No cook noodle Lasagna!

 What you'll need:  lasagna noodles, marianara sauce, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, 3 mushrooms, 1 egg

Mix together cheeses with egg.

 Layer order: marianara sauce, dried uncooked noodles, sauce, cheese, mushrooms (finely diced), pepperoni. Start all over again.

End layering with sauce, then extra mozzarella cheese. Cook covered for 45-60 minutes or until nice and bubbly at 350 degrees.

Manacotti

1 lb mozzerella cheese, shredded (4 c)
1 1/4 c cottage cheese
3 eggs
3 TBSP butter
1/3 c parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
3/4 c water
Spaghetti sauce, I like Prego

Combine all ingredients, except water and spaghetti sauce, in a large bowl. Mix well. Preheat oven to 350. Stuff noodles firmly with cheese mixture. Place in a casserole dish. Add water to dish. Cover with sauce to your liking. Cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour. If you think there is still too much water in it 45 minutes into baking remove foil for the last 15 minutes. Let it stand for 10 minutes, covered, before serving.

Chicken/Turkey Noodle Soup

to your liking Chicken or Turky cut into cubes (gotta love left overs from THANKSGIVING)
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 c dried pasta (Stelline, which is now my favorite for soup, it's just itty bitty)
2 1/2 c water, to cook pasta in, you may need more if you have bigger noodles
2-4 cups chicken broth, more to make more soup (liquid), less if you like soup with more stuff in it
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
Roux if needed

Over medium high heat cook water in medium/small pot. Bring to boil then add pasta. Reduce to medium low heat, stir occasionally so pasta doesn't stick to bottom of pan. Cook as directed on box, usually about 7-10 minutes. Drain. Set pasta aside.

Meanwhile, in large saucepan heat oil. Add carrots. Cook for 3 minutes then add celery. Cook until veggies are tender.

In a large pot pour in chicken broth, salt and pepper and meat. Cook over medium heat. If you feel like the soup is too runny add Roux Mixture. Add veggies and pasta. Heat throughly. Serve warm.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Recipe from Deceptively Delicious
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 c breadcrumbs
1/2 c butternut squash puree
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 plus 1/8 tsp black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1 26oz can whole peeled tomatoes with their juice, pureed in a blender
1/2 c water
1/4 c carrot puree
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 lb spaghetti

In a large bowl, mix the turkey, breadcrumbs, butternut squash puree, garlic 1/2 tsp sal, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Combine well. Shape the mixture into 1 inch meatballs and place on a sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil.

Heat large skillet over high heat. When the skillet is hot add the olive oil and then the meatballs and brown for 4-5 minutes turning occasionally.

Add the tomatoes, water, carrot, garlic powder, cayenne, bay leaf, and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the meatballs are no longer pink in the center. Remove the bay leaf.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander, turn it into a serving bowl and spoon the meatballs and sauce over it.

Serves at least 6 people if not more.

California Pasta Salad

1 lb penne pasta, cooked
1 ½ lbs salami, cut in 1/4s
1 ½ cups frozen peas
¼ cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped artichoke hearts
½ cup olives
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 avocados, peeled and diced
1 cup fresh Parmesan Cheese

Dressing

3 TBS water
½ tsp basil
¼ tsp oregano
3 TBS green onion
4 garlic cloves
1 ½ tsp dried mustard
1 ½ tsp salt
3 TBS sugar
¾ tsp pepper
½ cup salad oil
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup cider or wine vinegar

Combine all salad ingredients together in large bowl. Mix dressing in a food processor. Chill for at least 2 hours. Stir into salad and serve.

Baked Mac 'N Cheese

Courtesy Liz Layton!

8 oz uncooked noodles

6 TBSP butter, devided

2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c sour cream

1 can condensed cream of cheddar soup

1/2 tsp salt

1 c whole milk

1/2 tsp dried mustard

1/2 tsp pepper

break crumbs or 3-4 slices of fresh bread torn into pieces

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Boil noodles and drain. In a medium sauce pan melt 4 TBSP butter and cheese stirring constantly. Add sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper. Stir well. Add noodles and stir. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs or bread pieces.

Lasagna

1 lb hamburger
1 onion, chopped finely
1 cup cottage cheese
1 bottle Prego Pasta Sauce
4 slices Provolone Cheese
1 1/2 c shredded Mozerella Cheese
8 cooked Lasagna noodles

Cook hamburger and onion until done. Add pasta sauce to meat, heat. In a 9X13 pan put a little sauce mixture on bottom. Now you are going to layer with 4 noodles ontop the sauce then add more sauce ontop the noodles. Layer all cottage cheese, then all provolone cheese, then half mozerella cheese. Layer again with noodles, meat sauce, and the rest of mozerella cheese. Bake for 45 minutes uncovered at 350. Let it sit for a couple minutes before serving to let it set up a bit. Serve with CRAZY BREAD.

