Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/2423433-Spicy-Chicken-Rigatoni


fantastic
but
SPICY!

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/linguine-with-shrimp-scampi-recipe3/index.html


This was fairly easy and delicious - no real sauce because it is shrimp scampi.

braided spaghetti bread

http://www.rhodesbread.com/blog/blog/braided-spaghetti-bread

This was good - loaded with carbs but easy

You will need:

• 1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature
• 6 oz spaghetti, cooked
• 1 cup thick spaghetti sauce
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes
• 1 egg white
• Parmesan cheese
• Parsley flakes

This was super yummy.
The cheese was $5 for a small brick and Alex didn't even care for that part - so I think next time I will skip that and not even bake it.

Also, I will have to be more careful. When I was chopping my anaheim pepper, I touched my nose - holyheck! My nose has been on fire for the past hour! And my finger as well - I must have had an open cuticle. goodness gracious!

I substituted an anaheim pepper for the called pepper which was a cubanelle.

I also couldn't find crushed fire roasted tomatoes so I got diced.
I also didn't have beef stock so I used beef broth

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/three-alarm-italian-style-chili-mac-recipe/index.html

I was so excited....
I got asked to make dinner for a family in our ward. I love when I have a reason to cook. (besides my own family).
I was going to make this.....

Creamy Pesto Chicken Casserole

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/creamy-pesto-chicken-casserole/ead128b0-ab01-4ab3-9cad-d3e39896cd7f/

I needed to make a special trip to the store as I had this on my meal list for tonight but only enough for my family. I went to the store with a list (but had several calls at the store which distracted me) and left without the PESTO!

So I googled quickly and found this:

Chicken Alfredo Casserole

http://busycooks.about.com/od/precookedpoultryrecipes/r/chickenalfredo.htm

Jasmine and Alex both gave it a 10.
There wasn't enough for Bret by the time he got home. With casseroles there is so much risk involved with my family, that I have a smaller dish (about 1/2 of a 9X12). I used this in addition to a 9X12.
Since the dish was a winner, I'll have to make a full 9X12 the next time.

I also made my new favorite basil infused breadsticks.

I'd still like to try the Pesto dish. I'll have to remember to keep it on my list.

As a side note, I bought some basil, cherry and grape tomato seeds to plant. My basil and tomato plants are officially sad - time for a refresh.

Al and I tried this tonight. He was even super patient and stirred constantly for almost all of the 15 minutes himself.

However, it wasn't very yummy. Luckily, we hadn't put all of the noodles into the sauce. He took some plain marinara sauce and had his noodles with that.

Anyone have a good alfredo recipe? This is the second time I have tried, and haven't been happy either time.

http://www.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-fettuccine-alfredo-8596?scaleto=4&mode=null&st=true

Hunter's Minestrone - I have made this before. Tonight both kids gave it an 8 and Bret gave it a 7. It makes the house smell yummy.

I like the pasta and sausage part. What I don't like is when the carrots or the beans get inside the rigatoni pasta - because then I can't eat that piece of pasta until I get the gross bean or the super gross carrot out of the inside of the pasta. But I do like the flavor.

And it is fairly easy.

And yes - aren't my cute winter soup bowls cute? thanks Rod. There are also cute plates that go with them!

Creamy Chicken and Rigatoni

This made a ton and was ok. We shared some with a woman in our ward that just had a baby - I hope they enjoy it.
I liked the flavor and I enjoy this type of pasta. Not a top 10 but still good.

Jazz said this was bland.
Alex said he didn't like zucchini.

Karen threw the leftovers in the trash and felt defeated.


http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/-Bow-Tie-Pasta-with-Zucchini-101932

Lindsay's Mexican Stuffed Shells

Mexican Stuffed Shells

1 lb ground beef- browned and drained (salt & pepper it too)
18 jumbo shells- cooked according to package directions
1 8oz can tomato sauce
12 oz salsa
1/2 cup water
1 can green chiles, chopped
1 cup cheese (cheddar or Jack) grated
1 can french fried onions (or if you buy the huge cans like I do, use half of it.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375

Mix tomato sauce, salsa and water together, set aside. Brown ground beef, drain. Cook pasta according to package directions & set aside. Mix ground beef, green chiles, 1/2 cup sauce mixture, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/2 of the french fried onions. Pour half of the remaining sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Stuff the shells with the ground beef mixture. Arrange shells on top of sauce mixture in pan, pour the remaining sauce over the stuffed shells. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, add rest of cheese and french fried onions and bake until cheese is melted and onions are browned.

