Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Chicken Spaghetti

This is not the fabulous recipe that Aimee has promised for the weekend, but I owed you one.  Aimee does such a wonderful job keeping up this blog.  I am really grateful to her.  So I finally come through on my turn. I hope you enjoy this, we did.

I got this recipe from my niece Britney off her mom's site Grain Crazy.  I tweaked it slightly to fit our family.

Ingredients:

5 chicken tenderloins (seasoned with salt and pepper, other spices if you like them, such as paprika, onion powder, garlic salt)
12 oz. of spaghetti noodles (you can use fettuccine or linguine if you want)
1 c. sun-dried tomatoes (in oil, but drained)
1 1/2 c. artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
3 tsp. basil
Parmesan cheese


Directions:

1. Grill your chicken tenderloins and cut into bite-size pieces.

2. Start your spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water (follow package directions)

3. Put your tomatoes and artichokes and spices in a large saucepan and simmer together, stirring occasionally.

4. When your spaghetti is finished, drain.
5. Add all the ingredients together and serve.

6. Top with Parmesan cheese.

This was enough for 2 whole meals for Craig and I and 2 lunch meals for Craig and I.  It was ALOT, but we really liked it.

Homemade Red Pepper Beef Ravioli

Red Pepper Beef Ravioli

1 lb beef roast

2 cups chicken broth

1 TBS oregano

1/2 TBS thyme

1 and 1/2 medium sized red peppers (or 1 large)

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 TBS garlic salt

1 batch fresh noodles

Special Equipment Needed:  Kitchen Aid meat grinder attachment

1. Put beef, chicken broth, oregano and thyme in the crock pot.

2. Cook on low for 6 hours, high for 4 hours.

3. Send meat through your meat grinder using the coarse setting.

4. Send meat through again on the fine setting, adding sliced red peppers this time.

5. In a large bowl combine meat mixture, parmesan cheese and garlic salt.

6. Either using the pasta roller attachment or a rolling pin, roll the dough out into long strips, about 4-5 inches wide and as long as you can make them.

7. You will need two strips that are the approximately the same length and width.

8. Take approx. 1 TBS of meat mixture and space about 1 inch apart on one strip of dough. 

 

9. Place the other strip of dough on top.

10. Cut and seal the raviolis using a pastry cutter.

  

11. Set raviolis aside to dry for about 30 minutes.

12. Boil a large pot of water.

13. Put raviolis in boiling water and cook for about 8 minutes.

14. Enjoy raviolis topped with your favorite tomato marinara sauce (canned or homemade) and some mozzarella cheese.

This was seriously so yummy. 

Although next time we'll probably make the raviolis a little smaller. When making this I would recommend making your raviolis about 1x1 inches. But bigger is okay, they'll just get more air in them and might pop while boiling in the water.

We can't wait to make other variations of homemade ravioli soon.

What is your favorite kind of ravioli?

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Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta

I’m obviously not very good at sticking to our healthy meal plan. But on Monday when deciding what to make for dinner I actually decided to make something that was healthy! Although pasta is not usually considered healthy, I figure since I wasn’t loading it with butter and was topping it with lots of vegetables that it was at least a little better than the other pasta alternatives.

And of course, since I don’t eat shrimp I had a vegetarian meal for the day, but the shrimp could easily be substituted for chicken or you could enjoy the pasta veggie style like I did.

1 TBS chopped garlic

2 TBS fresh parsley

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 cup plain yogurt, lowfat

½ red pepper, cut into inch long slices

1 squash, sliced

1 ½ cup asparagus, chopped into about 1 inch pieces

about 20 small shrimp

4 oz spaghetti noodles


1. Bring a pot of water to boil.
2. Add spaghetti noodles and cook according to package directions, (about 8-10 minutes)
3. Four minutes before noodles would be done, add shrimp, asparagus, bell pepper and squash.
4. Cook until pasta is tender and veggies are crisp tender.
5. Drain.

