So Kraft has out their new "Anything Dressings," and I was really intrigued by the Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette. I got some thinking SURELY I could find LOTS of recipes online...no such luck. I found ONE. So, I had to come up with my own, and it was an enthusiastic WIN at our house!! This one will be sticking around. So, I thought I'd better write it down for the next time!
(I made this for 4 people, and these are my estimated amounts, so add or subtract to your liking.)
Sun Dried Tomato and Garlic Chicken Farfalle 1/2 box bowtie or other small pasta, cooked and drained (toss in a little olive oil until you're ready to add other ingredients); I used Barilla: Piccolini's Tomato and Carrot mini bow-tie pasta (1 serving of vegetables! Hooray!) 1/2 small onion, chopped 1 tbs garlic, minced 1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil About1 cup (divided) Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette "Anything dressing" 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, uncooked, diced 2 tbs fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped 1/4 cup pine nuts 1/4 cup Feta Cheese, crumbles 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded Cook pasta, drain water, toss in a little olive oil and set aside (I let the pasta cook while I was preparing the next step). Place chopped onion, garlic, and olive oil into a skillet and cook onion and garlic until fragrant. Scoop onion/garlic into pasta. Using your same skillet (or a new one...I just prefer to do less dishes), cook diced chicken breast with 1/2 cup dressing until cooked. Combine Pasta, Onion/garlic, chicken, parsley, and pine nuts. Add remaining 1/2 cup of dressing (I left the pasta in a pan, and just added ingredients to it as they were ready). Allow to simmer (or just microwave) for a few minutes until all ingredients are warm. Just prior to serving add Feta and Parmesan Cheese. YUM!!!
We love these meatballs. Yesterday I made spaghetti for the 1st time in the almost-7-years we've been married. My husband isn't a huge fan of spaghetti, but I figured if I made spaghetti and meatballs, maybe it would go over a little better. And it did. We LOVE these (I've actually made them for me and the kids, but never for the hubby). Now if I could just find an AMAZING spaghetti sauce to go with it, we'd be set. So if you have a good one...please post it!
Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbs Parmesan cheese
1 tbs Worcestershire
1 slice of bread (ripped or cut into small pieces, I use the end piece that nobody will use for a sandwich)
1 egg
Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Form meatballs (I use a cookie scoop to make them about the same size). Bake on 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I served with angel hair pasta, spaghetti sauce, salad, and breadsticks. Makes about 20 meatballs. YUM :)
1 tub (15 ounces) Ricotta Cheese (can also use cottage cheese)
1/2 package (8 ounces) frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 tbs Parsley flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp basil
1 egg
1 package Manicotti Noodles
1 can, jar, or recipe Spaghetti Sauce
1 cup water (if making night before, or freezing)
Place spinach in microwave safe bow, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Put spinach in collander and press out excess water with a spoon (or thaw in fridge, and press out water when completely thawed). In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, egg, and spices. Cook Manicotti Noodles for 2 minutes less than directions on the package. Drain and set aside.
Spread about 1 cup spaghetti sauce in an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Stuff Manicotti with spinach mixture and arrange noodles in pan. Pour remaining sauce over Manicotti. Bake covered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining Mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.
Alternative Cooking Idea/Freezer Meal:
Prepare filling as above. Do NOT cook noodles. Combine spaghetti sauce with 1 cup water; spread 1 cup sauce into ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Stuff uncooked Manicotti with spinach mixture and arrange in pan. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or place in freezer; thaw overnight in fridge before cooking). Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until heated through.
Okay, I don't know why I haven't posted this recipe before because it's one of our favorites. And the great thing is that it's so easy and so fast. I literally made this in 35 minutes they other day, and that was with defrosting the chicken in the microwave. It's actually 2 recipes that are very similar but you can make it two ways. The first way is cold and is good for a light lunch because it doesn't have any meat. The second way is hot and has chicken and is great for dinner. I hope it's not confusing, sorry if it is.
