Cheddar Jack Chili Mac

1 pound lean ground beef

3 cups water

15 oz can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes

8 oz can no-salt-added tomato sauce (1 cup)

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic or 2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cup dried macaroni or other small pasta

¼ cup fat-free or reduce fat shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese or a combination (about 1 ounce)

In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Put beef in a colander and rinse with hot water to remove excess fat; drain well. Wipe Dutch oven with a paper towel; return beef to pot.

Stir in water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, covered, over high heat, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in macaroni, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender. Ladle mixture into soup bowls. Sprinkle with cheese.

Amanda

Super Easy Chicken Manicotti

1 jar (30 ounces) spaghetti sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders

14 uncooked manicotti shells (8 ounces)

1 can (2 1/2 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)

1. Spread about one-third of the spaghetti sauce in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 13 x 9 x 2 inches. Sprinkle garlic salt on chicken. Insert chicken into uncooked manicotti shells, stuffing from each end of shell to fill if necessary. Place shells on spaghetti sauce in dish.

2. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce evenly over shells, covering completely. Sprinkle with olives and cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight to soften the pasta. STOP HERE-see To Store and To Cook below.

TO STORE

Refrigerator: Cover unbaked manicotti tightly with aluminum foil and refrigerate no longer than 24 hours.

Freezer: Wrap unbaked manicotti tightly with aluminum foil and label. Freeze no longer than 1 month.

TO COOK FROM REFRIGERATOR

Oven: About 1 hour before serving, heat oven to 350. Bake in covered baking dish about 1 hour or until shells are tender.

TO COOK FROM FREEZER

Oven: About 1 ½ hours before serving, heat oven to 350. Bake in covered baking dish about 1 ½ hours or untl shells are tender. 

Amanda

Potluck Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian stewed tomatoes, cut up
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
• 1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley and garlic; remove from the heat.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish, layer with three noodles, half of the cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and half of the meat sauce. Repeat layers.
• Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Or, cover and bake 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 25-30 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160°. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
• To use frozen lasagna: Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Bake as directed. Yield: 12-15 servings.
• Note- I like my lasagna to have more noodles, so I added a few extra.

Amanda

Ham-Broccoli Pasta

The recipe is so easy because you put whatever you may want on it.  I did what I had on hand that day.
Chopped onion
Sliced mushrooms
Alfredo Sauce from jar
Broccoli
Cubed Ham
Bowtie pasta or any other you may like
Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg

Saute the onions and mushrooms using melted butter.  Add alfredo sauce, let flavors mix, taste and add spices.  Add thawed broccoli, ham and finally the pasta.  Adjust the amount of sauce.  Add parmesan before or after serving, depends on your preference.

Johan

Minestrone

Ingredients
2 slices pancetta or bacon
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 cup peeled and sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
28 oz. canned whole tomatoes
1 1/2 cups peeled diced potatoes
8 cups water or broth
1 bunch swiss chard
38 oz. canned cannellini beans
1 zucchini sliced and quartered
3/4 cup ditalini pasta
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. olive oil


Instructions
In a soup pot, heat pancetta over medium heat. Once it is cooked, add 2 tbsp. olive oil, onions, salt and cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute. Crush the tomatoes and add with their liquid and water or broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, carrots and celery, bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes.  


Separate the stems and leaves of the swiss chard.  Chop the stems, similar to the celery, and cut the leaves into 1 inch wide strips.  Lay on top of the soup, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat to simmering.  Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Add beans and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes.  

15 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup, bring the soup to a rolling boil and add the pasta. 

While the pasta is cooking, combine the basil, grated cheese and oil in a small food processor or blender. Processes until you have a rough paste, adding a little more oil if necessary. Season to taste with salt and add to the soup just before serving.

Easy Chicken Broccoli Pasta

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 2 cups frozen broccoli florets
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 small sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup reduced-fat Alfredo sauce

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions, adding the broccoli during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, saute chicken in oil until lightly browned. Add pepper; saute 3-5 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink and pepper is tender.
• Drain pasta mixture; add to the pan. Reduce heat to low. Stir in broth, then Alfredo sauce; cook and stir until heated through. Yield: 4 servings.

Amanda

Pasta al Forno

Pasta al Forno (I just winged this. Quantities listed should feed 8-12 adults at least)

Ingredients

-2 boxes rigatoni
-beschamel sauce (recipe below)
-2 jars red sauce (store bought)
-1 package sausage
- 2-4 cups of mozarella cheese
- parmesan to taste

Beschamel sauce: (I usually double this because I like a lot of white sauce but the quantities listed below will probably still give you enough if you want it less creamy)

-3 cups whole milk (I just use whatever milk I have...usually 1% or 2%)
-6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
-6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
sea salt

Directions:

Cook sausage. Cook pasta al dente (I usually cook 8-9 minutes). Prepare beschamel sauce. You will want to have about 10 minutes of uninterrupted time to make the beschamel sauce so it doesn't burn. When you're done, layer all the ingredients any way you want. I usually start off with some red sauce on the bottom and a layer of rigatoni. I usually don't put cheese on every layer but how you do it is up to you. Top it off with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan to taste. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. I usually cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes and then cook it 5 minutes without the foil.

Directions for beschamel sauce: In a sauce pan of medium heat, heat the milk until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Meanwhile, in a heavy, nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until a thick, smooth paste forms, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Slowly drizzle 1-2 Tablespoons of the hot milk into the flour paste while whisking constantly. The mixture will immediately become thick and lumpy. Continuing to whisk vigorously, add the milk about 2 tablespoons at a time. The Sauce will gradually become smooth. After adding about 1/2 cup of the milk, slowly add the remaining milk in a thin, steady stream while whisking constantly. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, return the pan to medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 1 minute. Makes about 2 cups.

Light Fettucine Alfredo (serves 4)

300 grams fettuccine, uncooked

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

4 teaspoons flour

1/3 cup light cream cheese spread

3 tablespoons light parmesan cheese, grated, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Combine broth and flour in medium saucepan. Stir in cream cheese spread, 2 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese, the nutmeg and pepper; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with wire whisk until mixture boils and thickens.

Cook and drain pasta. Toss with sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Johan