THE BEST Baked Mac & Cheese

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
2 T Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. pepper
Pinch of Ground Cayenne Pepper
2 T Butter
1/4 C. Chopped Scallions
1 1/2 C. Milk
1/2 C. Sour Cream
1 3/4 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 C. Elbow Macaroni, Cooked.
1/4 Unseasoned Bread Crumbs (for the top)

In a small bowl combine flour, salt, mustard, pepper & cayenne. 
Melt butter in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.
Add scallions & saute 2 minutes or until softened. Add flour mixture & cook 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook 15 minutes stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 C. cheese & sour cream. Add Macaroni. Pour in greased baking dish. Top with remaining cheese & sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bread crumbs are lightly browned.

Makes a great dinner or side dish!

-Mary

Ravioli Bake :)

Definately adding this recipe to my box... it's quick & easy and both the boys ate it without complaining... how much better can it get, right? :)

WHAT YOU NEED:

*1 jar spaghetti sauce (any flavor)

*14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained (I used basil, garlic & oregano flavor)

*1/2 cup water

*2lbs frozen ravioli (I used 1lb cheese and 1lb beef)

*7 oz shredded Italian Blend cheese

*2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

WHAT TO DO:

*Heat oven to 400'

*Mix spaghetti sauce, tomatoes & water; spoon 1 cup of the mixture onto the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.

*Layer 1/2 of the ravioli & 1 cup of cheese over sauce.

*Top with other 1/2 of the ravioli & the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top & cover with foil.

*Bake 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes or until ravioli is heated through and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese; let stand 10 minutes & enjoy! :)

Grilled Chicken Pasta In Creamy Tomato Sauce

This is an AMAZING pasta dish.

It's pretty much identical to my cajun chicken pasta (haven't tried it yet? What are you waiting for?? Go here and make it asap! It's delicious!!! You won't be disappointed)

Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients, it really isn't hard to make at all.

Just takes a bit of multitasking, which I know you all are.. right? :)

Ingredients:

*1 LB Boneless Chicken Breasts

*Montreal Steak Seasoning

*1/2 LB Penne Pasta

*2 Tbs Butter

*2 Tbs Olive Oil

*1 Tbs Fresh Chopped Parsley (I used parsley from my spice rack)

*6-8 Basil leaves, chopped (again I used mine from my spice rack)

*Minced garlic, to taste

*1/2 Cup Chicken Broth

*1 (8oz) Tomato sauce

*1 Cup heave whipping cream

*Salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package (make sure to add a bit of olive oil or salt to prevent noodles from sticking)

Meanwhile, season both sides of your chicken with steak seasoning.

Heat butter and oil in pan.

When hot, add chicken. Cook both sides for 5 minutes each, or until no longer pink.

In another large pot- heat 2 Tbs of butter and 2 Tbs oil on medium heat.

When butter is melted add garlic (I eye it) and cook until tender.

Do not let the garlic turn brown. Stir frequently.

When garlic is tender add in chicken broth.

Turn heat to medium high. Let broth reduce by half.

Then pour in tomato sauce and heavy whipping cream.

Add salt and pepper to taste and mix together.

Reduce to low.

Add chopped basil and parsley and stir together. Mix well.

Let it warm.

Drain noodles and add to sauce. Top with chicken.

Top with parmesan cheese-optional.

*Side note: I doubled the sauce recipe because when you make a single recipe it seemed a bit dry to me and I love my pasta saucyer (a word? it is now!) especially for left overs. And this dish makes LOTS of left overs!

ENJOY!!!

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

12 oz Spaghetti

Cream Of Chicken

Cream Of Mushroom

1 Cup Of Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Of Milk

1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 Tsp. Salt

1/4 Tsp. Pepper

2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

2-3 Celery Ribs, Chopped

1 Med. Onion

5 Cups Cooked Chicken

Crushed Corn Flakes

Soooo Easy..

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package.

While noodles are cooking, cook chicken.

Then while both are cooking, I throw together everything else into a big bowl.

Mix together.

Then drain pasta.

Add pasta and chicken to your bowl mixture.

Stir together until combined.

Place in baking dish.

And top with crushed corn flakes.

Bake @ 350 degrees.

45-50 minutes.

Delicious!

Homemade Mac & Cheese

I don't know about you, but I've never been a very big fan of boxed pasta. It always seems WAY to salty to me and just isn't to my taste. So, instead I came up with this, which takes almost the same amount of time to make, and in my opinion, tastes extremely better.

