Dinner
I love manicotti or ANY Italian pasta dish really. I mean who doesn’t… right? Comforting and filling and can also be made ahead! Nothing better… add a side salad and dinner is done! I made these for dinner over the weekend and they were delicious and even better the next day for lunch! I found this recipe in Southern Living Magazine and really liked the ease of this dish. I did have extra filling left over so next time I will make a few more shells! I used sweet italian sausage, but use whatever you like.
INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package of manicotti shells (I recommend a few more than
that as I had left over filling)
1 – 16 ounce package sweet Italian sausage (ground)
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 26 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 8 ounce container of chive and onion cream cheese
6 cups of mozzarella
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
Fresh ground pepper
DIRECTIONS
Follow package directions for the manicotti shells and drain. Cook sausage, onion and garlic in a large pot over medium high heat, stirring often and crumbling the sausage until no longer pink. Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese, 4 cups of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and add a large pinch of ground pepper. Mix until blended. Cut a slit lengthwise in each manicotti shell. Spoon about 1 cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture into each of the manicotti shells, gently pressing the sides together and placing them seam size down in the prepared dish. Spoon remaining sauce over shells and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake covered for 50 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Enjoy,
This salad is so good! I ate a lot of salad over the summer and when school started back up, I went right into comfort food. Not really the best thing to do. But I wanted to make something for Craig who is a good friend who took some time out of his day to custom make something for me. (You will be seeing and hearing about that a little later) . Craig asked me to make him a dessert so I did that, but also wanted to make him something a little more so this was it! He and his shift at the fire station were able to enjoy this delicious fall salad.
INGREDIENTS
Pomegranate infused craisins
Granny Smith apple
pear
Romaine lettuce
Goat cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 clove garlic
1 lime, juiced
salt
pepper
Pumpkin Pie Spiced Pecans (recipe below)
2 cups pecan halves
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with non stick foil and spray with non stick spray. Put the pecans on the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with pie spice,chili powder and sea salt. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup. Mix well coating all of the pecans. Bake for 15 minutes stirring every five minutes. Remove from oven, stir and let cool. Store in air tight container.
Poppy Seed Dressing (recipe below)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk (I used 1 percent)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of salt
Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until well blended. Store in the refrigerator.
DIRECTIONS
The chicken will need to marinade for 2-4 hours. Add the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, lime salt, and pepper to a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, mix well and add the chicken. Keep in fridge for 2-4 hours, remove from bag, then bake (keep covered with foil while baking) in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until cooked completely through. When the chicken is done and cooled, chop the chicken into bite size pieces.
To assemble the salad start with the romaine lettuce and add the craisins, apple, pear, prepared pecans, goat cheese and the chicken. Top with the dressing and serve. I like the chicken to be slightly warm when I serve this!
Enjoy,
This was really easy and really good! Robby had seconds before Jim and I could even finish our first plate! I love a teenager with a full belly! I know Amanda would like this recipe, but with her living an hour away on her own and working hard in college, she was not able to try this with us. But, this is one that she could easily make on her own!
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces bow tie pasta
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 pound HOT (or regular) Jimmy Dean sausage
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta according to package directions ( I usually take my pasta out one minute sooner than directions call for ). Brown and crumble sausage in a large pan over medium high heat until sausage is cooked through. Drain excess fat from sausage if needed. Add drained tomatoes, oregano, garlic,and salt stirring well. Add cream and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes until sauce is reduced and thickened. Remove skillet from heat and add cooked pasta and cheese, stir well and let the cheese melt. Top with additional cheese if desired. Serve warm with a side salad and dinner is done!
Enjoy,
Recipe is from www.southyourmouth.com
This chowder is slightly adapted from the Pioneer Woman (food network) and it was delicious… and even better the next day! With winter not too far in the distance and the cool nights already here this was a perfect and an easy recipe to make on a lazy Sunday afternoon….wait …what ? I just said lazy Sunday afternoon let me rewind. This was a perfect and an easy recipe to make on a busy, hurry and get things done, Sunday afternoon! Yup, that’s more like it! This was made in between loads of laundry, cleaning and don’t forget a kitchen full of dirty dishes!
This recipe had a few additional taste testers from my day job and it was LOVED by all!
INGREDIENTS
4 Tablespoons of butter
1 onion, chopped
3 slices bacon (chopped or cut into pieces)
2 (16 ounce) bags of frozen corn
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups half and half
1 cup freshly grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup freshly grated Pepper Jack cheese
1/3 cup scallions
1 pinch of nutmeg
salt to taste
pepper to taste
We liked these served with tortilla chips, but this can be served in a bread bowl or served with your favorite soup crackers.
DIRECTIONS
In a large pot, melt butter over medium high heat, add the bacon pieces cooking until almost crisp. Add the onion and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the frozen corn and cook for a minute while stirring. Sprinkle the flour over the top and stir to combine. Pour in broth, stir well and let thicken for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in half and half. Continue to cook for 20-30 minutes letting it thicken a little more. Stir in both cheese and green onions. Continue stirring until cheese is melted and soup is hot. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper if needed. Serve warm.
Enjoy,
This is pure COMFORT on a dish and cannot get any easier! I baked some chicken the night before I made this dish. To make it even easier the next time, I think I will be picking up a rotisserie chicken from my grocery store. I brought this to work and shared some with a co-worker and she loved it so much she went home to make it for her family!
INGREDIENTS
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 12 ounce container of french onion dip
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
12 ounces egg noodles
1 container french fried onions (I used the large can, why you ask? Well they are very easy to snack on while cooking and before you know it, they may be gone! …just sayin!)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with non stick spray and set aside.
Cook egg noodles according to package ( mine took six minutes). Combine cream of chicken soup, french onion dip, cheese and chicken in a large bowl mixing well. When the noodles are done cooking , drain and add to chicken mixture and mix well. Put this into your prepared pan and top with the french fried onions. Bake for 25 minutes watching the last five minutes as the french fried onions can burn. If they start to get dark, cover with foil the last few minutes!
Enjoy,
This recipe comes from www.plainchicken.com
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