Tortellini Spinach bake with Creamy Lemon Sauce

I heart pasta dishes! So filling, so easy, and so versatile! I found this recipe on Our Best Bites, which is one of my favorite food blogs to follow! It looked divine and so I vowed to make it! I changed mine up just a little and we all just loved it! I served it with the Homemade Rosemary Bread that I love to make! (you can find the recipe for the bread, by clicking on the label bread over in the tool bar on the side of this blog). 

Tortellini Spinach Bake with Creamy Lemon Sauce

recipe adapted slightly from Our Best Bites

12 oz bag frozen cheese tortellini

1/2 lb bacon

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 T flour

2 C. milk

1 tsp salt\
1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 medium lemon

2 c loosely packed spinach, roughly chopped

1 c. grated mozzarella cheese, divided

1 c. grated parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil, add torellini and cook according to package directions. Cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and reserve 2 T of the bacon drippings in the pan. Cook garlic in the bacon drippings over medium high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add flour to pan and whisk for about 1 minute.  Slowly add milk and whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, garlic salt, red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, zest and juice lemon. Add 2 tsp zest and 2 T lemon juice to sauce, and stir until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Drain tortellini and place back in pot. Add spinach, 1/2 c mozzarella cheese, bacon, and 1/2 c parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to incorporate. place pasta in a 9/13 casserole dish and cover with the remaining parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. *I also added a 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken to make this a full meal*
Cover for foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Jamies "almost' Lasagna and Yummy Garlic Bread

My friend Jamie introduced me to these 2 wonderful recipes....I love easy italian meals that I can whip up fast! The kids love it! I also love, love, love, love, garlic bread and this recipe is a fun twist! Enjoy!

Almost Lasagna

8 oz. barilla mostacccioli noodles
Cook in salted water according to directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

1tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. pepper
1 bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Cook hamburger with listed seasonings. Drain grease and then add spaghetti sauce. Cook until it starts to boil and take off heat.

1 C. cottage cheese
1 C. sour cream
1 C. grated cheddar cheese

Mix together and add to noodles.

Layer in 9 x 13 starting with meat. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese on top. Bake covered 350 for 30 minutes.

Cheesy bread

french bread loaf sliced in half
1/2 C. mayo
4 TBSP. butter, softened
dash of garlic salt
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 C. grated cheddar cheese

Combine and spread over bread. Bake at 400 until bubbly and crispy.

Ravioli with Checca Sauce

I love italian food!! I crave it all the time! One of my favorite italian chefs is Giada De Laurentiis. I have all of her books and love to try the different combinations of pasta's and sauce. This is her recipe for "Checca sauce". It is fresh and delicious! It is a fresh tomato sauce that you don't cook (perfect for summer when it is too hot to be turning on the oven...). Best when tomatoes are fresh and in season... I paired it with ravioli's this time, but have also done it with angel hair pasta as well. Try it for a fun twist on tomato sauce! Add a green salad and you have a fresh, summer meal!

1 (12 oz) bag of cherry tomatoes, halved

3 scallions, white and green parts, coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 (1 oz) piece of Parmesan cheese, coarsely chopped

8 fresh basil leaves

3 T. olive oil

4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the cherry tomatoes, scallions, garlic, Parmesan, basil, and oil ust until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (DON'T PUREE!). Transfer the sauce to a large bowl. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 tsp each of the salt and pepper. Season the sacue with more salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sauce immediately with your choice of freshly cooked pasta.

Chicken PIccata

I love this dish! Its one of my favorite things to do with chicken. Lemons just make me happy. This particular recipe came from my "cuisine at home" magazine. Like they say, If you like fresh lemon, tender chicken, and a quick recipe, then this classis italian dish will fit perfectly on your dinner plate..... Chicken Piccata
2 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets ( or breasts cut into cutlets).
Salt and Pepper
All-purpose flour
Nonstick spray
2 T. vegetable oil
1/4 c. dry white wine
1 t. minced garlic
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T. capers, drained
2 T unsalted butter
Fresh lemon slices
Chopped fresh parsley

Season cutlets with salt and pepper, the dust with flour. Coat a saute pan with nonsticck spray, add vegetable oil, and heat over medium high heat. Saute cutlets 2-3 minutes on one side. Flip the cutlets over and saute on the other side 1-2 minutes with the pan covered.Transfer cutlets to a warm platter and pour fat off from the pan. Deglaze pan with the wine and add minced garlic. Cook until garlic is slightly brown and most of the liquid is evaporated. Add broth, lemon juice, and caper's. Return the cutlets to the pan can cook on each side for about one minute. Remove cutlets and let sit on a plate. Finish sauce with butter and lemons. Once butter is melted, pour sauce over cutlets and garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve.

Pizza Night!!!

We try to have a weekly "make your own pizza night". The kids love it, even the picky ones, because they get to design their own! Have fun with it! Its a quick fix for a busy night's dinner! A couple of the finished products:

Here is What we like to use for our toppings: (we usually have pineapple, too, but I forgot to pick some up from the store!)

Make your own pizza night:

Boboli pizza crusts ( I like to use the personal size ones, so we can all make our own! You could also make homemade pizza dough if you'd like, but that would take the "quick" part out of the equation!)

pizza sauce - this you can buy premade, but I like to make my own: just take a can of tomato sauce and add garlic salt, italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste and mix together.

