Crockpot Cheese Tortellini

Lately, I've been eager for crockpot recipes that don't turn into soup/stew.  This fit the bill and it was delicious!!

Thanks, Pinterest :)

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen tortellini
1 small bag of fresh spinach
2 cans of italian style diced tomatoes
1 box or 4 cups or chicken broth
1 block of cream cheese
1 lb. of roll sausage*

Brown the sausage and put all ingredients in crockpot, chunking up the cream cheese.
Cook on low for 5-6 hrs.

Credit: Little Fellows 

*If you want to omit the sausage, it's still worth making!!

Crock Pot Chicken Parm

Ingredients:
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t kosher salt
1 TBSP olive oil
1 egg, beaten
sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese
favorite jarred marinara sauce


1.  Spread the 1 TBSP of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot.
2.  Beat the egg with a fork in a separate bowl.
3.  Mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the Parmesan cheese in another separate dish.
4.  Dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings.
5.  Place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crockpot.
6.  Layer 2-3 slices or 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese on top, depending on how much cheese you like.
7.  Cover chicken and cheese with entire jar of marinara sauce.
8.  Close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4.
9.  Serve with your favorite pasta.

Credit:  Chef In Training via Pinterest

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti

We were craving spaghetti the other night, but with these unseasonably warm temps meat marinara was sounding a bit heavy.  This is a light and refreshing alternative.  I'm sure it will make several reappearances at our table this summer.

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti
Ingredients:
-garlic, as much as you can handle :)
-2 Tbs olive oil per serving
-whole wheat spaghetti noodles
-3 lemons (mine were small), juiced
-basil, fresh or freeze dried
-walnuts, chopped
-shaved parmesan cheese

1.  Prepare noodles according to package directions.
2.  Warm oil and garlic over LOW heat.  Cook until garlic begins to brown, then remove from heat.
3.  Combine noodles, garlic oil, basil, lemon juice and walnuts. 
4.  Serve topped with parmesan.

Enchilada Pasta

Another Pinterest recipe!  It was AMAZING!!

Ingredients:

Shredded chicken (optional)

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 {4 oz.} can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

1 cup sour cream

Penne pasta

1.  Cook chicken, drain, and shred {or shred your rotisserie}.  Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies.  

2.  Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic & red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.  

3. Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces.  Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

4. Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through.  Now toss in the sour cream, but whatever you do, DO NOT bring to a boil!  Cook on low heat or the sour cream will curdle.  Gross.  Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.

5. Drain pasta & return to pot.  Pour sauce over pasta and mix well.

Optional Toppings:

Avocado

Green Onions

Black Olives

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Spaghetti Bolognese

This is what I call "fancy spaghetti". I've made it on a few special occasions and it's definitely a favorite of my hubby. When we sat down to eat he asked, "Did you take a picture of this?" which translates into "This one better be posted on the blog to ensure it gets made again (and again and again!)." I didn't take a picture, but here is the recipe for good measure!

Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients:
-olive oil
-1/4 lb ground pancetta, diced
-1 lb ground beef
-1 lb ground pork
-1 onion, diced
-1 carrot, diced small
-2 celery stalks, diced small
-several garlic cloves, minced
-salt and pepper
-oregano
-1/4 c tomato paste
-2 c red wine
-3 c beef stock
-pinch red pepper flakes*
-1/2 c heavy cream or whole milk
-1 lb thick, flat spaghetti noodles
-1 1/2 c Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, shredded

1. In a large pot, heat oil then add pancettta and cook until browned. Remove from pan and reserve.
2. Add beef to the pot and brown well. Once brown, add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic then cook for 4-5 minutes (until veggies are soft).
3. Add salt, pepper, oregano, reserved pancetta, and tomato paste. Cook 3-4 minutes to caramelize.
4. Add in wine and scrape the sides and bottom of your pot to get up all the good stuff (often called deglazing). Cook until half of the liquid is evaporated, about 2 minutes.
5. Add the beef stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce tickens, about 1 1/2-2 hours. Stir occasionally during this time.
6. While the sauce is simmering, cook noodles according to package directions.
7. After sauce thickens, add cream and simmer for 2 more minutes. Then, remove from heat and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.
8. Serve pasta and sauce, topped with lots of cheese!

