Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Shells

These spinach and sausage stuffed shells are superb, spectacular, succulent, sensational, and above all simple. Seriously... :) This is one of our personal creations. We love it. We've previously made it with ground beef, but let me tell you (and my hips and buns) that sausage is so much better. It's worth the extra calories to add the sausage. Plus, this is a fun red and white themed dish for the Chrismas holidays!

Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (12 oz.) jumbo shells, uncooked

1 lb. sausage, browned

2 cups ricotta cheese

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 tsp. parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. garlic

1-2 oz. spinach chopped

3 cups spaghetti sauce

Directions:

Heat oven to 375. Cook shells according to package directions. Meanwhile, brown sausage in a skillet. Drain grease. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together cheeses, egg, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, garlic and spinach. Then add the sausage. In a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, spread about 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce or enough to create a thin layer of sauce in bottom of dish. Fill each cooked shell with sausage/spinach mixture. Fill the shell so that it is full, but not bursting. Put each shell in the pan with the sauce. Once pan is full of shells, spread remaining spaghetti sauce over the shells. Bake for 30 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings.

Side note: I always have about 10 extra cooked shells left when making this.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

This lasagna was fantastic! We loved it. The vegetables added such a great flavor. It wasn't too rich like some lasagnas can get. It is a little time consuming if you make your own sauce, but I've always considered lasagna to be that way. It takes a whole lot of kitchen lovin' and dish washin' to make lasagna. This recipe is mmm...mmm.....good.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

1 red bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 green bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped into small pieces
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced and diced
2 medium zucchini sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (16 ounces)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (4 ounces
Tomato Sauce (See recipe below)

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray. Place peppers, onion, zucchini, and mushrooms in single layer in pan. Sprinkle the vegetables with the salt and pepper. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes, turning vegetables once, until vegetables are tender.

While vegetables are roasting, prepare Tomato Sauce (see recipe below). Cook and drain noodles as directed on package. Rince noodles with cold water; drain. Mix cheeses; set aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch pan, with cooking spray. Spread 1/4 cup of the sauce in dish; top with 3 noodles. Layer with 3/4 cup sauce,
1 1/4 cup vegetables and 1 cup cheese mixture. Repeat layers 3 more times with remaining noodles, sauce, vegetables, and cheese mixture.

Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until hot. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Tomato Sauce

1 pound ground beef (leave out the ground beef if you want it vegetarian style)
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 garlic colves, chopped
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes, undrained
3 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Spray 2-quart saucepan with cooking spray. Cook beef, onion and garlic in saucepan over medium heat until beef is browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 15-20 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Recipe Source: adapted from Betty Crocker's Best Christmas book and my Momma's lasagna recipe

Chicken and Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo

My niece gave me this recipe. Let me tell you about her. The girl is 10 and is already cooking up a storm. My sister will come home from work and see her daughter finishing up pan pizza for dinner or some other delicious meal. At 5 years old, my niece would make me eggs for breakfast! 5!!! She is an excellent cook. She passed this recipe on to me. I really like this meal because you can put it in the crockpot and it is so yummy. I am not a huge fan of crockpot meals. Don't get me wrong, I love to use the crockpot. I just don't find tons of recipes for the crockpot that I am in love with. This one is definitely a keeper though! Thanks to my fabulous niece for sharing her recipes with me.

Chicken and Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast tenders

2 8 oz. packages mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, cut into chunks

1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup (2 sticks butter), cut into chunks

1 package (1 pound) uncooked fettucine

Chopped fresh parsley (if desired)

Slow Cooker Directions:

1. Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange chicken in single layer in bottom of slow cooker. Top with mushrooms; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

2. Combine cream cheese, parmesan cheese, milk, and butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until smooth and heated through. Pour over mushrooms, pushing down any that float to surface. Cover; cook on LOW 4 to 5 hours or on HIGH 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

3. Cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain.

4. Serve pasta with the sauce, chicken, and mushrooms from the crockpot. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese and parsley.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Deep Dish Pizza

We love this deep dish pizza. It comes from my friend Krista's blog. It is excellent!

Deep Dish Pizza

2 1/3 – 3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp yeast

1 cup warm milk

2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp olive oil

In your mixer combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Mix well. In a separate bowl combine warm milk, sugar and olive oil. While your mixer is on low, slowly pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Let the machine knead the dough for 5 minutes. Put in a greased bowl and let rise. After dough has doubled in size put dough on lightly floured surface and divide in half. Roll each half into a 7 inch circle. Place over your knuckles moving the dough around in a circle so that the middle is thinner than the sides. Put 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in the bottom of pan. Spread the olive oil evenly throughout the pan. Place the dough into a cake pan and press out to the sides of the pan, trying to avoid getting the oil on top of the dough. You need enough so that it will fry the bottom of the dough. Let the dough rise 10 minutes. The put on your favorite toppings. Bake on bottom rack of oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Capellini Caprese

I found this recipe on the Kraft foods website. We added a few things to spice it up a bit. It turned out fantastic!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. thin spaghetti

1/2 cup Kraft Italian Dressing and Marinade

1 lb. turkey sausage (or other sausage)

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/3 cup fresh basil, finely sliced

Directions:
1. Cook pasta as directed on the package.