Pasta with Uncooked Tomato and Olives serves 4 as a main course
3 med. tomatoes 1 yellow pepper (optional) 2 garlic cloves 1 cup grated mozzarella 1/2 cup black olives (halved), 1 can 3 T extra virgin olive oil 1 T balsamic vinegar 1/2 lb spiral shaped pasta Salt and pepper to taste (I probably do about 1/2 tsp of salt) 3/4 cup finely chopped herbs (basil and mint) (If you don't have mint it's still fine, but you should try it. It's really good!) let stand 30 minutes
Mix it all together and it's as simple as that!
Balsamic Chicken and Noodles
1 lb cubed chicken breast 3 T olive oil 1 T Balsamic vinegar Water (as needed, add at the end to get the desired amount of sauce that you want) handful of basil finely chopped Parmesan cheese (or like the first recipe I like to do mozzarella) 3 med diced tomatoes Salt and pepper to taste 2 garlic cloves minced 1 can olives, halved, (optional, I liked it from the first recipe and put it in this one) 1/2 pound of spiral shaped pasta, cooked
Cook the chicken in olive oil, garlic until almost done. Add balsamic vinegar, salt, tomatoes, olives, and basil and cook until sauce is bubbly. Add water mix with either flour or cornstarch to thicken the sauce. You don't need a lot of water I probably add about 1/2 cup or less. Serve over pasta.
1 1/2 c. sliced zucchini 1 1/2 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 large carrot, peeled & sliced 1 Tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. uncooked spaghetti
1/4 c. chopped onion 3 garlic cloves, minced (I usually use garlic powder instead) 2 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. flour 2 tsp. Chicken bouillon 1 tsp. Thyme 2 c. milk 1 c. shredded mozarella
In a large skillet, saute the broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms & carrot in oil until crisp-tender. Remove from heat & set aside.
Cook spaghetti.
In another saucepan, saute onion & garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour, bouillon & thyme until blended. Add a little milk, stir until smooth. Add a little more, stir until smooth. Continue until all the milk has been added and you have no flour lumps. Bring to boil; cook & stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low; stir in cheese until melted. Add to veggies, heat through. Drain spaghetti and toss it all together.
I got this recipe from ApronGirls.blogspot.com, Love it!!! So yummy! I didn't have chicken bouillon, so I used a cup of chicken stock and only one cup of milk instead of 2 cups. I bet it would delicious either way :)
Pesto Pasta From http://www.cooksillustrated.com/ (July 2006) 3/4 Cups Pine Nuts 2 Cloves Garlic 1 Pound Bow Tie Pasta 1/4 Cup + 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3 Cups (4 Oz) Fresh Basil 1 Cup Baby Spinach 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice 3/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese 6 Tablespoons Mayonnaise 1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes Or Grape Tomatoes; Halved
Toast pine nuts over medium heat until golden and fragrant, 4-5 minutes. Cook bowtie pasta in boiling water with 1 tablespoon salt until tender (see box). Toss pasta with 1 tablespoon EVOO and cool (about 30 minutes). In a food processor combine 1/4 cup pine nuts, garlic, basil, spinach, pepper, lemon juice, remaining 1/4 EVOO, and 1 teaspoon salt and process until smooth. Add cheese and mayo and process until thoroughly coombined. Just before serving, combine the pesto sauce with the pasta. Fold in remaining pine nuts and tomatoes. Can add cooked chicken if desired.
So I follow this blog called "This week for dinner" and I was browsing through it and found this one. I thought it sounded good and different enough that I wouldn't be bored of the flavor. Here is the recipe that I got from the blog. Her words are in black and mine are in red
Cannelloni is one of my favorite things to order at an Italian restaurant. Which means I had to figure out a way to make it at home, of course! I gave it a try this week and it was so so yummy. Here’s what I did!