*might want to save these for sprinkling on the finished product if you have little mouths that will be sensitive to spice!!

Pizza Hot Dish

Today is my 8th anniversary of living here in Minnesota and this is the FIRST time I've made a recipe with hot dish in the title. It's about time, I think. This was a fun alternative to pizza take out. I am including the basic recipe below, but get creative and customize it to your own favorite pizza varieties. I added sweet peppers and onions in with my beef. You could sub chicken sausage for the beef and mushrooms for the pepperonis and have a sausage and mushroom variety. You could also go all veggie. The possibilities here are really endless. Happy New Year!

Pizza Hot Dish

Ingredients:
-1lb ground beef
-1 tsp Italian seasoning (all I had on hand was oregano and it worked great)
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-1 c. dry macaroni noodles
-1 can pizza sauce
-1 c. shredded motz
-sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Boil noodles to al dente.
3. Brown ground beef with seasoning and garlic salt until cooked through.
4. Add sauce to beef mixture and simmer. Drain noodles and add to beef and sauce.
5. Pour beef/sauce/noodle mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Top with motz, pepperoni, and parmesan cheese.
6. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes.

Make-It-Up Spaghetti

I had some veggies that needed to be used up and warm spaghetti just sounded good this week with the cooler temps. The whole family gobbled this one up :)

Make-It-Up Spaghetti


Ingredients:
-1 large zucchini, sliced and quartered
-6-8 tomatoes, roughly chopped
-olive oil
-garlic, minced
-kale
-garbanzo beans*
-small cut pasta
-shredded parmesan
-toasted sunflower seeds

1. Boil noodles to al dente. Rinse and set aside.
2. In a large pan, simmer olive oil and garlic.
3. Add tomatoes and zucchini, let simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Stir in kale and garbanzo beans and simmer for another 3-5 minutes.
5. Mix in pasta.
6. Serve topped with sesame seeds and parmesan.

*This was my source of protein for our meal, but it would also be great with grilled chicken or shrimp.

Gazpacho-style Pasta

The cucumbers are literally taking over my world. The garden, the CSA, they just won't stop coming! Many people have recommended gazpacho to me, but I've tried it before and something about cold mush doesn't appeal to me at all. It's not the flavor so much as the texture - bleh! So . . . when I came across this recipe for gazpacho pasta salad, I thought hmmmmm.... I think this might work!!

Gazpacho-style Pasta

Ingredients:
-1 box of small shell pasta
-1 large cucumber, cut into 1" chunks
-1 red pepper, cut into large chunks
-1 yellow pepper, cut into large chunks
-1 sweet onion, quartered
-1 hot pepper, cut into large chunks (pablano, jalepeno, etc.)
-1 garlic clove, chopped
-5-6 tomatoes, cut into small pieces
-2 Tbs olive oil
-2 Tbs red wine vinegar
-salt

1. Cook pasta to al dente.
2. Pulse cucumbers, peppers, onion, and garlic until finely chopped, but NOT pureed.
3. Mix well in a large bowl: pasta, processor contents, tomatoes, oil, vinegar, and salt.
4. Chill and serve.

Summer Pasta

Did anyone else catch Rachel Ray today? I happened to catch the first 10 minutes and it is so great that I did! This morning I was thinking I need to use up some summer squash and some corn on the cob so this recipe played right into my plan. I did roast the squash instead of grilling because it was more convenient for me to be all in the kitchen and not having to run out to grill every few minutes. I also boiled my corn before cutting it off the ears.

Rachel Ray's Penne with Grilled Summer Squash and Sweet Corn

Marinara

My notes for marinara are more of a process than a recipe, so I'm formatting this entry a bit differently. Marinara flavoring can really vary depending on personal taste, so feel free to add, delete, modify to your own preferences!