Cover the crusts with pizza sauce, cheese and the toppings of your choice and bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Enjoy with some garlic bread and a green salad!!

Cheese suggestions:

mozzarella

parmesan

colby jack

Topping suggestions:

tomato's

green peppers

mushroom's

green onions

pineapple

ham

pepperoni

olives

I'd love to hear about your families creations.....

Stromboli

Thanks Stacey for this one! it is yummy!!!

2 loaves frozen bread dough (I used Rhodes)
8 pieces hard salami
1/2 lb ham
24 pieces small pepperoni
8 slices deli provolone cheese
8 oz shredded mozzerella cheese
italian seasoning

Thaw out bread dough and roll each out about 1 ft wide and 2 ft tall ( Mine didn't get this big and still worked wonderfully! It ended up being about 1 ft by 1 ft...). Lay all ingredients in a row down the middle of the dough. (I did provolone, meats, mozzerella). Fold the edges of the dough together so it's closed. Sprinkle a cookie sheet with corn meal and then lay the 2 stromboli's on it seam side down. Sprinkle top with italian seasoning. Cook at 350* for 20 minutes or until bread is all the way done, slightly golden on top. This makes 2 large strombolis - you can cook them both and then freeze one for another day (or for lunch the next day...). Tastes best dipped in pizza or spaghetti sauce.

**My changes: I spread garlic butter along the inside of the dough before I put in all my ingredients, and then I brushed melted butter over the top before I put on my italian seasoning,
SOOOOOO GOOD!!!*** It was yummy the next day too!

Broccoli Alfredo

Yummy way to get your kids to eat broccoli!

1 tbls of kosher salt
¾ of pound of fettuccine pasta
4 cups of broccoli florets
4 tbls of butter
1 cup parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Place salt in boiling water and add fettucine to cook to al dente. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add broccoli. Drain in colander reserving 1 cup of the water. Place butter in the pot and stir until melted. Add ½ cup of the water and 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese. Add the fettuccine and broccoli and toss to coat. Remove from heat and add the remaining cheese. Serve and add more cheese if desired!
***I changed the recipe a little when I made it: I used half and half instead of the pasta water to make it a little creamier - if you don't need those calories you could use regular milk also or a combination of milk and pasta water - just play with it and see how you like it! I also got some chicken breast tenders, seasoned them with oregano, basil and garlic salt and cooked them in some butter and olive oil and served them on top of the pasta - it was really yummy!****

Asparagus, Snap pea, and Avacado Pasta

Thanks for sharing Kristi!

1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2 inches
1 lb. sugar snap peas
1 lb bow tie pasta
4 tbl of butter
2 garlic cloves minced
1 ripe avocado cut into chunks
½ cup of fresh basil or parsley (you can used dried if you want, just use a tbls of it)
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Bring salted water to a boil and cook asparagus for 2 minutes. Add snap peas, cook for 30 seconds. Scoop out veggies and set aside.
Return water to a boil and add pasta, cook al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup water.
In the same pot, melt 2 tbls of butter over med heat and veggies and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing veggies for about 2 minutes. Add remaining butter, pasta, avocado, herbs, cheese, and reserved water. Toss to combine and serve with more cheese!

Pasta Fagol

1 lb. hamburger
1 small onion chopped
1 c. julienned carrots
2 cloves garlic chopped

saute together for 10 minutes and then drain grease.
add:
2 cans diced tomatos
1 can red kidney beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can tomato JUICE (not sauce!)
2 cans v8
1 T. white vinegar
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. thyme
simmer together for 1 hour.

cook 1/2 bag of salad roni pasta (or other small tube pasta) separately and add to soup right before serving! delicious when served with my yummy breadstick recipe!

The BEST Marinara Sauce ever!

I found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks: Everyday Italian by Giada Dilaurentis. It is so good and sooo easy! I make extra and freeze - it keeps really well in the freezer - and I promise you that you will never buy bottled stuff again!

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 medium or 1 large onion, chopped fine
about 3 carrots, peeled and chopped fine (or about 7-8 baby carrots chopped fine works, too!)
3-4 stalks of celery chopped fine
2 cans crushed tomatos
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

Coat a pan on medium high heat with the olive oil. Add onions and garlic and saute until translucent ~10 minutes. Add carrots and celery and saute until soft ~10 minutes. Add crushed tomatos and bay leaves, season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for about an hour until thickened. Serve with any pasta! (I have let it simmer for only 20 minutes and it is still wonderful!!!!

Amber's Chicken Parmesan

This is my own adaptation for one of my favorite dishes.....Play with it and make it your favorite too!

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat
2-3 eggs(depending on the size of chicken breasts)
1-2 c. italian bread crumbs(again depending on the size of your chicken breasts)
dried oregano, basil, garlic salt, and rosemary to taste
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
Mozzarella for topping each piece of chicken

mix spices with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. beat eggs in separate bowl. Now its assembly line time!!! first dip chicken breasts in egg, coating both sides, then dip into bread crumb mix, making sure to liberally coat the chicken with the bread crumbs. Heat large nonstick pan over med high heat, coat bottom of pan with extra virgin olive oil. Cook until chicken breasts are cooked through. cover each chicken breast with a slice of mozzarella cheese and let it melt (i put a lid over my pan and the steam melts the cheese in no time!). serve over spaghetti noodles topped with your favorite marinara sauce (check this site for my favorite marinara sauce - it rocks with this chicken!) . Yummy!!!