Pesto Ranch Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients

4-6 chicken breasts

1 6 oz jar pesto

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

1 can chicken broth

Directions

Place chicken in crockpot. Top with pesto. Sprinkle ranch mix over chicken and pesto. Add chicken broth, slightly stirring to mix ranch and pesto together. Cook on high for about 3-4 hours. I like to shred my chicken when it's done. Serve with pasta or rice. Spoon extra sauce on top.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

recipe from here

Ingredients

9 lasagna noodles, cooked

10 oz chopped spinach

15 oz ricotta (fat free) or cottage cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

salt and pepper

1 jar tomato sauce

9 tbsp 2% shredded mozzarella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Combine spinach, ricotta (or cottage cheese), parmesan, egg, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Place dried lasagna noodles on wax paper. Spread 1/3 cup of spinach mixture on top of noodles. Then, carefully roll up noodles and place in casserole dish. Continue with each noodle. Top with tomato sauce and cheese. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Italian Turkey Meatballs

Recipe from here

 Ingredients

Lean ground turkey

1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

dried parsley

1 egg

1 clove garlic, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

1 jar tomato sauce (or homemade sauce)

Directions

In a large pot, pour tomato sauce over medium heat. In a large bowl, combine turkey breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, egg, garlic and salt and pepper. With your hands form meatballs and add to sauce. Cook for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with pasta or as a meatball sub.

Chicken Artichoke Pasta

Whole Wheat Penne

Chicken Breasts 

Canned Artichokes (reserve some liquid from the can)

Mushrooms

Light Butter

Herb and Garlic Marinade

Light Sour Cream

Parmesan

Salt & Pepper 

Garlic

Cook pasta according to directions.

Add Herb and Garlic marinade to skillet, add chicken and turn to medium heat. Add salt and pepper and garlic to taste. Cook until chicken is done. 

Remove chicken from pan, add mushrooms and artichokes to pan. Also, add some liquid from the artichoke can. Cook until mushrooms and artichokes are tender. Set aside.

When pasta is finished add butter, sour cream, and parmesan to taste. Mix with pasta until melted. 

Add mushroom and artichoke mixture to pasta. Top with chicken and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Won-sagna (Mini Lasagna Cups)

First I have to give credit to here for the recipe. I just tweaked it.

I also have to give credit to my awesome hubby who called them won-sagna! ;)

 You will need:

1/2 lb Extra Lean Ground Turkey

1/4 cup diced onion (I used frozen onions.)

24 Won Ton wraps

Cooking Spray

Low Fat Cottage Cheese

Salt and Pepper

1 jar Tomato Sauce (I used Classico Tomato & Basil.)

Shredded Cheese (I used WW Mexican Style Blend.)

Preheat oven to 375. 

Brown turkey and diced onions in skillet on medium until done. Add tomato sauce to skillet and let simmer on low. 

Combine cottage cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

 Place 1 won ton wrapper in each cup.

 Put one spoonful of cottage cheese on top of each won ton wrap.

 Then, add a spoonful of tomato sauce and meat mixture. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of that. Add another won ton wrapper.

 Repeat layering process. Cottage cheese, tomato sauce, and shredded cheese.

 Bake for 10-15 minutes. Let sit in pan for a few minutes before serving.

 Enjoy!

 These are SOOOOO good.

For 4 cups, it is 12 WW points +.

Chicken Parmigiana

 Ingredients

For Chicken:

	1 large egg
	1 Tbsp water
	1/3 cup dried bread crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)
	1/4 cup parsley, flat-leaf, chopped (I used Tuscan Spice mix)
	3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
	1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
	4 uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 2 breasts)

For the Pasta:

3/4 cup dried whole wheat penne pasta per serving

1 cup spaghetti sauce

Directions

Cook pasta according to package.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Spray a 1-quart shallow baking dish with nonstick spray.

Beat the egg with the water in a shallow bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, parsley, cheese, and pepper on a sheet of wax paper.

Dip the chicken breasts first in the egg mixture, then coat lightly on both sides with the bread crumb mixture, shaking off the excess, and place them in the baking dish. (Discard any leftover egg or bread crumb mixture.) Bake until cooked through, golden and crisp-edged, about 15 minutes. Yields one breast per serving. 

Serve with pasta and tomato sauce.

Oh, and this is a Weight Watchers recipe, too! But you'll never know, it tastes SO good! The chicken part has 5 WW points, then add your points for pasta and sauce. For me, it was 5 for the pasta and 2 for the sauce. 12 points total!

Simple Beef Stroganoff

 Ingredients

1 package egg noodles
1 pound ground beef
  1 can fat free condensed cream of mushroom soup (I actually ended up using 2 cans to make it creamier.)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Prepare the egg noodles according to package directions and set aside.
2. In a separate large skillet over medium heat, saute the ground beef over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until browned. Drain the fat and add the soup and garlic powder. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and combine the meat mixture with the egg noodles. Add the sour cream, stirring well, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Spaghetti

 Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1 medium onion

1 can Chicken broth

1 12 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 12 oz can Cream of Mushroom Soup

3 cups diced cooked chicken

1 16 oz can Rotel

1 pound thin spaghetti

1/2 pound velveeta cheese

salt and pepper

Directions

I'm probably weird, but I don't like the chicken that is in Cream of Chicken soup, so I use a strainer to pour the soup through. 

