Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

This casserole was highlighted on Tasty Kitchen. We love chicken noodle soup so I knew I needed to try it. As soon as I had assembled the casserole I went to the computer to type it up. It looked and smelled so yummy I was certain it would become a favorite!

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

4 chicken breasts

12 oz spaghetti noodles

1 whole onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup carrots, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/4 cup butter

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

splash milk ( I added this to the recipe)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1/2 TBSP dried thyme - the original recipe called for dried parsley - I used what i had

Crushed ritz crackers

Boil chicken for 20 minutes and shred.

Saute vegetables and garlic in butter until softened.

Combine soups, sour cream, chicken, and vegetables in large bowl.

Add seasonings.

Cook pasta, drain and add to bowl to combine. ( I broke pasta in 2 inch pieces before cooking to make combining the ingredients easier.)

Add milk if needed.

Transfer to greased 9 x 13 baking dish. I used two 8 x 8 pans and froze one.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with crackers and bake 5 to 10 more minutes.

Source: Tasty Kitchen

Spinach-Black Bean Lasagna

This is a wonderful vegetarian lasagna! Not being a vegetarian I always struggle with preparing meals to take to someone who is. This has become my favorite. Hearty because of the black beans and a nice alternative to a basic lasagna.

Spinach-Black Bean Lasagna

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 15oz container ricotta cheese

1 10oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp. salt

4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (2 pound 13oz) jar pasta sauce ( I use Ragu because that is the one i have found to come in that exact size)

1/2 tsp cumin

9 precooked lasagna noodles

Stir together first 5 ingredients and 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese; set aside

Mash beans with potato masher or fork in a large bowl; stir in pasta sauce and cumin. Spread one-third of bean mixturee on bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

Layer with 3 noodles, half of spinach mixture, and 1 cup cheese; repeat layers. Spread with one-third bean mixture; top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining bean mixture.

Bake, covered, at 350 for 1 hour; uncover and top with cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.

Source: Southern Living

Pasta e Fagioli

Cold Weather Soup that gets better when it's leftover!!!

Pasta e Fagioli

2 tbsp olive oil

1/8 pound pancetta, chopped - I have used the chopped you can find in the deli dept.

2 sprigs rosemary

2 dried bay leaves

1 medium onions, finely chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

2 (15oz) cans cannellini beans - drained

1 cup tomato sauce

2 cups water

1 quart chicken stock

1 1/2 cup ditalini (or other shaped pasta)

Shredded Parm for garnish

Crusty bread, for mopping

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat and add oil and pancetta. Brown the pancetta bits lightly, and add herbs. bay leaf, chopped vegetables, and garlic. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Add beans, tomato sauce, water, and stock to pot and raise heat to high. Bring soup to rapid boil and add pasta. Reduce heat to medium and cook soup, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Remove rosemary sprigs and bay leaves. Let soup rest and begin to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Source: Rachael Ray

Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole

This recipe is similar to recipes I found for Beef Lombardi. It had cream cheese added to it so I decided to try this version. It was published in one of the Southern Living Special Editions titled Comfort Foods. If you like Creamy Taco Mac, you will like this too. This one is more Italian tasting, the Taco Mac has the mexican sesonings.

Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole

1 pound ground beef

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic

1 10 oz can Rotel

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp house seasoning - Paula Deen's recipe (you could substitute italian seasoning)

1 bay leaf * be sure to remove before assembling

3 1/2 cups uncooked medium size egg noodles

5 green onions, chopped

1 8oz sour cream

3oz cream cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 cup shredded parm

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Brown meat in large skillet over medium heat and drain. Stir in diced tomatoes, rotel, tomato paste, and seasonings.

Let simmer for 15 minutes.

Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain. Stir together hot noodles, sour cream, cream cheese and green onions.

Spoon noodle mixture into lightly greased 13x9 dish. Top with beef mixture and sprinkle with shredded cheeses.