Cannelloni FILLING: will fill ~8 cannelloni, maybe up to 10 - 1 chicken breast, cooked & shredded - 1/4 C fresh, shredded parmesan cheese - 1 C ricotta cheese( I didn't have ricotta so I used feta, Mindy said to substitute cottage cheese instead next time because they are more similar) - 1/2 C shredded mozzarella (I swear I thought I had mozzarella but I didn't so I used shredded chedder) - 1 Egg, beaten - 1 garlic clove, minced or use garlic press ( I have the already minced garlic you buy in a jar) - 1 T chopped fresh basil (maybe a little more than 1 T)( I didn't use fresh and only added 2 tsp) - 1/4 t pepper - 1/2 t salt
SAUCE: - 1 1/2 C jarred marinara (you could make your own, but this is faster and tasted great) - 1/2 C cream - 24 grape tomatoes, smashed up a bit (I pulsed in the blender a few times) (I just got regular tomatoes and used about 5, probably each was about the size of 3 plum tomatoes, I chopped and I we really liked the chunks of fresh-tasting tomatoes) - 1/4 – 1/2 C shredded asiago cheese (so... all I could find was something that had three different cheeses in it by the feta cheese that looked like it was in a parmesian container but one of the cheeses in it was asiago... it was good enough)
SHELLS: Ideally I suppose you make your own pasta, roll it into thin sheets and cut into rectangles. Yeah, THAT’S gonna happen around here….so, I tried two readily-available pastas.
All I did was get the regular lasagna noodles and boil them for 3-4 minutes then pulled them out and rolled them up. Make sure to boil AT LEAST 3 minutes or they will crack. Only pull one out at a time and roll up or they get cold and CRACK. I boiled 3-5 at a time. I ended up making 12 rolls... I guess I didn't fill them up as much as I should have but it was really good still. AND I used a 6 x 9 glass baking dish and they fit perfectly. Okay that is ALL the changes I made...
Barilla No-Boil Homemade Style (Flat) Lasagna Noodles: These were PERFECT. Boil 3 minutes, CAREFULLY remove from the water (it’s easy to crack them in the middle, so be gentle!). Filling them is a cinch…just lay the rectangle out portrait (you know, tall-wise), lay your filling across the noodle near the end, then roll up! (I had a few cracks when I took them out of the water, but the noodle overlaps itself when you roll it up, so it wasn’t a problem) Pictured RIGHT.
Manicotti Shells: I also tried manicotti shells. They didn’t taste quite as good, and they’re harder to stuff. So, I will definitely do the flat, no-boil lasagna noodles from now on. Pictured LEFT.
DIRECTIONS: Mix filling ingredients.
Mix sauce ingredients and warm on the stove (doesn’t need to cook too long or get too hot).
Spray a rectangular casserole dish or metal cake pan with spray oil. Stuff cannelloni (see noodle descriptions above). Place stuffed cannelloni in the pan. Cover with sauce.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Mangia!
Makes approximately 8 cannelloni…Nate and I each ate 2, and the girls had 1 each. Fed our family of 4 with 2 cannelloni left over.
Hi everyone! Mindy just invited me to join, so I thought I'd post something now while I'm thinking of it. And why not post my best dish? Now I love to cook, and I think I have found some good recipes, but at our house we really love this vegetarian lasagna. In fact, I've never met anyone who doesn't (even the most die-hard meat eater around won't be able to complain). That being said, it's also good with about a 1/2 pound of cooked spicy sausage if you really want it in there. Also something to note: this is not a fast meal. I only cook it on days when I'll be able to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but it's worth it. Enjoy!
Sauce: 1 onion, chopped 1 bell pepper (any color, or a combination), chopped 32 oz. crushed tomatoes 2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce 2 6-oz. cans tomato paste 2 Tbsp. parsley flakes ½ c. red wine, cranberry juice, or water 4 garlic cloves, pressed 1 Tbsp. dried oregano ½ tsp. dried thyme ½ tsp. dried basil ¼ tsp. black pepper ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper 2 tsp. sugar 1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
rosemary (opt.)