6. Mash garlic and salt together in a medium sized bowl.
7. Add yogurt, parsley, lemon juice, oil, pepper and garlic salt.
8. Mix well.
9. Combine the pasta mixture with the sauce and toss to coat.

And don't forget to enter our awesome giveaway here! And remember you need to leave a comment for each entry you want.

Baked Ravioli

So my second job is basically a receptionist position. I'm sitting at a computer for 4 hours, where I have to do basic computer skills such as emails, scanning, data entry, etc. and I'm answering any phone call that comes in, and helping anyone who comes through the front door. But when there isn 't any of that stuff going on, I can do whatever I want (on the computer at least) as long as I'm ready to answer the phone if it does ring. So during these 4 hours, after I get bored of Facebook and finish reading all the blogs posted during the day I browse recipes, cooking blogs (such as those listed on my side bar), martha stewart, all recipes, my recipes, or any others I happen to happen upon. I make lists of the recipes I like, and lately I've even started to organize them according to type of food, dish as well as ethnicity.

Of course there are probably many of those that I will never actually make, because when I'm thinking of what to make for dinner I don't always go back to the list. BUT, the other day I was craving Italian food. (Probably because the previous week Nate and I basically cut carbs from our diet.) And I went to the listed and decided upon Martha Stewart's Baked Ravioli. Here is my slightly edited version.

Baked Ravioli

1 TBS olive oil

1 1/2 TBS minced garlic

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) can diced Italian flavored tomatoes

2 lbs frozen ravioli **

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup Parmesan

**I actually used 1 lb ravioli, and then realized I needed more noodles and used about 1 cup of rigatoni noodles. You could use any type of noodle that you have around the house.

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.

3. Add minced garlic and saute with salt and pepper for about 1 minute.

4. Add thyme, oregano and tomatoes.

5. Bring sauce to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.

6. Break up tomato chunks with a spoon as much as possible.

7. Scoop most of the bigger tomato chunks out and blend (I used a magic bullet, but a regular blender would work too) till chunks are gone. (There will still be some chunks, but small ones, you don't want any full sized tomatoes in your sauce).

8. Return blended mixture to the sauce.

9. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling water, until they float to the top (pasta does not need to be completely cooked because it will continue to cook in the oven.

11. Drain water from pasta.

12. Toss pasta and sauce in a large bowl.

13. Pour pasta into a 9x13 pan. 

14. Top pasta with Parmesan cheese, then mozzarella cheese.

15. Bake for 20 minutes, until pasta is golden.

I though this was amazing. Although I really like the sauce recipe I learned from my parents, I'm always up for finding new tomato sauce recipes, and this one was perfect. 

I made this, and it was so good, I had to go back for seconds. I even had this reheated the next day. In my opinion Italian food makes the best leftovers.  

What is your favorite meal to eat as leftovers?

Copycat - Chili Cheese Hamburger Helper

Although I will admit that I actually do like boxed hamburger helper, with all the preservatives in it, it really isn't very good for me. And one day when Nate and I were trying to think of what to make for dinner, he came upon this recipe. So we tried it. The first time we made it we even made home made noodles to go in it, making it almost completely homemade (now I just need to grind my own beef, and grown my own spices --- we do have parsley, chives and basil growing in a little pot inside)

Anyway, this is the second time we made it and it was delicious. Maybe it was because we were starving, or maybe because we were camping. But it was good. And if you (or your kids) like hamburger helper you should try it too.

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups macaroni noodles

1 TBS cornstarch

1 TBS chili pwder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp paprika

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

We cooked this in a pot on the stove the first time, but in a dutch oven the second time. The directions are basically the same.

1.  Brown ground beef in a large pot.

2. Once cooked, drain the fat.

3. Add water and milk and spices (spices can be combined prior to making this, or at this point)

4. Stir every couple of minutes until boiling.

5.  Once boiling add noodles.

6. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes (until noodles are cooked), stirring occasionally.

