Meanwhile, place a greased sauté or grill pan over medium heat. 3. Season thawed chicken with salt and pepper. When pan is hot, gently lay chicken in middle of pan. Cook approximately 3 minutes per side, or until the meat in the thickest part of the cutlet is not pink. Let rest for a minute; slice crosswise. 4. Drain spaghetti reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. 5. Toss spaghetti with chicken, pesto and enough cooking water so that the pesto spreads evenly over the noodles. Sprinkle Parmesan on top.

we added steamed chopped broccoli and sun dried tomatoes.