*This recipe makes enough to serve 2-3 adults or 5-6 children.

Ingredients:

2 T. Butter

2 T. Flour

1 3/4 C. Milk

1/2-1 lb. cheese (or velveeta)

1/2-1 lb. noodles

Salt/Pepper to Taste

First make sure you put water on to boil for the noodles. Turn another pot on to medium heat and melt the butter.

While waiting for the butter to melt, grate the cheese (or cut the velveeta into small chunks.) Tip on the cheese: velveeta will produce a more velvety, smooth texture then the grated cheese.

Once butter has melted whisk in the flour until blended.

Pour milk into the flour mixture, turn up to medium-high heat, and whisk (important to keep it constantly moving or it could scorch) until it thickens and begins to boil. Be careful to watch it once it boils. It will boil over in a matter of seconds if you're not careful. (Learned this the hard way, multiple times.

Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese. Stir until melted. Turn heat off.

Once noodles are done stir them into cheesy goodness.

Enjoy!

Ham, Spinach, and Mostaccioli Casserole

This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens Volume 2. It is SO good! I'm just going to type it straight out of the cookbook though sometimes I make a little variations here and there.

8 ounces packaged dried mostaccioli, cut ziti, or elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons margarine or butter
3 medium onions, cut into think wedges, or 5 medium leeks, sliced (what are leeks, btw??)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups half-and-half, light cream, or milk (milk works just fine!)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (I think fresh spinach is better in this)

Cook pasta according to package directions, Drain pasta; rinse with cold water. Drain again.

In a large saucepan melt margarine or butter. Add onions and garlic. Cover and cook about 5 minutes or till onions are tender; stir occasionally. Stir in flour, thyme, and pepper. Add milk and the chicken broth all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in pasta, ham , and spinach. Spoon mixture into a 3-quart casserole.

Cover and bake in a 350 oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till heated through. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir gently before serving to distribute the rich and creamy sauce. Makes 6 servings.

**I don't do the whole "casserole thing" for the recipe. I cook the noodles at the end and we just pour however much sauce we want on it because we don't like noodles to be too soft.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce

*We LOVE this recipe*

Super easy!

1 Lb Ground Beef {or} Italian Sausage

1 Medium Onion, Chopped

2 Cans (14 1/2 Oz. Each) Diced Tomatoes Undrained

1 Can 8 Oz Tomato Sauce

1 Can 6 Oz Tomato Paste

1 Bay Leaf

1 Tbs Brown Sugar

4 Garlic Cloves, Minced (I used minced garlic from produce department)

1-2 tsp Dried Basil

1-2 tsp dried Oregano

1 tsp Salt

1/2-1 tsp Dried Thyme

Hot Cooked Spaghetti Noodles

In skillet, cook beef or sausage with onion over medium until its no longer pink.

*ugh...sorry the shadow made the picture so dark*

Transfer your meat & onion mixture to your slow cooker.

Add all ingredients except the noodles.

Mix together.

Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or until heated through.

{Recipe says 7-8 hours, but it only took about 4 1/2 hours before it was done for me on low}

Disgard bay leaf when heated through.

Cook pasta according to package.

Serve sauce over noodles.

And ENJOY!

{again..picture is blurry because battery was dieing. i failed at pictures this time. so sorry!}

YUM!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Note: This is our new favorite meal. Its delish!

It's a very inexpensive and easy meal!

{ Ingredients: }

• 
  
  4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 
  
  4 tsp cajun seasoning (I usually just fill the bottom of a ziplock bag with cajun, I don't measure)
• 
  
  4 tsp butter
• 
  
  3 cups heavy cream
• 
  
  1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
• 
  
  1 tsp salt
• 
  
  1 tsp black pepper
• 
  
  1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 
  
  8 oz cooked penne pasta (drainded)
• 
  
  shredded parmesan cheese  

{ Directions: }

Cook penne pasta according to package, drain.

Slightly moisten chicken with water. Place in plastic bag with cajun seasoning. Shake chicken until coated.

In large skillet, sautee chicken in 2 tsp of butter.

While chicken is cooking- combine heavy cream, 2 tsp of butter, lemon pepper seasoning, salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Cook on medium until it bubbles.

Then pour over drained pasta and mix together. (I let it sit for 10 min for sauce to thicken)

When chicken is done, take off stove and cut into strips.

Top pasta with chicken and parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Note: I double the recipe for left overs.

*This is a copy cat recipe for Chilis Cajun Chicken Pasta*