When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you tomatoes . . . make marinara? Works for me. This is only a small harvesting from what's available in my garden and CSA at the moment so I've got a lot of cooking to do! (p.s. On another note, I have a bag full of lemons from the CSA in my fridge as well, maybe I should explore that homemade lemonade idea???)

1. Because I also had garden-fresh celery, carrots, and onions available, I started my marinara with a traditional mirepoix. I chopped the celery, carrots, and onion into very small pieces, added a head's worth of minced garlic and some olive oil. Put them over heat for 10ish minutes to let them soften and get the juices flowing.

2. I roughly chopped my tomatoes (for this batch, I used about 1 container pictured above). I like my marinara with bigger chunks of tomato, so that's how I cut 'em. You can dice yours finer if you prefer. Once chopped, add tomatoes to the mirepoix.

3. Add canned tomato sauce to achieve your desired thickness/thinness. I added 1 1/2 cans.



4. Add a generous amount of chopped fresh basil and oregano, brown sugar (I used 1Tbs for the whole pot), and salt/pepper. Let the pot simmer for 45-60 minutes. (Careful it is not boiling, just simmering.) As it simmers, taste and adjust herbs/seasonings until it tastes good to you.

5. When done, you can serve or freeze. See directions below for easy freezing.




Have you ever tried getting sauce from a pot into a ziploc? Not pretty. A good friend tipped me off to this easy and CLEAN method for freezing liquid goods. Shechele, if you're out there, thank you. My kitchen is cleaner because of you.

1. Take a ziploc bag and put it inside of a large measuring cup, folding the zipper over the edge. Use a mug to scoop sauce out of pot and into the bag.

2. Once full, zip most of the way closed, squeeze out excess air and lay flat on a cookie sheet. Put in freezer until solid. This makes the sauce super thin and stackable, great for long-term storage in an overcrowded freezer!

Roasted Ratatouille

Hello, readers! I'm feeling kind of bad because I haven't been doing much posting. Truth is, with the abundant harvest from our garden and CSA paired with the super hot temps, I haven't been doing a lot of cooking. We've simply been enjoying the fresh produce straight from the earth - yum yum! This one, however, is an awesome dish when you care to taste some of that summer harvest cooked up.

Roasted Ratatouille

Ingredients:
-1 eggplant, chopped
-1 zucchini, chopped
-2 large tomatoes, chopped
-1 sweet onion, chopped
-1 red pepper, chopped
-1 green pepper, chopped*
-head of garlic, minced
-olive oil
-Small cut pasta
-Marinara**

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Toss all chopped veggies in a large bowl with garlic and olive oil until coated.
3. Spread coated veggies on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 22 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, boil pasta to desired tenderness, and once done mix the cooked pasta with the marinara.
5. To serve, mix pasta & sauce with roasted veggies and top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

*If you want to add some heat to this dish, you could use a chile pepper instead. I'm not able to do that since my kiddos won't go for it. I used an Italian Frying Pepper we got from our CSA this week.

**There are lots of ways to achieve this... You can make your own from scratch (my personal favorite recipe for doing so will be forthcoming once our tomato harvest is in full swing!), you could buy the jarred version at the store, or when you realize you have neither of those available, you can mix in 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 can of tomato sauce.

Grilled ratatouille? As I was completing dinner my husband walked through the kitchen and said to me, why didn't we grill these instead of turning on the oven? Great question. Grilled ratatouille would be equally delicious. You could skewer the veggies, baste them olive oil and garlic, then serve as noted above. Next time...

Vegetable Moo Shu Noodles

After a long holiday weekend filled with meat between buns, mayo-based salads, and more desserts than I care to count... this vegetable-based, asian-flavored dish hit the spot. You can certainly sub in any veggies you'd like, I just used those that I had in stock this week from the CSA. Certainly, mushrooms are usually included; I didn't have any on hand so I skipped 'em. You could also add chicken, pork, or shrimp to this if you want to add meat.

