Ravioli Primavera and Meatballs

I started with the Tortellini Primavera recipe on Eating Well but changed it up a bit.

Step 1:
Turkey Meatballs:
1/2 lb lean ground turkey
Italian Bread Crumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup parm cheese
Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 400
Mix everything together and form little meatballs and place on baking pan. You don't want them to be too big, I think I got about 24. Bake for about 30 mins or until done.

Step 2:
14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup Parmesan cheese (I used the one that has the Asiago mixed in)
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
16-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
2 bags frozen Ravioli

While meatballs are baking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add Ravioli and veggies. Boil 10 minutes then drain.

Meanwhile, whisk broth and flour together in a bowl. Pour EVOO in pan and let garlic simmer about 2 minutes. Add broth/flour mix and bring to boil. Let simmer until it thickens up a bit, stirring occasionally. Mix in cheese and tarragon, stirring until cheese is melted.

Drain Ravioli and put back in pot, add cheese mixture and meatballs. Mix together and serve.

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

I had chicken, ricotta, and pasta and needed something to do with it so I came up with this.

3 chicken breast, boneless/skinless
EVOO
1 box pasta (I use the "Plus" one)
1 container ricotta cheese
1 cup milk
Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded
Salt, Black Pepper, Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder

Preheat oven to 375

Boil a pot of water. Add pasta.

Heat up enough EVOO to cover the bottom of a pan.

Dice up chicken breast. Season with S, BP, P, GB, OP. Add to pan with EVOO. Cover and cook, stirring as needed.

Drain pasta and put back in pot. Add ricotta and milk. Mix until cheese is melted through. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Add chicken. Mix. Put in casserole dish. Top with parmesan and mozzeralla cheese.

Bake until cheese is browning and bubbly.

**You can also add a package of drained frozen spinach when mixing everything together before putting in casserole dish**

Finally Updating

On October 29, 2009 Isabella Rose entered our life. She is beautiful and perfect, I couldn't ask for a better daughter.

Anyway, I have a new recipe to post.

The original came from my mom and I made 2 little changes. No pictures but it is really good. And I had to cut out all red sauces due to nursing but this one seems okay with Bella. Plus its fast and easy.

2 boneless/skinless chicken breast cleaned and cut into thin strips
Salt/Black Pepper/Paprika/Garlic Powder/Onion Powder
EVOO
1/2 cup white wine
8 oz tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh parsley and basil chopped, about a hand full
1/2 bag egg noodles

Boil a pot of water and cook egg noodles

Pour a bit of EVOO in the bottom of a pan, just enough to cover bottom.
Season chicken with s, bp, p, gp, and op then add to pan. Cover and cook until done, flipping as needed.
Add wine and let simmer until reduced by about half.
Add tomato sauce and cream. Mix. Add parsley and basil.
Let heat up while stirring. Add S&P if needed.

Sprinkle with parm. cheese and serve.

Classic Lasagna

I decided to make a lasagna so I went to google. Of course, when I saw the 3rd recipe was a Giada recipe I had to make it. Took a little while to prepare (make the tomato sauce first!) but it was pretty good (and I am not a lasagna person). The recipe is C&P from Food Network. Their picture is pretty than mine but I didn't want to steal it too.

Ingredients

Bechamel Sauce:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk at room temperature
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
• Salt and white pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground chuck beef
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bechamel sauce:

In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

EVOO Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Pictures were taken when I made this dish again and didn't have the fresh egg noodles so I used regular. This actually could become a very healthy dish and eat without the pasta. The chicken and veggies themselves are very filling!!!

This is very different for me but it was really yummy!!!

I was in the produce section at Winn Dixie and saw fresh egg noodles (but they were long and wavy not fat like regular egg noodles) and decided to try them. Then I was passing the stir fry mixes and that sounded good I just didn't want the soy sauce so I created my own stir fry.

3 cleaned and cubed chicken breast
1 bag fresh egg noodles (will need a little over half)
1 bag baby carrots
1 green bell pepper (or whatever color you like)
1 head broccoli
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
EVOO
Salt, Black Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder

Heat EVOO (enough to cover bottom) in large pan. Put in 1 tablespoon garlic and carrots, cover and let sizzle about 10 minutes to get carrots soft.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta.

Slice onions into circles and bell pepper into strips. Break up broccoli.

Season cubed chicken with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder. Add to pan. Let cook about 10 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through) then add rest of chopped veggies. Cook down about 6 minutes.

Drain pasta (only needs to cook about 5 minutes) and add to pot. Mix all together and let cook over high heat about 3 minutes. Mix the whole time. Serve.

Italian Pasta Bake

This is very quick and easy if you have some marinara sauce already prepared and frozen.

All measurements approximate

16 oz marinara sauce
1.25 lbs ground sirloin
7 oz ritoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella
7 oz ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta

Brown ground sirloin in pot large enough to hold that plus sauce

Once meat is cooked, add sauce and mix together

Drain pasta and pour into a casserole dish (oven safe). Pour meat/sauce mix on top. Add ricotta and mix together well. Top with moxxarella cheese and bake approximately 20 minutes.

Creamy Spinach Spaghetti with Herb Chicken

I wasn't crazy about this dish I made up toinight but maybe someone else will like it :)

3 chicken breast
Fresh sprigs of lemon thyme, curly leaf parsley, oregano
Few slices of onion
1 box spaghetti
1.5 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup warm milk
1/2 box frozen spinach thawed and drained
Salt
Black Pepper
White Pepper
Nutmeg

Chicken:
Clean chicken and put in a sprayed baking dish. Sprinkle salt and black pepper and fresh herbs on top of chicken, top with onion. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for about an hour.

Bring pot of salted water to boil for spaghetti. Cook until tender.

Sauce:
Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly add warm milk mixing the whole time until sauce is thick, creamy, and lump free. Add a dash of salt, white pepper, and nutmeg (very little nutmeg) and stir.

Drain spaghetti and put back into pot. Add spinach and sauce, mix well.

Summer Chicken and Pasta

I made this up tonight I had chicken defrosted and didn't know what to do with it. Again, for the camera to use your imagination :)

2 boneless/skinless chicken breast
S&P
Spaghetti (I use 1/2 box organic)
About 1/4 cup chopped fresh curly leaf parsley
EVOO

Preheat grill. Season chicken breast with S&P and grill until cooked. While chicken is grilling heat up a pot of salted water and cook spaghetti. Drain and put into big bowl. When chicken is cooked, cut into strips and add to bowl of spaghetti. Put a drizzle (about 1 tablespoon) of EVOO and fresh parsley and toss all together. Add more S&P if needed. Serve and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

This was super quick for those hot summer days you don't have time or feel like standing over a stove top!

Chicken Marsala - Very different flavor!

Another Giada recipe, I promise I make my own recipes too but I have been in the mood to try different stuff lately. This one was from "Family Dinners"

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use two big chicken breast)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons butter, divided (I didn't use this much, maybe 2 tbsp)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced (I didn't use any mushrooms)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup dry Marsala wine
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish
12 ounces dried fettuccine (I used rotini, I didn't have fettuccine)

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.

While the chicken cools, melt 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and mustard. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss the fettuccine with 3 tablespoons of butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Swirl the fettuccine onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.