Hearty Cheese Tortellini

~adapted from a recipe in a Taste of Home Ground Beef cookbook~

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 jar (24 oz.) marinara sauce
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 package (19 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*I used a spaghetti sauce with mushrooms instead of adding the fresh mushrooms.

Cook sausage and beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.  Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker.  Stir in the marinara sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms.  Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until heated through.  Prepare tortellini according to package directions; stir into meat mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Mexican Chicken Alfredo

This is a recipe that I found in a special issue of Taste of Home and then modified.

1 lb. gemelli or spiral pasta
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon oil
2 jars (15 oz each) Alfredo sauce
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup milk
4 teaspoons taco seasoning

Cook pasta only to al dente, drain and set aside.  In a large skillet over medium heat cook chicken, onion, green pepper and black pepper in oil until chicken is no longer pink.  Stir in Alfredo sauce; bring to a boil.  Stir in 1 3/4 cups cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, salsa, milk and taco seasoning.  Toss pasta with chicken mixture.  Divide between two greased 8 in. square pans.  Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months.  Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese. 

To use frozen casserole:  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Cover and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly. 

I put the whole recipe in one 9x13 foil pan so you will need to allow more time to bake.

Spaghetti and Company

Spaghetti and Company
From the Cookbook "Dinner Is Ready"

3 lbs ground beef
3 lbs hot Italian sausage-Jimmy Dean
1/4 cup onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
15 26 oz jars Prego spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup sugar
3 small green bell peppers, diced
6 carrots, diced
15 mushrooms, diced
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup mustard
3 Tbl pepper

Brown ground beef and sausage with onion and garlic. Remove from heat. Add spaghetti sauce and sugar. Prepare Italian dishes or divide into freezer bags or containers for spaghetti. Label and freeze. Why “and Company?” This is great with other Italian dishes such as Manicotti, Lasagna, Ravioli and Pizza. Decide how much sauce you will need and make enough for all the Italian recipes you desire to make all at once.


Makes 60 Cups. (6 cups per bag)

Calories 317.9 (Again I'm not sure on these nutritional facts. I'm using Sparks.com to enter the information but they don't have the correct information for the Jimmy Dean sausage. It looks like it's 6 grams of fat and 72 calories per serving for the sausage so I can't imagine why everything is so high.)

Total Fat 21.4 g

Cholesterol 33.0 mg

Sodium 1,019.2 mg

Total Carbohydrate 23.9 g

Dietary Fiber 5.3 g

Sugars 18.2 g

Protein 10.4 g

Ravioli Casserole

Ravioli Casserole

Ingredients:
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (25 ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli
2 cups lowfat small curd cottage cheese
3 cups part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:
Spread 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce into 9 x 13 pan. Layer with half of the ravioli, 1 cup of sauce, 1 cup of cottage cheese and 1 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Info:

Calories 359.4
Calories from Fat 181 50%
Total Fat 20.1 g 31%
Saturated Fat 10.6 g 53%
Monounsaturated Fat 5.9 g 29%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.8 g 9%
Trans Fat 0.0 g 0%
Cholesterol 59.1 mg 19%
Sodium 1343.8 mg 55%
Potassium 599.5 mg 17%
Magnesium 43.8 mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 18.0 g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0.5 g 2%
Sugars 12.3 g 49%
Protein 25.9 g 51%

Cheese Filled Jumbo Shells

1 12 oz pkg jumbo shells

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 cups cottage cheese

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs

3 cups (about 28 oz jar) spaghetti sauce

2 cups (8 oz) mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

3/4 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Heat oven to 375. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large bowl, stir together cheeses, eggs, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. In 9x13 dish, spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce. Fill each cooked shell with about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture. Layer one-half filled shells in prepared baking dish; spread one-half remaining sauce over shells. Layer remaining filled shells over sauce; spread remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese, if desired. Cover with foil. Bake 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

If prepared ahead and frozen bake thawed/refrigerated jumbo shells 350 about 40-50 minutes; frozen jumbo shells at 350 about 2 hours or until hot and bubbly.

This recipe serves 8 to 10, so each pan I prepared isn't quite a full recipe. However, the nutritional information is for 1/6 of what I put in each pan.

Calories: 431.4

Fat: 15.4

Fiber: 2.8

Protein: 31.6

Carbs: 41.7

Lasagna

Lasagna

1 pkg frozen spinach
2 lbs ground beef
1/4 lb sausage
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/8 t oregano
1 12 oz package lasagna noodles
1 lb mozzarella cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Cook spinach as directed. Brown beef and sausage. Add salt,pepper, oregano, worcestershire sauce; stir in spinach. Cook noodles, drain, rinse thoroughly. Arrange 1/2 noodles, 1/2 meat, 1/2 grated cheese, repeat. Combine soup and milk and spread over casserole and let seep in. Spread tomato sauce over the top and sprinkle with paremsan cheese. Bake at 350 in oven for 30 minutes. This can be prepared the night before, if so cover and refrigerate. When ready to cook, uncover and bake at 35o for 45 minutes.


