Cheesy Summer Veggie Pasta

Trying to use up all those veggies from the garden can be hard, I love recipes like this though,it brings everything together, and who doesn't love cheese?

Ingredients: 

1 Zucchini
1 Yellow Squash
1 white onion
Olive Oil
3 cups pasta(I used rotelle because that's what I had on hand)
1 egg
1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 medium tomato
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup Mozzarella cheese(divided)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese(divided)
Basil
Oregano
 3/4 Salt(divided)
1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
Cooking Spray

1.Cook Pasta according to directions.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Beat 1 egg in a small bowl and add Ricotta and 1/4tsp salt, set aside.

4. Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Add zucchini,Squash, and Onion. Saute for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.

5. Remove from Heat.  Add Pasta, Ricotta and Egg mixture, 1/2 Mozzarella Cheese, 1/2 Parmesan Cheese, and remaining spices. Mix well.

6. Pour mixture into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

7. Add remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until browned and bubbly!

Yum Yum Y'all! This will be added to my "Summer Meals" list!

P.S. My 3 year old gobbled this up with no complaints! :-)

YaYa's Heluva Good Mac and Cheese

My Mom(YaYa as my kids call her) is from Sodus, New York also home to Heluva Good Cheese. When I was a kid we went to New York every other Christmas and the first stop(after Grandmas of course) was Lancaster's Stand. The trip was not complete with out Heluva Good Cheese!

We would all fight over the cheese and the chip dip through out the visit, and every year we would go to this cheese stand OR the Heluva Good Cheese Country Store before we left to get cheese to bring home with us. When we got home YaYa would make a big dish of Homemade Macaroni and Cheese made with the cheese we had bought. Talk about comfort food, this is it!

Now my parents usually go every summer and they bring us home cheese. This Summer being no different, I couldn't wait for them to get back this year with my cheese! (Yes we couldn't wait to see them too)

 This is the best mac and cheese because of the fresh off the wheel extra,extra,extra sharp cheese, mmm this Tennessee girl loves it! :-)

Today I finally got the recipe for YaYa's Homemade Mac and Cheese, but keep in mind folks, this is like a once a year type recipe! All things in moderation.

Here is what you will need

• 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 can evaporated milk 
• 2 eggs
• 1 squirt of Dijon mustard 
• Cayenne Pepper 
• Grated Cheese- I used the XXX sharp Heluva Good cheese(about 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups to taste) with some Mozzarella(about 1/2 cup) mixed in to make it creamy.
• Shredded Parmesan for the top 
• Paprika (for the top) 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

Boil macaroni until tender, drain. 

Add butter to warm pot and melt, add macaroni back in and toss to coat the macaroni with butter. 

In a separate bowl mix the milk,eggs,mustard,cayenne pepper and grated cheese. 

Put your pot of macaroni back over low heat, add in your cheese mixture and let melt and incorporate for about 2 minutes or so.

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray and pour the macaroni in.

Top with shredded cheese and paprika.(Can also top with Tomatoes, Chips,Crackers, Fried Onions,etc..)

Bake for 45 minutes until starting to brown and is bubbly.

This is how we eat our Macaroni...with a Zweigles Pop Open Hot Dog (from Rochester,NY) with some spicy mustard! Yum-O!

Y'all try this Macaroni soon it is so good!

*If you are in the East TN area you can find Heluva good Cheese at most Food City stores. Also their website heluvagood.com has a section on where to buy.

Also wanted to point out my new(to me) casserole dish from Grandma Polka-Dotty...I LOVE IT!!

Queso Chicken Pasta

Seriously y'all if you are not on Pinterest you are missing out!! This is of course another one of my fabulous finds! It was so YUMMY!! The only thing I would change is the jalapeno. I think there was enough "kick" with just the Ro*Tel, but if you like really spicy then keep it in.

Here is what you will need:

8 ounces penne pasta
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cream cheese
6 ounces Colby-jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup drained Ro*Tel tomatoes
2 cups cooked shredded chicken

Heat the oven to 350 F and spray a medium casserole dish with non-stick spray.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, but reduce the cooking time by two minutes.

In a medium pot heat the oil over medium heat. Once it begins to shimmer add the onion, garlic and peppers. Cook until they begin to soften, about three minutes. Add the cumin, coriander and salt and cook for an additional two minutes, or until the spices become fragrant.

Add the flour and cook for three minutes, stirring constantly, until all the flour is moist. Gradually whisk in the milk and stir until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow to thicken.

Turn off the heat and add the cream cheese and 4 ounces of the shredded cheese and whisk until melted. Stir in the Ro*Tel tomatoes.

Pour the pasta into the prepared casserole dish, stir in the shredded chicken and sauce. Top with the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pasta is bubbly and the cheese has melted. Let stand five minutes before serving.