7. In the last few minutes of cooking add the cheese.

8. Stir in the cheese and recover the pot for the final couple minutes of cooking.

9. Once noodles are soft, take the pot of the heat and uncover and let stand for a few minutes, to thicken.

Enjoy. 

 

I liked mine topped with a little ketchup, but that's what I do with the boxed stuff too. This was mighty tasty.

What pre-prepared meals can YOU not live without? Frozen, boxed, etc.

Pasta Salad

Last Thursday we knew we were going to have some burgers for dinner and I wanted to make a side to go with. I thought of various side items that would be good with burgers. Of course you have your typical french fries, maybe coleslaw, potato salad, or corn on the cob, but finally I decided I wanted to make pasta salad. 

Of course this is a very simple recipe, but I had actually never made pasta salad before. Did you know that if rotini noodles are colored its because they're flavored with different vegetables? Unfortunately we didn't have time to make homemade noodles for this salad, but it fortunately did still turn out to be delicious. We have some leftover in our fridge right now, and I think that'll be a perfect after church snack.

1 bag colored vegetable rotini noodles

1/2 can whole olives

1/2 package pepperoni

4-5 sticks of string cheese

1/2 bottle of Italian dressing

1. Boil water in a large pot.

2. Cook noodles according to package. (When cooked drain water)

3. Cut olives in half

4. Cut pepperoni's in quarters

5. Cut string cheese in 1/4 inch slices

6. Combine noodles, olives, pepperoni, cheese and dressing in a large bowl.

7. Stir.

8. Close bowl with a lid (or cover with foil if you're brave)

9. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving. (Half way through refrigeration, flip bowl upside-down so that dressing will mix throughout)

Enjoy!

What is your favorite side to have with homemade burgers?

Turkey Pasta Casserole

8 oz penne pasta or similar shape (we used our homemade pasta, so it weighed a lot more than 8oz)
5 TBS butter
5 TBS flour
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped (I used one whole pepper cause it was smaller)
1/2 TBS garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp season-all

asparagus, about 2 cups
3 cups cooked turkey, diced or shredded
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 TBS melted butter

Preheat oven to 350°
Grease a 9x13 glass baking dish.
Cook pasta in boiling water, about 10 minutes for dried, 4 minutes for fresh.
Meanwhile steam asparagus for about 10 minutes.
Then cut into 1 inch pieces.
In a large pan melt butter over medium heat.
Add bell pepper and saute until tender, about 5 minutes
Add garlic and green onion and saute for 1 minute.
Stir in flour, until blended.
Stir in chicken broth, cook until thickened a little.
Stir in milk, stirring frequently, cook until thickened.
Add seasonings, asparagus and turkey.
Heat thoroughly.
Stir in cheese and cook until melted.
Drain cooked pasta.
Add cooked pasta into mixture.
Pour into baking dish.
Melt 1 TBS butter and mix with bread crumbs.
Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Serves 6 to 8.

We used the leftover smoked turkey from our TBA sandwiches, and this turned out wonderfully. There was a little bit too much bread crumb on the top, for my liking, so I adjusted this recipe accordingly. We each ate a heaping helping and then we froze the rest.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

For a graduation gift, my parents were kind enough to buy me a pasta maker attachment for our kitchen-aid. We were pretty anxious to try it, so on Sunday we finally did, and the noodles turned out to be delicious.

We were a little nervous because our dough was extremely dry and crumbly, but we tried it anyway and after a very slow start we had a steady flow of spaghetti noodles coming out.