Fat: 14.1
Calories: 234
Protein: 17.4
Fiber: 1.7

Chicken Manicotti

1 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2-3 Chicken Breasts, cut in thin strips
10 Manicotti noodles (uncooked)
4 cups Spaghetti Sauce (I used Prego)
3/4 lb Jimmy Dean Italian Sausage, cooked and drained
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Rub garlic over chicken.  Stuff chicken into Manicotti.
Spread 1 Cup sauce in bottom of greased 9x13 pan.
Put 10 stuffed manicotti noodles in pan
Cover with 3 cups sauce.
Sprinkle with sausage and cheese.
Pour 1/2 cup water around the edges of the pan.
Bake covered at 375 for 65-70 minutes (until chicken is done and pasta is tender).

We like to eat this with green salad and french bread.

313 calories
14.6 g fat
64.5 mg cholesterol
20.6 g carbs
1.3 g fiber
21.6 g protien

Chicken Cacciatore

2 medium onions diced
4 gloves garlic, minced (I used one)
2 T. olive oil
3 lbs chicken (I used boneless skinless breasts) cut up
1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 (8 oz)  can tomato juice
1 medium green pepper diced
1/2 lb mushrooms
1-2 bay leaves
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. crushed rosemary


I added a couple cans of tomato sauce and a little more juice because I was freezing it and I wanted to NOT be dry but if you are just making it on the stove this is plenty juicy.
In a large skillet brown the chicken pieces over medium heat until browned evenly.  Remove from pan.  Heat olive oil and cook the onions and garlic over medium heat for about 5 minutes then add green pepper and the mushrooms and cook until the onions are tender.  Mix all ingredients and heat in a heavy pot so sauce won't burn.  Cook on low heat for 30 minutes covered then for 30 minutes uncovered.


Serve over cooked pasta (I used ziti).  I also tried putting it over the dry noodles in an 8x13 pan and baked it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 and it turned out really really good topped with some mozzarella cheese.  But it is also really good over noodles served with  a side salad.


A serving is about 1 cup.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 6
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 74.2

• Total Fat: 0.7 g
• Cholesterol: 20.6 mg
• Sodium: 279.2 mg
• Total Carbs: 7.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.6 g
• Protein: 9.8 g

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie

1 pound spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1/2 stick butter (4 TBS), melted
1 cup parmesan cheese
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 16 oz. carton cottage cheese
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 to 2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese, grated

Cook meat. Drain fat and add sauce to meat.

Cook pasta and drain. Place pasta in baking dish (9x13) and toss with melted butter, parmesan and eggs. Top with cottage cheese and then meat mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Top with mozzarella cheese the last 5 minutes.

*adapted from http://www.cjaneinthekitchen.blogspot.com/

We like this with a big green salad or peas and garlic bread.

328 Calories
20 grams fat
1204 mg sodium
18.4 grams carbs
24.7 grams protein
2.1 grams fiber

Creamy Chicken and Pasta

Ingredients

3 Cups uncooked pasta
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 (12-oz) Evaporated Milk
1/3 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
3 Cups Cooked Chopped Chicken
1/3 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Cook noodles in boiling, salted water for 2 min. LESS than the shortest time recommended on pkg. Drain. Combine soup, milk and cheeses. Stir in chicken and pasta.

To serve: Thaw- baked covered for 45 min. at 350. Then remove cover and bake 10 additional min.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 6
• Calories: 585.9
• Total Fat: 26.4 g
• Cholesterol: 158.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 25.2 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.5 g
• Protein: 59.5 g

Red and White Mostaccioloi

1 lb. uncooked mostaccioli or other tubular pasta
Alfredo Sauce (homeade listed belowe)
1 26 oz jar meatless spaghetti sauce or 3 cups homeade spaghetti sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Alfredo Sauce
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
1 3 oz package cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat)
1 pint heavy cream
1 t garlic powder
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper

Nutritional Info
Fat: 177
Calories:2835
Fiber 17
Protein: 88

Italian Chicken Pasta Skillet

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, cut into thin wedges

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

2 cups mostaccioli, cooked, drained

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided

Cook and stir chicken in large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat 5 min. Add vegetables; cook 5 min. or until chicken is done and vegetables are crisp-tender.

Add sauce and pasta; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Stir in 1 cup cheese; top with remaining cheese. Cover; let stand 2 min. or until cheese is melted.

Per serving (1 recipe serves 6):

Fiber: 4

Calories: 380

Fat: 12

(I altered the original cooking instructions to make it easier to mass-produce and freezer friendly.)