Italian

Baked Chicken Alfredo

Alrighty peeps lets get down to business and make some … pasta!

Did you know that this dish is super simple and very cheap to make? I calculated my dinner total at a whopping $1.62 a plate! So if you have no time in your day like me who runs around like a chicken with my head cut off on a daily basis then this is the dish for you!

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Recipe as follows:

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces ziti or pasta to your liking
  • 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken ( I used a rotisserie chicken )
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 Tbsp. flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup low-fat milk
  • 3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions. Once cooked, drain and return to pot. Combine Chicken, pasta and Alfredo sauce ( recipe below ) and toss to combine until the pasta is evenly coated.
  3. Pour ziti noodles into a oven safe dish that is lightly greased half way, sprinkle with 1/2 cheese and top with remaining noodle and top again with cheese
  4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and just barely starts to turn golden. Remove and serve immediately.

Alfredo Sauce:

1. Heating olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once oil is hot saute garlic about one minute until fragrant. Sprinkle flour and stir to combine and cook another minute. Slowly add chicken broth and milk whisking as you go. Simmer until thickened about 5 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper stirring until cheese is melted. Set aside until ready for pasta.

Enjoy!! xoxo.

Recipe Source:  adapted from Gimme some oven 

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Spicy tomato cream pasta

A spicy and creamy rich pasta tossed in an angel hair pasta. Toss with chicken or shrimp for a complete dinner

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I have a super duper simple dish to share with you today. There is just something that I love about cream and tomato/marinara sauce mixed together, and this pasta undeniably fulfilled my pasta craving.

This sauce can be very versatile in that you can serve it alone with a yummy piece of garlic bread or serve with shrimp and or chicken or as a side dish.

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Recipe as follows:

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • splash of white wine ( optional)
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 (24-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound or box angel hair pasta
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese to sprinkle ( optional)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions

2.Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes,Add garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes and splash of wine cook 1 minute.

3.Add spaghetti sauce, heavy cream, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until heated through and toss sauce together with cooked angel hair pasta. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Recipe Source:  adapted from Spicy southern kitchen 

Traditional Lasagna

I am not sure what it is about lasagna.. It is my favorite comfort food. I mean who does not love lasagna? Well I can name one person but Ill keep that a secret for now. This lasagna is very simple and is a easy mid week meal.

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Recipe as follows:

Ingredients:

  • 1 LB ground beef
  • 2 2/1 cups shredded low moisture mozzarella cheese
  • 1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 Jar of your favorite pasta sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 8 oven ready lasagna noodles

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

2. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1-1/4 cups mozzarella, ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, parsley and egg until blended.

3. Drain meat; return to skillet, add in pasta sauce, Adding 1 cup water to empty sauce jar.Stir until blended. Pour 1 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish topping with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup meat sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and cheeses. Cover with foil and bake about 1 hour. Remove foil and bake another 25 minutes until sauce is bubble and cheese it browned. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving

Enjoy!! xoxo.

Recipe Source:  adapted from Barilla Pasta box 

Shrimp and Brocoli Alfredo

I was looking for a quick dinner to throw together and when I came across this recipe I could not wait to put it together. I made a few adjustments like swapping chicken for shrimp and adding some green! This dish was so delicious. Thank you Pioneer Woman!

 

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Recipe as follows:

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz pasta ( we used a campellini) Hope I spelled that right..
  • 4 TBLS butter
  • 1 lb shrimp
  • 1 or 2 brocoli crowns ( broken apart)
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 garlic gloves ( minced)
  • 3/4 cup white wine
  • 3 TBLS heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • low sodium chicken broth for thinning
  • 3/4 cup fresh grated parmeasan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package instruction

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp  and cook until no longer pink and set aside.

3. Add additional 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet, followed by the minced garlic. Stir the garlic around the pan to avoid burning, and cook for 1 minute. Pour in wine, then let it bubble up and reduce for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add half-and-half, cream, and extra salt and pepper to taste, whisking constantly until it’s all combined. Allow liquid to heat up and thicken for a few minutes. If it gets too thick, you can thin it with a little chicken broth. I used maybe a tablespoon. At this point I added my broccoli to the sauce.

4. Remove it from the heat and add Parmesan to the sauce, then throw the cooked pasta right on top of it. Add the Shrimp and continue tossing until it’s all combined. I returned my pan to a very low heat to warm.

5. Serve immediately and top with fresh Parmesan.

Enjoy!! xoxo.

Recipe Source: The Pioneer Woman

Baked Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Cream Sauce

Happy Sunday! I was craving some comfort cook and something I could use for dinner and make some tasty left overs. I found this AMAZING recipe at Annies Eats, and it did not disappoint! I did adapt this recipe with what I had on hand as the original recipe calls for Chicken.. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

 

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Recipe as follows:

 

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce:

  • 1 28oz can whole tomatoes
  • 1 TBLS butter
  • 1/4 cup diced onion
  • 1/1/2 TBLS tomato paste
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic
  • Pinch crushed red pepper
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the meatballs:

  • 1/2 Cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/3 up diced onion
  • 2 tsp Italian Season
  • 1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper ( 1/2 tsp of each)
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 Egg ( beaten)
  • 1 LB ground turkey 
  • 2 TBLS olive oil

Topping:

  • 4 Oz shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 TBLS Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS 

Sauce: Combine all ingredients together ( I mix with my hands) Be sure not to over mix. 

Blend the whole tomatoes in food processor until smooth, Melt butter over med heat in large sauce pan,Add onion and cook until fragrant ( about 1 min) Then add Tomato paste,garlic and crushed red pepper ( seconds) slowly add tomato mixture and cream and simmer on LOW 5-10 minutes until sauce is thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

Meatballs: 

Mix together all ingredients  ( except Olive oil ) Form meatballs and set aside

Preheat oven 400*, Add olive oil to pan, once hot, brown meatballs on all sides.

Once all meatballs are browned place them in pan ( Oven safe) with sauce, Sprinkle with  cheeses and bake 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with Fresh bread and salad!

Enjoy! XOXO

Recipe Source: Annies Eats