About 8-10 lasagna noodles Baby spinach, washed
Cheese filling: 1 egg 1 lb. small-curd cottage cheese 1 lb. ricotta cheese ½ c. freshly-grated Parmesan cheese 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced or grated
Directions:
1. Sautee the onion and bell pepper in a little olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce and stir to mix. Simmer until it cooks down to about ½ of the original volume (about 1-2 hours). 2. When the sauce is ready, cook the lasagna noodles according to package direction. 3. Combine the ingredients for the cheese filling. 4. Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-in pan. Add a layer of noodles (half of the noodles cooked). Add about ½ of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Then add a layer of spinach and cover that with sauce. 5. Arrange half of the mozzarella cheese on top. Now add another layer of noodles (the other half), the remaining cheese mixture, spinach and sauce. 6. Place in a 375° oven for 20 minutes. Place a layer of mozzarella cheese on top. Continue to bake until the sauce is hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting or it'll be sloppy beyond all belief.
This recipe was given to me from Ashley Webb. It has made its way around our ward, and everyone seems to love it, so I decided to post it here! Enjoy!
Spicy Chicken Alfredo
1 box penne pasta (cooked and drained) 1 Jar Alfredo Sauce 1 Can diced tomatoes with basil and oregano (with juice) 2 T. Italian Seasoning 1 t. Crushed Red Pepper Cooked Chicken (I like mine shredded or diced, and I like it cooked in the crockpot so it is super tender)
Mix everything together but the pasta (to ensure that the chicken gets some of the sauce). Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pasta, mix, and serve! Easy and delicious!
Sear one 4lb rolled rump roast in 3T oil until brown. Combine: 1 Chopped Onion 1T Parsley Flakes 1 1/2t Oregano Leaves 1t Basil Leaves 1/2t Minced Garlic 1/4t Pepper 1t Salt 1/2C Water 1 can (32oz) Whole Italian Tomatoes
When meat is seared take it out and put the above mixture in. Bring it to a boil and add the meat. When tender, 3 hrs., remove meat to a platter and thicken the juices (scant 1/2C water and 2 heaping T flour or cornstarch softened in the water). Serve with large shell macaroni. Can also cook in crockpot. After searing meat, place all ingredients in slowcooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Remove meat and thicken juices as directed.
We love getting this at Macaroni Grill. I got this off of recipezaar.com and it is DELICIOUS! It is definately added to our mostly used recipes. Plus it's super easy! and pretty fast!
Chicken 4 chicken breasts 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper Pasta 36 ounces bow tie pasta 4 tablespoons butter 1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes 1 lb. mushroom, sliced Cream Sauce 1 quart heavy cream 1 head garlic, roasted 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons salt 1 cup parmesan cheese Garnish fresh parsely parmesan cheese 1. Wash and dry chicken breasts 2. Mix garlic powder, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on chicken. 3. Grill chicken on the stove top in a skillet ot outside on the barbeque grill, until it is done all the way through. Set aside. 4. Place pasta in salted boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain. 5. Meanwhile saute the mushrooms and tomatoes in butter until soft. 6. Place heavy cream, roasted garlic, pepper, salt, and parmesan cheese in food precessor (or blender) and puree. 7. Place cream mixture in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened. 8. Mix in mushrooms and tomatoes to cheese sauce and add to cookes pasta. 9. Slice grilled chicken and place on top of the pasta. 10. Garnish with fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese. Serves 4+
I don't measure the mushrooms or tomatoes. I just put enough in to my liking... less tomatoes and lots of mushrooms. I also cut the chicken into bite size pieces after grilling since that's what I end up doing anyway while eating it. And, my sauce never thickens! Once you put it on your noodles it sort of thickens anyway. I've made this twice so far and it's been really good each time. Kyle absolutely loves it!Enjoy!
I found this recipe on another recipe blog. It super easy and really good. You don't need to use very much of the Bread stick topping, and I didn't really measure while putting the stuff inside the calzones.
