Chili Cheddar Penne

Sorry for no post last week, we were on vacation! My plans of having a post or two prepared before we left went out the window with prep for vacation, so I'll try to make it up this week. :) (On the plus side, we thoroughly enjoyed spending a week in the sunshine state!)

This entree/side dish is something that has been one of my favorites for a LONG time. The boys love it too! When I made it last, Gabriel had 4ish helpings... Nate, however, just isn't very fond of it; I've never figured out why. I try not to make it too often, knowing that he's not a fan, but I can't resist sometimes! I tone the spice down a little while making it for my family, but you could definitely add as much seasoning as you wanted!

To make this into more of a one-dish meal, add some grilled chicken!

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite one-dish meal?

Printable Recipe

Chili Cheddar Penne

Ingredients

• 2 ⅔ cups uncooked penne pasta
• ⅔ cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 ½ tablespoons butter
• ½ green pepper, diced very small
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 roma or 1 regular tomatoes, diced (or 1 can, drained)
• ½-¾ tablespoon taco seasoning
• Sliced avocado, optional

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding corn approximately 4 minutes before done. 
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute green pepper until crisp-tender in butter. Set aside. 
3. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in cheese, tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. 
5. Drain pasta; stir into cheese sauce. Garnish with avocado if desired.

Yield/Time

6 Servings

Prep/Total Time: 25 min.

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

179 per ½ cup.

Source (for original): Taste of Home

Creamy Parmesan Pasta

I'm one of those people who could happily eat pasta every night.

Every. Night.

Unfortunately, Nate can't. The boys could, but I do try to keep my hubby happy too. ;) So I have to vary things up a bit.... but you still may be surprised at the amount of pasta dishes in my recipe book. (Side note, is anyone curious about the actual book I keep?)

A lot of my pasta dishes are fairly similar. Pasta, some type of cream base, sometimes a veggie or two...This is one of my favorites, though. It's not really heavy, and the calories aren't bad. My boys, especially Gabriel, love it because of the spinach. (Yeah, my 4yo loves spinach. I never claimed he was a normal child, but I love it!) You can add other veggies if you aren't a spinach fan--just toss them in with the pasta when it has a few minutes left. You should definitely try the spinach though!

Printable Recipe

Creamy Parmesan Pasta

Ingredients

• 16 ounces uncooked pasta (I like the weird shapes!)
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups spinach
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 3 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Pepper Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Dash salt
• 2 cups milk
• ½ cup Parmesan

Directions

1. Cook pasta and carrots according to pasta package directions. 
2. In a small nonstick skillet, saute the mushrooms and onion in oil until tender. Add spinach, cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the flour, bouillon, Garlic Pepper Seasoning, parsley, oregano, and salt. 
3. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in Parmesan. 
4. Drain pasta, add to mushroom mixture and stir to coat.

Yield/Time

Yields: 8-10 servings (10 cups)

Total Time: 20 m

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

241/cup

Source (for original): Cooking for Two

Remember, I love comments! What's your favorite pasta dish?

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Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

I am such a pasta girl. I love a good alfredo, but I am bit of a snob. I'll try any homemade recipe, but I can't buy the canned stuff. (I've tried them all.... they are disgusting.) I do a lot of different recipes, and most of them are essentially the same, but this is the most recent. Pretty easy, too! 

This would be easy to vary, too. Toss in any frozen veggie you like, add some more seasonings, etc.  

Do you have a favorite alfredo recipe? Share in the comments!

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and chopped chicken
• 1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups cream
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Combine broccoli, pasta, and chicken; place into a 9”x13” baking dish.
3. Melt butter completely over medium heat in large skillet or pan. Add flour, garlic, onion, salt, and stir to form a roux. Slowly add milk and cream, stir continuously until sauce has thickened. Add Parmesan, stir to combine thoroughly.
4. Evenly pour and distribute alfredo sauce over pasta combination. Gently stir to combine, and sprinkle with more Parmesan as desired.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

Yield/Time

6 servings

30 minutes

Source (for original): Chef in Training

Chicken & Spinach Pasta

Our oven died a couple weeks ago, when our menu plan was filled with things that needed to be baked. Thankfully, we've gotten it fixed since, but of the handful of things left on my plan, not ONE of them was crock pot or stove top only. We had pizza the first night I realized it was completely dead (that's also the day I dropped a wooden shelf on my head.... so we probably would've had pizza anyways), and I came up with some alternate meals. 