Tonight I was playing around on blogs and jumped from one of my cousin's to another and then to another and came across this recipe.

Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Recipe

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons Oil
2 pounds Ground beef
12 ounces Onion; chopped
14 ounces Carrots; slivered
14 ounces Celery; diced
48 ounces Tomatoes; canned, diced
2 cups cooked Red Kidney beans
2 cups cooked White kidney beans
88 ounces Beef stock
3 teaspoons Oregano
2 1/2 teaspoons Pepper
5 teaspoons Parsley; (fresh chopped)
1 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
48 ounces Spaghetti sauce
8 ounces dry pasta Shell macaroni; or other pasta

Directions:

Preparation: Sauté beef in oil in large 10-qt. pot until beef starts to brown. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot. Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce, and noodles. Add chopped parsley. Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes. Makes 9 qts. of soup! **Just cut the recipe in 1/2 for smaller family needs!

This recipe from CDKitchen for Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli serves/makes 9 qts

I made some fresh bread in my bread machine and it was a hit!

I was even asked if we could add it to our recipe collection. Yeah!

Bistro Chicken Pasta Salad

This was ok - not much too it.

Bistro Chicken Pasta Salad

Prep Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min
Makes: 4 servings, about 1-1/3 cups each

What You Need!
2 cups cooked penne pasta
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1 pkg. (4 oz.) ATHENOS Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese
1/2 cup prepared GOOD SEASONS Italian Dressing Mix for Fat Free Dressing
1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil, cut into strips
1/4 cup chopped red onions
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed)
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Make It!

COMBINE all ingredients except chicken.

TOP with chicken.
Kraft Kitchens Tips
Make Ahead
Prepare as directed. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.
Substitute
Prepare using ATHENOS Crumbled Feta Cheese with Basil & Tomato.

Alex making Linguine in Fresh Tomato Sauce with Garlic Basil Toast

Linguine in Fresh Tomato Sauce with Garlic-Basil Toast

Ingredients

• 10 oz. dried linguini
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced or 1 Tbsp. bottled minced garlic
• 2 English muffins, split
• 3/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 pint small tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or pasta water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 cup halved, pitted kalamata olives (optional)
• Grated Parmesan cheese; fresh basil (optional)

Directions

1. Heat broiler. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the oil and about one-third of the minced garlic; brush on cut sides of muffins. Place muffins on baking sheet. Broil, 3 to 4 inches from broiler, for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the chopped basil; set aside.

3. In large saucepan heat remaining oil over medium-high. Add remaining garlic, basil, and the tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes; add broth and sugar. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until tomatoes soften. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in pasta and olives; heat through. Sprinkle cheese and basil.

4. Serve toasted muffins with pasta. Top with Parmesan and basil. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories 450,
• Total Fat (g) 12,
• Saturated Fat (g) 2,
• Monounsaturated Fat (g) 8,
• Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 2,
• Cholesterol (mg) 1,
• Sodium (mg) 403,
• Carbohydrate (g) 72,
• Total Sugar (g) 7,
• Fiber (g) 3,
• Protein (g) 12,
• Vitamin C (DV%) 24,
• Calcium (DV%) 5,
• Iron (DV%) 20,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Baked Ziti from The Neely's on Food TV

This wasn't a big hit. Bret likes spinach so I thought he would at least like it.
At least there was the back up garlic bread - hard to mess that up!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/neelys-baked-ziti-recipe/index.html

Homemade Lasagne with Oven Ready Noodles

This is a regular meal that I make when I'm leaving town - it is easy for the kids to cook and make some salad and garlic bread to go with it.

Last Night's Dinner

I really like to read magazines and pull recipes out and try them. When I'm home, I probably try at least one new recipe each week.
This week, it was Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/three-cheese-chicken-penne-111666.aspx

It was pretty dang good! Whenever I try a new recipe, I always have Bret and the kids tell me if it is a repeat and rate it. Then when I file the recipe, I put their ratings on it.

This was easy to make and had spinach in it - which Bret loves. Try it!