2. Cook the sausage until almost browned. Add onions and garlic. Finish cooking the meat with the onions and garlic. Add the dressing and tomatoes and cook 5 minutes.

3. Drain pasta. Add to tomato and meat mixture; mix lightly. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

4. Enjoy.

Creamy Pasta with Asparagus

I got this recipe from Favorite Family Recipes. It is really delicious. We loved it! The guests we served it to raved about it.

*

Creamy Pasta with Asparagus

*

1 pkg. bow tie pasta
1/2 c. (1 cube) butter (the real stuff)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pint heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
10-15 spears asparagus, blanched
1/2 c. bacon, crumbled (Honestly, can you ever have too much bacon?)
1/4 c. toasted pinenuts (I left these out.)
Parsley, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Boil bow tie pasta in salted water until al dente. Do NOT over cook. In wok or heavy skillet melt butter. Add minced garlic and saute a minute or so. Add Parmesan Cheese and bouillon cube(s). When the bouillon cube is dissolved, slowly stir in heavy cream and salt & pepper. Add cooked pasta to cream sauce and toss until pasta is well covered. Add blanched asparagus. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, toasted pinenuts, parsley & Parmesan cheese and toss together. Serve immediately.

I added Chicken to the recipe because my hubby likes to have a little meat with his meal. I just cooked about 3-4 small chicken breasts in a skillet and seasoned it with lemon pepper. It was a great addition to the pasta!

Calzone

This calzone is for the whole family. The recipe makes two big calzones, and I never half the recipe because we love all the leftovers. This is a delicious food that I grew up on. It is one of our all time favorites.

Dough:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour or bread flour

1 tablespoon dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast, and the salt. Add water and cooking oil. Beat at low speed of electric mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping bowl. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make moderately stiff dough. On floured surface, knead til smooth; about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise till double in bulk (about 1 hour).

Sauce:

(I'll be honest. I usually use canned spaghetti sauce because it's so fast and we like it, but here's a delicious sauce recipe.)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic minced
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Heat and let sit while making or waiting for the dough.

To Make the Calzone:

Divide dough in half. Place each ball of dough on a greased baking sheet. Roll the ball into a long oval. Spread a little olive oil on one half of the dough. Then add a layer of sauce. Then add all the toppings you want on the half and finish off with a thick layer of mozzarella cheese. Fold the other half over the stuffed half. Crimp the edges together. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Spread some sauce on top and bake for anotehr 5 to 10 minutes.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

I got this delicious recipe and the pic from Summer's blog. We really liked it and will definitely be having it again soon!

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 box (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed, well drained (I used 6 oz. of fresh and cooked it first.)
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg product
1 cup Italian bread crumbs (you can use more if needed)
1 cup Italian herb pasta sauce
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (1 oz)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 9x13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Between pieces of plastic wrap, place chicken between plastic and pound until 1/4 inch thick. In medium bowl, mix spinach, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp basil, and garlic until blended. Spread about 1 tbsp spinach mixture over each chicken breast; roll up tightly and secure with toothpicks. In a shallow dish/bowl, beat the egg (or put in egg product). In another shallow dish, place bread crumbs. Dip each chicken breast into egg; then coat with crumb mixture. Place seam side down in baking dish.Bake uncovered 25 minutes. Pour pasta sauce over chicken; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 10-15 min longer or until thermometer inserted in center of chicken reads 165 degrees. Remove toothpicks from chicken before eating.

Pasta Primavera

This dish is very healthy and delicious. Mike is not a vegetable fan and he still really likes it. Kira loves it too!

4 tsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced, or 2 tsp. wet garlic from jar
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped into small pieces
1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
2 cups fresh tomatoes diced
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

In a nonstick skillet, sauté the garlic, green beans, broccoli, and zucchini in the oil until crisp tender. Add remaining ingredients; cook, covered for 10 minutes.

Put over cooked whole wheat pasta. The kinds with the flavored whole wheat pasta is really good.

Top with some mozzarella or parmesan cheese.

All the vegetables in the skillet.

The end result with noodles, primavera, and cheese!

Stuffed Shells

1 PACKAGE (12-OUNCE) JUMBO SHELLS
4 CUPS RICOTTA CHEESE
8 OUNCES SHREDDED MOZZARELLA CHEESE
½ CUP GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE
2 EGGS
1 TABLESPOON CHOPPED PARSLEY
½ TEASPOON SALT
¼ TEASPOON PEPPER
1/8 TEASPOON NUTMEG
1 JAR SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Prepare pasta as directed on package, cooking 9 minutes; drain. Rinse with cold water, drain, and arrange in single layer to fill. Meanwhile mix together cheeses, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Fill cookie shells with cheese mixture.

Cover bottom of a 9x13 pan with some sauce. Arrange filled shells in single layer in the pan. Pour remaining sauce over the shells and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. Makes 6-8 servings.

(Sorry! We had already dug in before we took the pic!)