This Chicken & Spinach Pasta is actually something that was on the original menu, but originally required baking. With some slight adaptation to make it stove top (and a decent amount of adaptation simply because I wanted to), it worked. 

It's actually a pretty basic dish, but I really like adding the cream cheese/sour cream for some extra creaminess. 

The cutest thing about this was Gabriel's reaction to the spinach/tomato in it. It isn't unusual for me to put (small) pieces of tomato in things, but for some reason he said "icky" when he found a piece at the edge of his plate. I explained that it was tomato & it was yummy, then showed him the spinach & said that was yummy too. So he picked up a piece of spinach, told me "spinach yummy!" then promptly ate it. When we had leftovers the next day, he ate all of the spinach before even touching the pasta. :)

Chicken & Spinach Pasta

Ingredients

• 16 ounces dry small pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1-2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• Fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°, if desired. (Baking is not necessary.) Spray a 9”x13” baking pan with non-stick spray.
2. Cook pasta; drain and set aside.
3. While pasta is cooking, heat butter in a large saute pan set to medium heat. Add in the onion and garlic. Saute for 3 - 4 minutes to slightly soften; do not brown.
4. Add in cream cheese; stir to melt. Reduce heat to low. Stir in sour cream, milk, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir until everything is well combined and bubbling. Add pasta, chicken, spinach and tomatoes. Add more milk as needed to obtain desired consistency.
5. If baking, stir to coat and immediately transfer to baking dish. Add remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes.  
6. If not baking, add remaining cheese and heat thoroughly.
7. Top with basil or parsley for garnish.

Yield/Time

8 servings

20-45 minutes

Source (for original): Inspired Dreamer

Taco Helper....and my lack of love for pre-packaged meals

As a general rule, I don't like to buy pre-packaged meals for us. They 1) are expensive, and 2) have a ridiculously high salt content. Tuna helper is something I buy on occasion for Nate, but I won't eat most of those things. (OK, I will confess to buying pasta roni when it's on sale sometimes. Hush, it's a comfort food when I am hungry, I'm the only one eating, and I don't want to mess with making a real meal.) However, I like the idea of most of them. Creamy pasta/rice & meat, lots of flavors, only one or two dishes.... sounds good. 

I like to do pasta with a cream-of soup (speaking of ridiculously high salt contents....), ground beef, and some cheese & seasonings, but I was intrigued when I saw a recipe for homemade taco helper on one of the blogs I read regularly. At Lynn's Kitchen Adventures, she has a lot of down-to-earth recipes--and, if you are gluten-free, she has a lot of that too! I've never made the boxed kind, but I love tacos, so I thought it was worth a shot!  

(See below recipe for comments on the recipe itself...)

(Yes, my camera was still MIA when I made this. However, this was a few days ago, and YAY! I found my camera! It was hiding....)

 

Taco Helper

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• ¾ - 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ¾ cup milk
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 ½ tablespoons taco seasoning (or one packet of the storebought kind)
• 3 cups uncooked penne or macaroni noodles
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a large sauce pan, brown the ground beef. Drain any fat from the meat. Add ¾ cup water, milk, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning to the meat and bring to a boil. Add the pasta.
2. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 17-20 minutes. Test at 17 minutes to see if the pasta is done. If pasta is not done, cook a few minutes longer.
3. During cooking, if liquid simmers too low add up to another 3/4 cup water.
4. When the pasta is tender and done, stir in shredded cheese and sour cream.
5. Let sit 5- 10 minutes before serving and it will thicken more.

Yield/Time

30 minutes

Source (for original): Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures 

I think I would add more sour cream next time, because it wasn't quite a creamy as I was anticipating. It was great, the flavor was awesome, but I was expecting more creaminess.

Also, as I am posting this, I realize that I have yet to post my recipe for taco seasoning. (Does it count as a recipe if you are just mixing a bunch of spices together?) Stay tuned, I think that will have to be next....

Penne Rosa

I love, love, love pasta. I could eat pasta every day, for lunch and dinner, and I would be quite happy. When we were newlyweds, I may have made a lot of pasta meals, because I was afraid to step out of my box. Thankfully, I have an awesome husband who pushed gently helped me out of my kitchen box, and I branch out a bit more now. 