Vegetable Moo Shu Noodles

Ingredients:
-1 box of thin spaghetti
-olive or coconut oil
-2-3 eggs, beaten
-1 bunch scallions or a bit of chopped onion
-2 Tbs. grated or minced ginger
-3-4 garlic scapes (or cloves of minced garlic)
-Chopped veggies: I used summer squash
-1/4 c. hoisin sauce
-3 Tbs soy sauce
-1/2 head of napa cabbage, thinly sliced
-1/2 c. chicken stock

1. Boil noodles to al dente, set aside.
2. In a bit of oil, scramble the eggs, then set aside.
3. Saute veggies, ginger, scallions, and garlic until veggies are tender.
4. Add cabbage to saute and continue to cook until cabbage is tender.
5. Mix hoisin sauce and soy sauce in a separate bowl; pour over saute along with chicken stock and reserved egg once cabbage is tender.
6. Lastly, toss noodles in with saute. Mix to coat with sauce.

Serve and enjoy!

Spinach & Arugula Pesto

My basil isn't up in the garden yet, but I had a bag each of spinach and arugula to use from the CSA, so this pesto variation was right up my alley this week. I made a larger batch, used half of it for tonight's dinner and froze the other half for future use.

Spinach & Arugula Petso

Put into the food processor:
1 pound fresh spinach, washed and trimmed
1 bunch fresh arugula, washed and trimmed
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1/2 cup grated Italian cheese
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Pulse to desired consistency. Serve mixed with pasta, over toast with tomatoes, or on a pizza!

Lettuce and Pasta Salad

I declare summer officially here as the last two nights' dinner have been a salad of some form. YAY! This recipe is adapted from this week's CSA newsletter. YUM!

Lettuce and Pasta Salad

Mix together:
-small cut pasta (i.e. macaroni, rotelle, penne), cooked and cooled
-green onion, chopped
-2 radishes, chopped (they are super mild right now!)
-head of lettuce, chopped
-1 white turnip bulb or kohlrabi, small diced
-3-4 chicken sausages, sliced, sauted and cooled*

In a separate bowl, mix:
-1/2 c. mayo
-1 tsp. mustard (I prefer dijon, but any variety will do)
-1 Tbs. brown sugar
-1 1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar**

Pour the sauce mixture over the pasta mixture and combine completely. If you make this ahead of time and can let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving, that really gives the flavors a chance to seep in and mix together. Serve up top a bed of greens.

*The original recipe did not call for this, but I added in because I was serving this as our entree. The results would have been equally good without the meat. The variety of chicken sausage I used was apple/gouda so that added some great flavor layers overall as well!
**The original recipe called for red wine vinegar, which would be good as well. I didn't have any on hand, so I subbed in the balsamic and it too was delicious!

Italian Mac n Cheese

This is a variation on my preschooler's favorite dish, traditional homemade mac n cheese. Honestly, it was a spur-of-the-moment, throw-it-together kind of dinner that just happened to turn out great!

Italian Mac n Cheese

Prep:
-Boil noodles to al dente.
-Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together in a 9x 13 baking dish:
-noodles
-pesto
-sun dried tomatoes
-shredded chicken (rotisserie or crock pot cooked)
-shredded motz (I just put a little in, about 3/4 c.)
-Top with bread crumbs.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until top is crispy.

Not Your Standard Tuna Casserole

This is my idea of comfort food. Warm, creamy, and carb-y :) This recipe soothes my nutritional side by packing a big punch of iron and protein with the added spinach and beans! This one is stolen directly from Ms. Rachel Ray a few years back, but since you can freely search and find it on her own website, I don't feel too bad posting it here as well.

Tuna Casserole

Ingredients:
1 box whole wheat penne
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
2 garlic cloves, grated, minced, or chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbs flour
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. milk or half and half
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
grated parmigiano reggiano (or just shredded parm)
1 15oz can cannellini beans, drained
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water
2 6oz cans of tuna, drained
bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400.

Boil water and cook the pasta (sprinkle some salt in the water before dropping the pasta.) Once cooked to al dente, drain, and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium/high heat:
-Heat a bit of olive oil and the butter. Add garlic and onion and cook until tender (and fragrant!).
-Sprinkle in flour and cook for a minute, then whisk in chicken stock and milk.
-Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
-Bring to a bubble and thicken.
-Turn off heat and mix in cheese, beans, spinach, tuna, and penne.