Combine soups and rotel in bowl.

In a large skillet or cooking pot, saute onion in olive oil.

Add can of chicken broth and chicken. Simmer until tender. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces as it's cooking.

Cook the spaghetti in boiling water until just slightly cooked. Drain, rinse, and set aside until you are ready to mix with chicken/sauce ingredients in baking dish for the oven.

Add soups and Rotel tomatoes. Stir well. Simmer for about 15 minutes until chicken is done.

In a large baking dish or oven-proof pot, place the cooked and cut up chicken, cooked spaghetti, salt and pepper, cheese, and soup mixture.

Stir very well to mix all ingredients evenly. I usually stir once after about 15 minutes in the oven - after the cheese has had time to melt. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Baked Spaghetti

 Ingredients

1 package spaghetti
1 pound ground beef (I only had 1/2)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (26 ounce) jar meatless spaghetti sauce (I actually ended up using 2 jars.)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (I used garlic powder instead.)
2 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I was out of Parmesan, so I used a three cheese blend.)
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese and butter. Drain spaghetti; add to egg mixture and toss to coat.
3. Place half of the spaghetti mixture in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of the cottage cheese, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

This was delicious. It was a nice change from regular spaghetti.

Baked Mac and Cheesy

This recipe is, indeed, very CHEESY! 

 Ingredients

1 pound Cooked Pasta
½ cups Butter
½ cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
3-¾ cups Milk
¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
2-½ cups Shredded Cheese Of Your Choice
½ packages (6.6 Oz. Package) Goldfish Crackers, Smashed

 

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
2. Cook your pasta according to the directions on the package. Once the water comes to a boil and you put the pasta in your water, you can start making your sauce.
3. Melt the butter over low heat until melted.
4. Raise the heat to medium-low and add in the flour, salt and pepper, stirring constantly until smooth and bubbly.
5. Remove from heat and add the milk. Return to the stove and heat to boiling, stirring constantly until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon. This will take about 10-15 minutes. You are basically making a bechamel sauce.
6. Add the nutmeg and Dijon mustard and stir.
7. Grate half a block of cheese. I used extra sharp cheddar, then also bought a package of already-shredded cheese to help save some time. You can use any cheese you like though. Some Gruyere, bleu, Swiss, provolone, jalapeno cheddar … all those would be super tasty.
8. Once the sauce is thick and bubbly, add in your cheese and stir. The cheese sauce will now be very thick!
9. Your pasta should be done before all this, so just make sure you drain it—but do not rinse! Return the pasta to your boiling pot.
10. Pour the cheese sauce into the pot and stir well.
11. Pour the macaroni and cheese into an ungreased 9 x 13 glass dish.
12. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on the top.
13. Pour half the package of Goldfish crackers into a food storage bag. Use your hand, a rolling pin or a pan to smash the crackers into crumbles. Sprinkle the mixture on top of your macaroni and cheese.
14. Bake the macaroni and cheese for 20-25 minutes.

Here it is straight out of the oven. I also let it broil for a few minutes to get the top nice and crunchy!

 Serve and enjoy!

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

1 box jumbo stuffed shells

1 24 oz. container of cottage cheese

1 jar of tomato sauce

1 egg

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 cups grated cheese (I used an Italian blend.)

Directions

Cook pasta according to box. Drain and cool.

Combine egg, cottage cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup grated cheese in bowl.

Fill each jumbo shell with a spoonful of cheese mixture.

Place in casserole dish. Pour sauce over shells, top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Beefy Noodle Casserole

You will need:

4 oz. uncooked wide egg noodles
1 lb. ground chuck
1 jar of pasta sauce
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese (I ended up using just a sprinkle of Parmesan and about 1/2 cup of Mozzarella.)

1. Cook noodles. Place noodles in slightly greased 11 x 7 inch baking dish set aside.

2. Cook beef in large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in pasta sauce and set aside.

3. Place cream cheese in bowl and microwave for 1 minute or until softened. Stir in cottage cheese and sour cream. Spread mixture over noodles.

4. Spoon beef mixture over cream cheese layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Mozzarella.

5. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

From: Southern Living Quick & Easy

Elfo's Special

You will need:



(Shrimp not pictured)

Kosher salt
1/2 pound spaghetti pasta
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
5 medium mushrooms, sliced
12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails removed)
salt and pepper, pinch of each

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook about 8 minutes. Drain.
2. In a saute skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, shrimp and seasonings and saute for about a minute and a half or until shrimp is cooked.



3. Transfer pasta to skillet and toss the dish a few times to combine ingredients. Serve.



(pictured with bruschetta & salad with Miss Mary's Italian Dressing)



This is a recipe from Frank Grisanti and Sons cookbook. The Grisantis own several restaurants in the Memphis area that are delicious!

Lasagna

You will need:

1 box of lasagna noodles
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce
1 (16 oz) container of cottage cheese
1 egg
1 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
4 0z cream cheese (half of a box of cream cheese)
minced onions (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook noodles according to package

Brown beef and minced onions. Add salt and pepper.

Mix cottage cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, and 1/2 cup (or more if you want) mozzarella cheese in bowl.

When beef is done, add sauce.

Put a spoonful of sauce at the bottom of casserole dish. Layer noodles, then cheese, then tomato sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy!

So, so good!