Chicken, Bacon, and Asparagus Pasta

If you love pasta dishes like we do you definitely need to try this one.

This is the perfect mix of delicious chicken, bacon and asparagus in a creamy sauce that is amazing and delicious.

P.F. Chang's Copycat Garlic Noodles

We LOVE P.F. Chang's restaurant!  They have the best Kung Pao Chicken, Lettuce Wraps, Mongolian Beef, etc. as I'm sure you all know.  But have you tried their Garlic Noodles yet?

My daughter's best friend ordered them one night when we were there and we also ordered the regular Lo Mein that we always do.

So when dinner arrived I decided to TRY the garlic noodles knowing I wouldn't like them as much as the other ones.  Well let me tell you how wrong I was!  lol  I LOVED the garlic noodles and have been ordering them ever since.

Macaroni Salad

Now that summer is here we sure are ready for all those classic summer picnic/BBQ foods, how about you?

Some of my favorite are my Old Fashioned Potato Salad, Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salad, Lime Jello Ambrosia Salad, Steak & Potato Kabobs, Chipotle Marinated Steak, and my Margarita Chicken just to name a few.

Now being added to this delicious list is my Classic Macaroni Salad that took me several tries to get just right!

Pesto di Basilico

Pesto di Basilico ~ the Italian pronunciation.

Basil Pesto ~ the boring American pronunciation, lol

No matter how you say it, Pesto is one of my very favorite pasta toppings and so easy to make at home.

All you need are the ingredients and a blender or food processor.

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

This Mother's Day we had a backyard barbecue at my brothers house and  my cousin brought this amazing salad.

I have seen orzo salads before but had never tried one.  I usually use orzo in hot dishes.

I got the recipe as soon as I could and I've been waiting to make it ever since because I knew I'd need a crowd to make it for.  I finally got the opportunity at my daughters birthday last weekend.

I don't believe there is such a thing as too many salads or side dishes one can know how to make, so I'm always on the lookout for new recipes.  I am so glad I got a hold of this one because it's a keeper!

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

I love lasagna!   My family loves lasagna!  My friends love lasagna!  See where I'm going with this?  

We all love lasagna, and I do make an awesome one if I say so myself.  

So with my lasagna in mind I decided to try something new and make a Chicken Alfredo Lasagna for dinner.  It was a total hit and everyone loved it.  

It's good to try something new every once in a while, even if you like the old way better at least you'll know what the new way tastes like.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

Don't you just love ooey gooey cheesy dinners that can be made in under 45 minutes?  I sure do and these Cheesy Stuffed Shells fall right into that category.

Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake

Lately I have tried several recipes that include chicken, some sort of pasta and a sauce and none of them were great.

So I decided to create my own and this is what I came up with last night.

I love pesto so it was a given that this recipe be a chicken pesto dish.

Pasta Salad

This is the Pasta Salad recipe I have been making for years.  I usually only make it in the summer but I was in the mood to make it yesterday so you get a new recipe.  Enjoy!

Baked Tortellini Casserole

If you like Lasagna, and we love it here, but don't always have the time you have to try this super easy super yummy creation.  I whipped this up as an after school snack for my kids last week when they had a bunch of friends over and I didn't want them just mowing through all the chips and cookies.  I fine tuned it and made it for dinner last night and everyone raved about it.  Not the best pictures but the taste was terrific!

Here's what you need:

20 oz. fresh tortellini or ravioli ( I use Buitoni and I mix Chicken and Cheese tortellini)
1 - 1 Lb. 8 oz. jar marinara (I use Ragu)
1 Tbl. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup. Italian mix cheese, shredded (I use a store bought bag of Italian 5 cheese pre shredded)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 with cooking spray and set aside.

Bring a large stockpot filled with water to a boil and add the tortellini.  Boil for 4 minutes, just to par cook.

Drain the pasta and put into the bottom of the baking dish.  

In another bowl pour the marinara sauce and the seasonings and mix to incorporate.   When I emptied the jar into the bowl I added approximately 1/4 cup water just to rinse the jar and added it to the sauce.