Bake, covered at 350 for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 more minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Freeze assembled, unbaked casserole up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Bake as directed.

Source: Southern Living Comfort Food

Oven Mushroom Orzo

Mushroom Orzo

1 cup orzo

8oz. sliced mushrooms

4 TBSP butter

2 3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup white wine

salt and pepper

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup half and half - room temp.

Saute orzo and mushrooms in 3 TBSP butter. Transfer to baking dish with lid. Add chicken broth, wine and salt & pepper. Cover and put in cold oven and bake at 425 for 40 minutes. Remove and stir in cheese, cream, and 1 TBSP butter. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

Source: My friend Pam.

Creamy Taco Mac

I stumbled upon this at another food blog. It looked easy so I thought I would give it a try. We have had so much chicken lately, we needed a little beef. Very yummy!

Creamy Taco Mac

1.25 lb. ground beef

8 oz pasta + 1 cup reserved pasta water

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

3 TBSP mild taco seasoning

3 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup water.

Brown beef ( i used very lean so i did not drain) add taco seasoning and tomatoes. Simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta, cream cheese, and sour cream. Stir and simmer. Add pasta water if needed to thin sauce.

Source: Delish

Brie Pasta

This dish is one of my favorites to cook as a side when serving a large group or to take as a meal to someone. It can be "rich" but if you love tomatoes and brie, you will love this pasta.

Brie Pasta

1 cup vegetable oil

4 to 5 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 pound brie, remove ryne and tear apart

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried basil leaves

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 pound angel hair pasta

Combine first 9 ingredients and let them sit for 1-2 hours in large bowl on the counter. Remove bay leaves. Boil pasta and combine.

Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake

If you have been following my blog you know my family loves sausage.. Neese's sausage! This recipe was in Southern Living several years ago. It was originally Chicken 'n' Spinach but i noticed at the very bottom it had a substitution of sausage for chicken. I made it with sausage the first time and have ever since. I am sure it is tasty with chicken but i have never tried it. I have so many recipes for shredded cooked chicken that it is nice to have one for sausage.

Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake

8 oz rigatoni

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 pound sausage

1 14.5 oz can Italian - style diced tomatoes

1 8oz container chive and onion cream cheese

1/2 tsp pepper

6oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions

Brown sausage, add onions near the end of cooking. Drain.

Stir rigatoni, spinach, sausage, and next 3 ingredients in large bowl.

Spoon mixture into baking dish and sprinkle evenly with cheese.

Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Here is the original recipe with chicken: Southern Living

No Boil Lasagna

This recipe came from my friend Pam Anderson. I love it because you don't have to boil the noodles first and it has sausage in it.

Lasagna

1 (15 or 16 oz) Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs

2 (260z) jars Classico Pasta Sauce - i use traditional sweet basil

1 package lasagna noodles

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes - i use basil, garlic flavored

1 pound sausage cooked and drained - i use Neeses

4 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

In bowl combine ricotta, parmesan and eggs; mix well.

On the bottom of 15/9 greased baking dish, spread i cup of pasta sauce.

Top with half each of uncooked noodles, ricotta cheese mixture, sausage, remaining pasta sauce, 1/2 can tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering. Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour.

Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Skillet Baked Ziti

For a quick one pot dish you can not beat this pasta. If you have a 12 inch non-stick oven safe skillet the meal can be done in 30 minutes. If you don't have an oven safe skillet you can transfer the pasta to a shallow 2 quart casserole dish before sprinkling it with cheese and baking. This recipe came from Cooks Illustrated. I have an online membership which i love!!

Skillet Baked Ziti

1 TBSP olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

salt

pepper

1 (28 oz) Can crushed tomatoes - use good ones..

3 cups water

12 oz ziti ( 3 and 3/4 cups)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 475

Combine oil, garlic, red pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt in 12 inch, ovensafe nonstick skillet and saute over medium high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in cream, parmesan, and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned about 8 minutes. Serve.

Source: Cooks Illustrated