Upon reflection, we still eat a lot of pasta, but the things I do with pasta have varied. (Don't be judgey, I like pasta.) I have branched out and cook with rice a lot too... I even got a 20ish pound bag of rice at Sam's Club last week! Nate was so proud, I thought he would cry.

Just kidding, my husband is all manly-ish and doesn't cry. Especially over sappy movies or his son doing sweet things. Nope.

Wait, where was I? Oh, yes, pasta. I saw an awesome recipe for Penne Rosa with Shrimp recently (shortly after making dinner for my little brother),  and decided I had to try it. Unfortunately, shrimp wasn't on sale and I am cheap frugal, so I switched to chicken, but I think shrimp would've been amazing with this!

(See below for detailed comments on the recipe.) 

(Yes, my camera is still MIA. Sorry.)

 

Penne Rosa

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne (or whatever pasta you have on hand)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (or more.... remember, you can never have too much garlic)
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (if you actually remember to add mushrooms to your grocery list)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 cups fresh spinach, or 1/2  to 1 cup frozen
• 10 ounces medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (can easily sub out for chicken)
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• ⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook penne according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add in garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften. Add in mushrooms, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to release their water.

Turn heat up to medium-high; add shrimp. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and opaque. If using another meat, simply add cooked meat and simmer until meat is heated through. Remove from heat, add in spinach and cover skillet. Let wilt for 2 minutes if using fresh.

Remove lid and place skillet back over low heat. Add the penne, Greek yogurt and pasta sauce. Stir until mixed well. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Yield/Time

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

Source (for original): Back to Her Roots

All in all, we liked the taste. I would really like to try it with shrimp, but I'm going to have to watch for a sale. (I am soooo my mother's child.....) 

Note on the spinach: This is the second time recently that I've added frozen spinach to something, and I wanted to start small. Previously, I've added wayyyy too much spinach, and that has drowned the other tastes. Thus, we only used 1/2 cup. If using frozen spinach, I think you would be safe adding a full cup.

As always, comments are love.

Shrimp Alfredo: My little brother's birthday

  
 My brothers & I don't do birthday presents for each other any more, but I wanted to do something nice for them. Jonah lives a few hours away, so inviting him up for dinner isn't really feasible. Especially considering that, when he is up here, he is spending all his time hunting, fishing, or both. He's getting a to-be-determined treat when he comes up next week. (And, since he's giving me no ideas on what he would like, I really have no idea what I am going to make for him.) 

Kyle, however, has no qualms about telling me what he would like. Since he lives so close, he also was able to come over for dinner. (And dessert, which I already posted about.) It was quite the party, too. 

Sometimes, there is a certain little boy who isn't quite sure of his Uncle Kyle....


Anyways, for dinner he requested crab alfredo. When I told him I would be using imitation crab he changed his mind and wanted shrimp alfredo. Which I've never made before. So, I got on Google and found a copycat recipe for Red Lobster's Shrimp Alfredo. 

The recipe I decided to follow was on food.com, and there were a lot of comments. Quite a few of the comments stated that it was too thin, so I added some cream cheese. I think it turned out great! Kyle & Gabriel did too. (Poor husband, he works second shift so he couldn't be there.)

Shrimp Alfredo

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
• ⅔ cup clam juice (or chicken broth)
• ⅓ cup white wine (or chicken broth)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 ounce cream cheese, cubed
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• 8 ounces pasta, cooked and drained

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; reduce heat to low. Simmer until garlic is tender.
2. Add shrimp and cook over medium-low heat until opaque. Remove, reserve liquid in pan.
3. Add clam juice (or chicken broth) and bring to a boil. Add wine (or chicken broth); cook over medium high heat for three minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Reduce heat to low; add cream and cream cheese, stirring constantly and continue until cheese is mostly melted. Add Parmesan, stirring until smooth. Cook until thickened.
5. Add shrimp back into sauce. Heat thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients except pasta.
6. Put pasta in a large bowl and pour sauce over pasta; toss gently to coat.
7. Serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.

Yield/Time

5-6 servings

20 minutes

Source (for original): Food

Now, I added pre-cooked shrimp (it was on sale, and honestly I can only go so far out of my box--cooking shrimp sounded intimidating), so I skipped the step of cooking the shrimp and cut down on oil.

I think that, next time, I would cut down on the shrimp (that's a lot of shrimp for each serving) and probably would add a bit more garlic. However, I have a serious love for garlic, so you should probably start with 3 cloves and go from there.