Pour pasta sauce over the tortellini and stir to combine.

 

Layer the cheese over the pasta and bake for 30 minutes, uncovered.

 

The top should be golden and bubbly when done.

Serve with warm french bread and veggies or salad.   YUM!

Serves 6

Enjoy!

Here's the handy printable - Baked Tortellini Casserole

Most Delicious Lasagna

Hahaha what a name for a title!  I keep hearing that my lasagna is Amazing and I've been making it for years.  It's really a pretty simple dinner to make.  We had the kids and grandkids over yesterday for a family dinner and it was the perfect time for me to make lasagna.  Unfortunately because everyone LOVES it so much I only had a teeny tiny piece left over, but that's okay because it's hidden behind the veggies in the fridge and we all KNOW I'm the only one who will even look at a veggie!

Here's what you need:

Sauce
2 Lbs. ground beef (I use an 80/20)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 ea. 1 Lb 8 oz. jars of Marinara Sauce (I use Ragu)

To Assemble:
1 - 9oz package Barilla "no boiling required" Lasagna noodles
1-1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded
1-1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 - 9 x 12 disposable heavy duty tin pan or a 9 x 13 deep dish baking dish

 

In a large skillet brown the ground beef with the onions, seasoned with 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.

When the ground beef is browned, add the sauce and 2 more tsp. Italian Seasoning and 1 tsp. granulated garlic.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 12 disposable heavy duty tin pan or a 9 x 13 deep dish baking dish. (I use the tin pan because it's a lot less cleanup). Put a couple of ladles of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish to give it a thin even layer.

 

Next place the pasta noodles in a row covering the bottom, breaking pieces to fit the whole bottom.  I change directions of the noodles each layer so that you have a sturdier lasagna. Ladle a couple of spoonfuls of sauce over the pasta (approximately 1-1/2 cups).

Next sprinkle ⅓ of the Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and the Parmesan on top of the meat.

Repeat two more times until all the sauce and cheese is used up.

 

Place baking dish on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with Cheesy Garlic Bread YUM!  This is the teeny piece that was left over!

Serves 8 - 10 of your favorite People

**Update - This recipe can be split into two smaller pans and one can be frozen for later. Just cover with plastic wrap, then tin foil, then place in a freezer bag and freeze. When you are ready to serve the second one, just place in fridge two days before and allow to defrost. Bring to room temp by setting on the counter about 45 minutes before cooking then bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Lasagna


You can find me linking up to these wonderful blog each week.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

This is my spaghetti recipe I have been making for years.  I figure not everyone knows how to make a great spaghetti or has a good recipe.  It's pretty simple and truly delicious.

Pasta with Italian Sausage and Bacon

I am always trying to find ways of incorporating bacon into as many meals as possible.  So I thought why not add it to pasta with Italian sausage and marinara?  Guess what?  It was Delish!  I have made it a couple of times now just to make sure that the first time wasn't a fluke and it wasn't.  Yummy both times.

Here's what you need:

19oz package sweet Italian sausage (I used Johnsonville)
6 slices bacon, chopped
1-1/2 - 2 jars marinara sauce (I used Ragu)
1 - 2 Tbl. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. granulated garlic
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 pound Rigatoni, cooked
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Slice each sausage into 1 inch pieces and cut the bacon into ½” pieces.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the sausage and bacon.  Cook until completely cooked through, about 10 - 15 minutes, stirring often.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Pour off any grease and discard.

Add the sauce (I used two whole jars but 1-1/2 would have been fine too; depending on how saucy you like your pasta) and the seasoning to the same pan and stir to combine.  Heat until it comes to a simmer then taste.  You can adjust seasonings at this point.  

 

Add the meat back into the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

While waiting for the pasta sauce to finish heat a large stockpot of water on high until boiling.  Add the pasta and cook as directed on the box.  Drain and add to the cooked meat sauce, stirring to combine. 

 

Serve immediately with a mound of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Serves 6 - 8

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Pasta with Italian Sausage and Bacon

You can find me linking up to these wonderful parties each week.