Ingredients Per Calzone: 2 thawed Rhodes dinner rolls 1/4 to 1/3 cup pizza or spaghetti sauce 2 Tbs. Toppings (cheese, pepperoni, ect.) 1/4 cup grated part skim mozzarella cheese olive oil Tip: it works with both thaw methods for the rolls but it's best if you can let them thaw for 3-4 hours
Direction:
Line a cookie sheet with tin foil for easy clean up and use a basting brush to coat with a light layer of olive oil. Flatten roll dough from center out using fingers into 3-4inch circles. Each calzone will have a top and a bottom, it works best if the top piece is a little larger.
Place bases on pan and add sauce and topping in center leave about 1/4 inch of dough along edges.
Place slightly larger dough piece on top of base, seal edges using fork tongs to press the two pieces together. They seal best if you can make sure you're actually getting both pieces instead of just the top piece.
Lightly brush with olive oil.
I like to sprinkle with this topping blend I use for bread sticks (at bottom of post), but they're good without it too. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Noodle/Beef Mixture: 1lb lean ground beef 2 to 3 cloves minced Garlic 2 tsp. dried Oregano (about I like a lot of flavor so I would add more) 1 tsp. Sugar Dash of salt and pepper (to taste) 2 cans diced tomatoes, Not drained (about 14oz. each) 1 can tomato sauce (14oz.) 15 oz. Penne pasta, uncooked
Topping Mixture: 1/2 stick of butter 3 cups milk 1/2 onion, chopped (I used frozen pre-chopped onion) Dash of salt and pepper 2 or 3 Tsp. Flour (preference) Shredded Triple Cheese blend (parmesan, romano, and asiago)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown beef, in a large sauce pan or pot, break apart in to bit sized chunks. Mix in Garlic, Salt, and Pepper. Pour in cans of diced tomatoes and sugar. Add uncooked noodles. Pour tomato sauce over noodles and stir it all together. Let simmer about 5 min. Stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium sauce pan, on medium low heat. Once melted slowly whisk in milk. Add Onions, Salt, and Pepper. Slowly rise the heat so it doesn't burn. bring to a simmer whisk in flour, little at a time to avoid clumps. Add flour until desired thickness. Pour Noodle/Beef Mixture into a 3 quart baking dish. cover with Milk Mixture. top with Shredded Triple Cheese Blend. Bake for 30 min. at 350 degrees. if the top isn't browned after the 30 min. increase temp. to 400 degrees for about 5 min. or until the top is brown. Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!
Here is the delicious calzone recipe (see pictures several posts ago!)! I got this recipe from my awesome friend Jamie Hansen! It's YUMMY!!! This recipe makes 2 18" Calzones (2 of the calzones in the picture! The 2 I made fed 5 people, including 2 missionaries, and there were left-overs!!!
Dough:
Mix 2 Cups warm water, 2 Tbs yeast, and 2 Tsp. Sugar (Yeast works best if you wait a few minutes until it is frothy). Add 4 tbs oil and 1 egg (beaten).
Mix all ingredients. Let rise 30 minutes. Divide dough in half, and roll out into 18" rectangles (see picture). Make small angled slits about 1 1/2" apart along the 2 long sides of the rectangle. (It makes more sense if you look at the picture!) Put filling inside, then braid the remaining dough over the filling! Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, and cheese is melted.
Filling: Anything you want!!
Sauce (pizza sauce, bbq sauce, alfredo sauce, ranch, etc), onions, pepperoni, ham, pineapple, bacon, red/green peppers, olives, cheese (parmesean, mozarella, cheddar), BBQ chickn, red onion, etc! The sky is the limit!
I made a cheese and pepperoni one, and a ham and pineapple one! They turned out great! Hope the directions made sense!
Hi friends! Most everyone loves getting and/or sharing favorite recipes! We do too! If you want to be added to our list of contributors, shoot me an e-mail and I will add you as an author so you can share your favorite recipes too!! mindy@stromberg.us THANKS!
.jpg)