Y'all know I love sharing recipes on here, but I also like to give credit where it is due...
This AWESOME recipe comes from here go check it out too  :-)

Chili Noodle Casserole

Chili Noodle Casserole

We all loved this casserole. I wasn't sure about it because it sounded out there but everything came together well! Sissy declared it was the BEST dinner...then she found an onion piece! UGH!! Oh well...

Here is what you will need:

12oz package egg noodles
1 small onion, chopped
1lb ground beef
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 cup milk
1 packet taco seasoning
4 slices American cheese
3/4 cup crushed corn chips

1. Lightly mist a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles until al dente, 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Add ground beef and onion to a skillet and cook until no longer pink,about 10 minutes; drain
5. Add tomato sauce, taco seasoning and milk. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, stirring once.
6. Add noodles to beef mixture and mix well. Pour mixture into casserole dish. Top with cheese slices; sprinkle with crushed corn chips.
7. Bake until cheese is melted and browned and mixture is bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Yum Yum! Y'all try this out, it is quick and easy and delicious! :-)

Pioneer Woman - Chicken Spaghetti

I love this Chicken Spaghetti it is definitely in my top 5 favorite recipes! Everyone that has tryed this loves it...always!  And it makes a great freezer dish. I recently made some of these for my freezer and for a friend that is going to have a baby.
I did not do step by step pictures for this because it was the day I did all of my freezer cooking.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
• 3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
• 2 cans cream of Mushroom Soup (or 1 cream of mushroom and 1 cream of chicken)
• 2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 1 jar (4oz) diced pimentos, drained
• 2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot
• 1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
• 1/8-1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup additional grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1. Boil 1 whole (or cut up fryer). SAVE THE BROTH. Save out 2 cups broth.  De-bone the chicken.(You will only need 2 cups so pull the rest and freeze it for another dish)
2. Cook spaghetti in chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook.
3. When Spaghetti is cooked combine with remaining ingredients except additional cheese.

      4. Place mixture in casserole pan and top with cheese.
      5. Bake for 45 minutes @ 350 degrees.

The trick to this dish is to keep everything diced very small.
For the original recipe please visit The Pioneer Woman  but be warned you will get addicted!  :-) She has a great site and wonderful recipes!

*** Also this dish is really good with Ruffles new Molten Hot Wings chips crunched over top....don't ask me how I know.......     :-)

Amazing Lasagna

One of my favorite meals to make for my family is Homemade Lasagna!
Seriously Y'all don't be scared of making Lasagna, it's really easy! This is the best recipe I have found, everyone in my family loves it! In fact we just had it for my brothers Birthday Dinner last night!
 Happy Birthday Timothy!

Here is what you will need:

Meat Sauce

1lb ground beef
1/2-1lb Italian sausage (I use the sweet ground)
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cans Italian style diced tomatoes
1 small can Tomato Paste
1 tsp Dried Basil leaves
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

In a large skillet add ground beef,sausage, and onion. Stir frequently until browned.

Drain grease. Stir in tomatoes, paste, basil,sugar,oregano,salt and garlic.

Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; simmer uncovered for 45 minutes- 1 hour. Stirring occasionally until very thick.

Filling

6 Lasagna Noodles
2 Eggs
15oz Ricotta Cheese
1 cup Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh Parsley
4 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Cook Lasagna noodles as directed; drain and place in cold water to cool.

In medium bowl beat eggs, stir in ricotta, cottage cheese, Parmesan, and parsley; set aside.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a 13x9 ungreased baking dish start with meat mixture (about a cup spread out)
Then 3 noodles on top of the meat sauce, 1/2 egg mixture, 1/2 remaining beef mixture and 1/2 mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers starting with noodles and ending with cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Take foil off last 10 minutes to melt cheese through.
When cheese is melted take out of the oven and tent foil over it and let stand 10 minutes.

Once you get the hang of this you can make double and get some put up in the freezer  :)

Baked Spaghetti

I originally found this recipe from This Mommy Cooks. I made it last night and my family loved it! This actually makes a lot so we had plenty of left overs...they are now gone.  :)
It was nice to have an alternative to plain spaghetti! I did "tweak" it a little bit.

What you will need:

1pound ground beef OR ground turkey
2 cans tomato sauce
1/2 box spaghetti noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup water
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

These are the dry ingredients you will need:

1/2 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Mix all dry ingredients in a small bowl + minced garlic

I wanted to share this little guy with you. My mom got it for me and it comes in handy a lot. It has 1/8tsp on one end and 1/16tsp on other end. It comes in really handy when you use pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.

Brown meat, drain excess fat and return to pan.
Add tomato sauce and water to pan with meat, and then dry ingredients.

Stir until combined well. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 Place cooked spaghetti noodles in baking dish.
 Top with spaghetti mixture.
Next, top with shredded cheese, and then sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

 

Yum Yum!! So very good! Y'all try this, you will love it! :)