Marinara Sauce with Meatballs

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 TBS chopped garlic

1 TBS parsley

1/2 TBS oregano

1/2 TBS basil

1/4 tsp salt

a sprinkle of pepper 

 1/4 cup onion, chopped

12 meatballs (we used frozen meatballs from Costco)

1. Heat meatballs in the microwave on high for 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile combine sauce and spices in a medium sized pan.
3. Heat to a simmer. Simmer until sauce becomes desired thickness.
4. Cook chopped onion in a small pan over medium heat, until slightly brown and tender.
5. Put cooked onions and meatballs in sauce.
6. Cook for another couple of minutes, to blend the flavors.

 Spaghetti Noodles

4 eggs

3 1/2 cup flour

1 TBS water

1 tsp salt

1. Break eggs into a liquid measuring cup.
2. Eggs should measure to be 7/8 of a cup. If not, add 1 tsp of water at a time until eggs are 7/8 cup. 
3. Sift flour.
4. Put salt and sifted flour into kitchen aid mixing bowl. 
5. Beat with flat hook, on speed 2, as you slowly add the eggs and water.
6. Mix for 30 seconds.
7. Put on dough hook. 
8. Mix on speed 2 for 2 minutes.
9. Dough will be very very very crumbly. (If you are not using the kitchenaid pasta-extruder this might not be the recipe for you. But a good one can be found here)
10. Knead the dough with your hands for about 2 minutes.
11. Separate the dough into small balls (About the size of a walnut).
12. Don't worry about the dough being crumbly and dry, the machine will still send it through.
    It starts out slow, and gets faster as the machine warms up (don't push the dough balls through, the machine will take them at the right pace)
    
13. Put a couple balls in at a time. Add more when the first ones have gone into the twisty tube.
14. Let the noodles sit for about 1 hour (We just stored them in the fridge till we were ready to make dinner)
15. Cook noodles in boiling water, for about 3-5 minutes. (It took 4 minutes for our noodles)
16. Drain water from noodles.
    

 

Top noodles with sauce. And enjoy!

Warning, this sauce only makes enough for 2 (maybe 3), but you'll have way more noodles than that. We dried some of the noodles (and are saving them for later) and we still cooked too much. But if you're making this for more people remember that the fresh noodles will weigh more than dried noodles would (because they aren't DRIED, and have liquid in them still). So try judging more on space that the noodles take to guess how many you should cook. Also, you can always make more sauce by doubling or tripling the recipe depending on how many people.

Chicken and Asparagus Spaghetti Carbonara

8 oz spaghetti noodles

2 cups asparagus (cut in 1 inch slices)

1/2 cup evaporated milk

2 eggs

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 chicken breasts (cooked and cut in 1 inch pieces)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 1/2 TBS parsley

1/2 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp salt

6 slices of bacon

1 TBS chopped garlic

1. Heat water in a large pot, until boiling.

2. Once boiling, cook noodles in water for about 8 minutes.

3. Add asparagus pieces to noodles, and cook 2-3 more minutes.

4. Meanwhile, cut bacon into pieces (about inch wide)

5. Cook bacon and garlic in 1 tsp olive oil in a small pan on medium-low heat, until bacon is crispy.

6. Set bacon and garlic aside.

7. Cook onion pieces in 1 tsp olive oil in same pan, until  tender and a light brown color.

8. Drain noodle mixture, and save 1/3 cup of liquid.

9. Mix noodle liquid, milk and eggs with a whisk.

10. Return noodle mixture to large pot, and add onions, milk mixture, chicken and parmesan.

11. Heat over medium heat for about 4 minutes, until slightly thick

12. Stir often.

13. Remove from heat and add parsley, pepper, salt and bacon.

14. Enjoy.

I have grown up loving spaghetti carbonara. My dad would always be the one to make it for us because he learned it while serving his LDS mission in Italy. This meal was always a family favorite, and was always delicious.

Although this meal was always delicious every time it was made, I never actually made it myself. On Friday as Nate and I were looking for a good recipe for dinner we found this recipe, and decided that it sounded good to make. Asparagus is one of our favorite vegetables, and how could adding chicken be a bad thing. 