Home Made Mac 'N Cheese

1 bag pasta
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
1-2 c heavy cream
1-2 c shredded cheese
Season All to taste

In a medium saucepan boil water. Add pasta, cook until tender. Drain in colander. Set aside.

In a large saucepan melt butter. Whisk in flour. Whisk in cream until mixture is smooth. Add cheese. Stir until melted. Add cooked pasta to cream mixture. Add season all to taste. Serve with a veggie. Makes 6-8 servings.

Minted Squash Orzo

Courtesy Foodnetwork.com

Mike is trying to loose weight. What kind of options do I have for dinner? Foodnetwork always has a good answer!

1 c uncooked orzo
1/2 c cooking water from orzo
4 TBSP garlic flavored olive oil*
1 large yellow squash, about 8 ounces, cut in quarters and then sliced
Kosher salt and cracked pepper
4 oz feta crumble cheese
1/2 c mint, chopped

In a large pot, boil over medium heat. Add pasta and a good amount of salt, cook for 8 minutes. Pasta won't be cooked all the way. Save 1/2 cup of cooking water and then drain in colander.

Heat 2 TBSP oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the squash, salt and pepper-add a good amount, more than you think. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash becomes translucent and slightly brown, about 4 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low, add pasta and water. Bring to a simmer and add 3/4 of the feta cheese container and salt and pepper if needed. Cook until water is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add mint and remaining 2 TBSP oil. Garnish with mint leaves and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Serve.

Makes 4 servings.

*If you don't have garlic flavored oil it's easy to make!!! Put desired amount of oil in a frying pan. Heat over medium-high. Add 1-2 tsp of minced (cut) garlic. (I buy it in a jar from the store for such purposes.) Using a strainer and a bowl, pour oil through strainer over a bowl to catch oil, leaving no chuncks of garlic. Wa La! Instant garlic flavored oil.

Spaghetti with a Creamy Italian Red Sauce with Grilled Asparagus

I've been taking a cooking class at the Blue Lemon and incorporated what I learned with my own twist. It turned out pretty good! Enjoy!

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Sauce:

Olive Oil, 2 turns around pan

1-2 cloves of garlic

1/2 can Prego Spaghetti Sauce

Heavy Cream, enough to cover noodles

Salt to taste, about 1/2 tsp

Parsley to taste, about 1 tsp

Roux

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Heat olive oil in a big sauce pan. Add garlic. Roast garlic. Add spaghetti sauce and cream. Whisk together. Add seasonings and roux, to thicken. Whisk until smooth. Add cooked spaghetti. Use tongs to stir/fold noodles into sauce. Heat.

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Lemon Grilled Asparagus:

olive oil

lemon juice

parmesan cheese

pepper

salt

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Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add asparagus and squirt lemon juice over asparagus. Sprinkle cheese, pepper and salt over veggies. Grill veggie one side at a time.

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Breadsticks:

rhodes rolls, thawed and risen (6 for given amounts)

butter, melted

parmesan cheese

garlic salt

parsley

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Melt 1/4 cube butter. Pour into a cookie sheet. Roll out the rolls into snakes. Roll in butter and line them up in cookie sheet. Sprinkle spices over it. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Parmesan Breaded Chicken with White Sauce Pasta

Breaded Chicken

chicken breasts or tenders

1/2 cup floursalt and pepper

paprika (optional)

basil (optional)

Stove Top Stuffing crushed in plastic bag

fresh grated parmesan cheese

For breaded chicken the key is to season every step of the process. First you'll need 3 pans for breading process. 1 pan for flour, seasoned with desired seasoning. 1 pan for egg splash-beaten egg with splash of milk, add salt and pepper. 1 pan for bread pan. This pan is equal parts of bread crumbs (stove top stuffing) and cheese. So for first timers here is a crash course. Place chicken in flour, shake excess off. Then dip it in the egg splash. Final step is bread crumbs. Place chicken in baking casserole dish. Bake chicken at 350 until digital thermometer says 165.

White Sauce

1 pint heavy cream

1/2 cube butter

dash of kosher salt

dash of garlic

dash of basil

Basic Roux

Heat cream and butter in large frying pan with kosher salt, garlic, and basil. (I sprinkle garlic powder in it when I don't have garlic on hand; and sprinkle basil in to add dimension to its taste). Whisk over medium low heat. Add rue in to thicken it up. Add cooked pasta to the pan and heat until pasta is hot. Serve with breaded chicken.

Basic Roux

1 TBSP melted butter

1 TBSP flour

Mix together.