Pour the contents into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake about 10 minutes or until the top is browned.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Spaghetti

This lighter version of the traditional fare was perfect for this very-in between-winter-and-spring kind of weather we've been stuck with here in MN!

Vegetarian Spaghetti

In a large saucepan, mix:
-olive oil
-garlic, chopped or minced
-onion, finely chopped
-carrots, finely chopped
-red pepper, finely chopped*
-2 Tbs. curry

Mix these ingredients and cook until the veggies soften a bit, then add:
-crushed tomatoes
-chickpeas

Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Combine with prepared thin spaghetti noodles and top with shredded parmesan reggiano cheese. Serve with a fresh salad and warm bread.

*You could substitute hot peppers here, but since I prepare food for a preschooler, I opted for the sweeter side of things :)

*The sauce in this recipe served over rice or potatoes works great for the daniel fast.

Beef Stroganoff

An oldie but goodie, this one is from my mom. It takes a long time in the oven, but putting it together is SUPER quick and easy, and it comes out ready to serve!

Beef Stroganoff

Mix in a large bowl:
-1 large onion, sliced thin
-1/4c. flour
-1/4c. dried breadcrumbs
-1 can of beef consumme (10.5oz, undiluted)
-1/2c. red wine or broth

In a casserole dish:
-1 lb. chuck roast, cubed
-Sliced mushrooms to your liking

Pour the bowl mixture over the meat and mushrooms. Cover and bake in oven at 300 degrees for 3 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.

Homemade Chicken Mac n Cheese

Okay, so this one definitely doesn't fall under the "good for you" category, but it is an amazing comfort food treat every now and again. I forgot to snap a picture of this before we dug in and with the help of our neighbors over for dinner, we devoured most of it, leaving us with what you see here.

Chicken Mac N Cheese

Prep:
-I love the flavor and protein a roasted chicken adds to man n cheese. Tonight I cheated and used a rotissere chicken from the store, but you could roast a whole chicken in the oven or the crockpot if you prefer to do it yourself.
-Once you've cooked (or bought) your chicken, remove the meat from the bone and skin and set aside.
-Boil your noodles of choice to al dente. Drain and stir in shredded chicken.
-Preheat oven to 325.


Cheese Sauce. In a large pan:
-Saute a small chopped onion and minced or chopped garlic in a bit of olive oil or coconut oil.
-Add 3 Tbs of flour and 3 Tbs of butter. Cook 2-3 minutes. This is your "roux", pronounced "roo".
-Just before the roux turns brown, whisk in 1 c. milk and 1 c. broth.
-Let it sit over medium heat until it bubbles and thickens.
-Sprinkle in a palm full of nutmeg.
-Melt 2 c. shredded cheddar into the sauce.

Finishing Touches:
-Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and chicken.
-Put noodles and cheese into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
-Sprinkle a bit of shredded cheddar and whole wheat bread crumbs.
-Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and the top is crusty.

Get creative here based on your family's liking. A friend once made this with bacon (and it was DELICIOUS!). Another friend adds in pimentos because her young son and husband are big fans. Veggies of all kinds are good roasted in. What else will you add? The possibilities are endless!

Leftover Chicken Pesto Pasta

Remember that yummy lemon garlic roasted chicken I made earlier this week? The leftovers showed well in last night's creation. I boiled up some noodles, mixed in some pesto, leftover chicken and halved grape tomatoes. Easy, simple, delicious!

As for the pesto... tonight was a sad night as I thawed and used the last of my frozen pesto made with the basil from our garden last summer. I can't say that I follow any particular recipe, rather I usually just toss in basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and grated parmesan cheese. I have also made a more economical pesto by substituting walnuts or sunflower seeds for the pine nuts; same nutty flavor for a fraction of the price! And of course, if you want to simplify this meal even further, you can choose a pre-made pesto variety from the many available at any mainstream grocery store. Bon A petite!