This was a good, hearty and very filling dish. With the cooler weather making its way into New Hampshire, it’s time for a little bit of comfort food. This pasta dish filled with spinach and sausage is just right. Add a salad and your dinner is done. I also made this in the morning and put it in the fridge until we were almost ready to eat! You don’t see much of the spinach in this picture, but trust me it’s there, and delicious in this dish!
INGREDIENTS
1 package of jumbo shells (16 ounce)
4 cups ricotta cheese
12 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large jar of your favorite pasta sauce
4 cups chopped spinach
1 pound Italian sausage
DIRECTIONS
In a skillet over medium heat, brown and crumble the sausage and drain any excess fat and remove from the heat to a plate and set aside. In the same pan cook the spinach until wilted about 2 minutes. Cook the shells according to package directions.
In a mixing bowl combine the ricotta with 8 ounces of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, eggs, oregano and garlic powder. Stir in spinach. Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with the entire jar of the pasta sauce. Spoon the cheese mixture into the shells and place the shells open side up loosely together in the dish. There will be more shells than will fit in the pan so you can make a second smaller dish or freeze for a future use. Sprinkle the sausage over the top of the shells and top with the remaining 4 ounces of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. If you put in the fridge to bake later, the baking time will be closer to 40 minutes!
Serve warm.
Enjoy!
This casserole was so easy and delicious. It has all the notes of a chicken pot pie, but in a pasta form. This is definitely going to be my “go to” this winter. Everyone in my family loved this and went back for seconds and that is a huge win! Serve with a salad and dinner is done!
INGREDIENTS
1 package of egg noodles
2 cups shredded chicken (I used a store bought cooked rotisserie chicken)
1 package frozen peas and carrots
1 package frozen corn
1 cup of milk
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 medium onion diced
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Boil egg noodles according to package directions. While the noodles are cooking, in a large bowl mix the shredded chicken, frozen vegetables, both cans of cream of chicken soup, onion, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, mixing well. When the noodles are cooked, drain, and add to your other ingredients mixing until well combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with the cracker crumbs and drizzle with the melted butter. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook for 10 additional minutes.remove from oven and serve warm.
Enjoy!
This was crazy easy and crazy delicious! I loved this dish for the ease, but Jim loved this dish for the flavors! I was VERY skeptical when I read the recipe if it was really going to come together with the water and peanut sauce cooking down together. Guess what it did?… and it was a fantastic dinner!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces or half box of thin spaghetti (dry)
4 cups of water
3 scallions diced
2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
1/2 cup chopped peanuts or cashews, optional
PEANUT SAUCE
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon sriracha
DIRECTIONS
Mix all peanut sauce ingredients together until smooth. Place spaghetti, water and peanut sauce in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water is boiling, turn the heat down to medium and stir every couple of minutes. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens and pasta is cooked, about 15 minutes. Add the chicken and scallions to warm through. Garnish with peanuts and serve warm.
Enjoy!
Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite Food Network personalities. Not only is she down to earth, she and her family also like a little spice in their food as much as we do. This casserole does take a bit of time but it makes a lot and is great to split it and share with a friend or neighbor! Well, unless you are feeding a group of teenagers! In this case we shared. This definitely hits all the notes of a lasagna, but takes it a little further with the spice level, but still not over the top. We all enjoyed this. A simple salad with garlic bread and dinner is done!
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces of pasta, I used a spiral pasta
1 pound hot Italian pork sausage
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounces), diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (14.5 ounce), tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
15 ounce, ricotta
1 large egg
4 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley for garnish, optional
DIRECTIONS
Cook the pasta according to package directions, just until al Dante. Drain in colander and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking brown sausage and ground beef in a very large skillet with tall sides over medium to medium high heat. Break up the meat as it cooks. When the meat is almost cooked through, drain and discard the extra fat drippings from the skillet. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste along with oregano, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Let simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Fold in drained noodles and place half of the noodle mixture in a large casserole dish.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl whisk together ricotta and egg until well combined. Stir in two cups of the shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, 2 Tablespoons minced parsley. Spread ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta mixture leaving a one inch boarder around the edge, then top ricotta with the remaining noodles mixture.
Cover the hot dish with foil and bake 30 minutes or until the dish starts to bubble a bit. Remove foil and top with remaining mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan. Place back in oven and bake another 10-15 minutes uncovered until cheese is melted and bubbling hot. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired.
Serve warm.
Enjoy!
This is another Pinterest favorite and using a rotisserie chicken really speeds up the process. This is a rich, creamy and delicious dish. I made this in the morning and popped it in the oven later in the day. Cooking the bacon the day before also makes this dish an easy one to put together. I served this along side a salad and garlic bread and it all worked really well together. Dinner Success!
INGREDIENTS
8 Lasagna Noodles
2 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie works well)
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup butter
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non stick spray and set aside. Cook 8 lasagna noodles according to package directions or until al dente. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water. In a medium saucepan add butter, heavy cream and cream cheese, cook over medium heat and whisk until melted. Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk until smooth and add the Parmesan cheese. Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple minutes or until it starts to thicken. Line the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan with one cup of the Alfredo sauce. To make the rolls lay one lasagna noodle out and add about two tablespoons of Alfredo sauce over each noodle, take 1/8 of the shredded chicken and add that on top of the Alfredo sauce, add a layer of the crumbled bacon and shredded mozzarella and roll the lasagna noodle up and place seam side down in your prepared pan. Do this for each noodle. Once the noodles are all rolled. And in the pan pour the remaining Alfredo sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.
Enjoy!
This recipe comes from www.therecipecritic.com