Now, I've sadly never gotten my dad's recipe from him, so I don't know how similar or different this recipe is, from what he would make. But I do know that it turned out great, and its definitely one we'll want to make again. Nate did suggest that it was a little weird to have the asparagus in the spaghetti, and we may just eat it as a side next time. It would be really tasty either way.

Baked Penne with Meatballs

I got this recipe from For the Love of Cooking. And it turned out really great. I just used Costco's frozen meatballs instead of making my own, but if you want to make your own, she tells you how. And I changed a couple other little things to. So here you go:

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp  basil
1 tsp  oregano
1 tsp white sugar
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Penne pasta, prepared per instructions (we used a little over half a bag -- probably 5 servings)
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded (I actually would have liked more cheese)
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded

Meatballs (we probably added about 25)

1.Saute onions in olive oil, until tender.

2. Add garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring frequently. (get ready for a delicious smelling kitchen)

3. Add garlic, onion and remaining sauce ingredients to crock pot. (You could probably just simmer it in a large pan)

4. Cook on high for 2 hours (I only cooked it about 1)

5. Add defrosted meatballs.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

7. Cook the pasta, according to instructions on package and drain. 

8. Pour the pasta and sauce into casserole dish.

9. Mix in the cheese, putting the most on top.

10. Bake for 30 minutes.

Chicken Fettucine Alfredo

1 cube butter (not margarine)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3 T parsley flakes
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 box fettuccine noodles
Chicken Breast (as much as you want for your recipe)

1. Melt butter in a pan
2. Add cream, Parmesan, and parsley
3. Melt together
4.  Cut the chicken in small pieces
5. Cook on low in a pan till thoroughly cooked
6. Turn burner to high and sear the chicken
7. Add chicken pieces to the Alfredo sauce
8. Cook fettuccine noodles according to instructions on box
9. Pour sauce over noodles

This is a recipe that Nate got from his mom. Its definitely not very healthy, but its really delicious, and it hardly takes any time at all.

Chicken, Spinach and Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

I found this recipe off Mrshardingcooks, I changed it slightly to fit what I had in the house. Click on Mrshardingcooks and you can get the original recipe, here is my version. I bolded my changes.

1 lb. pasta (farfalle, rotini or penne or fusilli all work)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
white pepper (I imagine regular pepper could work, I just used a dash)
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 chicken tenders
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup milk
2 tsp. flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Cut chicken tenders into bite size pieces. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high, add garlic, stir over 1 minute until fragrant. Add chicken breasts and season with white pepper and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Cook chicken through, lightly browning. When cooked remove from pan.

Return pan to stove over medium heat. In a shaker container add 1/2 cup milk and 2 tsp. flour, place lid on container and shake to mix flour and milk. Add flour/milk mixture, half and half, and rest of milk to pan. Heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly. Add more milk if necessary to reach desired thickness. Add 1/4 cup lemon juice, stirring and simmer for 5 minutes. Add Parmesan cheese. Add frozen spinach and diced chicken, stir everything till heated through out, a minute or two. Add pasta and stir it all together. You may not use all the pasta, just add enough to have the right amount of with sauce.

We decided as a family it was a keeper recipe.

Spaghetti

Spaghetti:

Makes 2 or 3 servings  

 

16 oz tomato zauce

quarter size dried parsley (crushed)

nickle size dried oregano (crushed)

dime size dried basil (crushed)

salt (to taste)

apple size ground beef

one garlic clove (minced)

spaghetti noodles (cook according to directions on package)

1. Brown ground beef with garlic.

2. Drain Grease.

3. Add tomato sauce and crushed spices and simmer.

4. Heat on low for about 30 minutes.

5. Cook noodles half way through.

This is one of my favorite recipes. I've made it so many times now, I think I've got it down without looking at the recipe anymore. I usually just add garlic salt instead of regular salt and a garlic clove. I don't think I've ever had spaghetti better than when my mom or dad follow this recipe.