Penne Rustica

Last week I was craving some yummy pasta from Macaroni Grill, so I again...went to the world wide web and searched for "macaroni grill pasta". Let me tell you I was NOT dissapointed! This recipe was amazing. So yummy and creamy, almost better than my chicken scampi, almost.


(this picture, like most of my pictures does not do this justice)

Penne Rustica from Macaroni Grill

Gratinata Sauce:
2 Teaspoon Butter
2 Teaspoon chopped garlic
1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 cup marsala wine
1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 cups heavy cream

Saute butter, garlic , and rosemary until garlic begins to brown.
Add marsala wine and reduce by one−third. Add remaining ingredients
and reduce by half of original volume. Set aside:|Penne Rustica:
1 Ounce pancetta or bacon
18 each shrimp peeled and devained
12 Ounce grilled chicken breast, sliced
4.5 cups of granita sauce
48 Ounce Penne Pasta, precooked
3 Teaspoon pimentos
6 Ounce butter
1 Teaspoon chopped shallots
1 pinch of salt and pepper
1 cups parmesan cheese
1/2 Teaspoon paprika
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Saute pancette until begins to brown. Add butter, shallots, and shrimp. Cook
until shrimp are evenly pick but still translucent. Add chicken, salt,
pepper, and mix thoroughly. Add granita sauce and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
and simmer until sauce thickens. In a large bowl, combine shrimp and chicken
mixture with precooked pasta. Place this mixture into single serving dishes
or one large casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and pimentos and
sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 475 for 10−15 minutes. Remove and garnish
with fresh rosemary sprig. Serves six.

Ruth's Chris' sweet potato casserole

Ruth's Chris' is a famous Steak house down in New Orleans, and just judging from this recipe they have AMAZING food. My sister-in-law made this for our family over Christmas and we LOVED it. Which is saying a lot because I am NOT a fan of anything sweet potato. Before this recipe I had only seen sweet potatoes plopped out of a can into a dish smeared with marshmallows *NASTY* and brown sugar. I wouldn't touch them with a 10-ft poll, but now... that has all changed!

They say at the restaurant people order this a la carte with a side of ice cream. It is so sweet you could pass it off as a desert. HERE is the recipe and you even get a short video on how to make this delicious dish! Enjoy!

Creamy enchiladas

I LOVE creamy 'ladas. I do. Love them. My husband doesn't so usually I give in and make them his way... but lucky for me I didn't have enchalada sauce so we had to do them the way I like **no I didn't plan that, it just worked out in my favor** So here are they yummiest 'ladas EVER! I also like these puppies rolled up in flour tortillas instead of the casserole style. You can also make this ahead and freeze it. Yum. Yum. Yum. In fact just talking about them makes me want to go have another serving :)

{This picture really does not do this justice, sorry. I am a cook, NOT a photographer :)}

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
3 Tbsp butter
1 13oz can evaporated milk
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 4oz can chopped green chilies
3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
12 corn tortillas (sometimes I use flour)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Saute onion in butter. Add evaporated milk and chicken soup. Stir until smooth. Add chilies and chicken, stir all together.

Grease 9x13 pan. Line with 6 tortillas, pour half of chicken mixture over them and sprinkle with 1/2 of cheese. Repeat layers with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture and cheese.

Cover dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Makes LOTS!

Recipe from Stephanie Gubbler. Thanks babe!

Stuffed Shells

I haven't made these things in FOREVER, but they were as good as remembered. Serve them up with a fresh tossed salad and garlic bread.


Ingredients:

1 pkg jumbo shells
4 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 cups spaghetti sauce (28 oz jar)

Heat oven to 375F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large bowl, stir together cheeses, eggs, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. In 13x9x2 inch baking dish, spread 1/2 cup spagetti sauce. Fill each uncooked shell with about 2 Tbsp. cheese mixture. Layer one half filled shells over sauce; spread remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired. Cover with foil. Bake 35 minutes or until hot or bubbly.

Recipe from American Beauty box of Jumbo shells

Macaroni and Cheese (take two)

So the first time I tried to make homemade Mac and cheese it turned out less than desirable (click HERE) it was LESS than tasty, in fact it was down right nasty! This recipe was the opposite, very yummy, creamy and tasty.



For topping:

1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or coarse fry bread crumbs
1 cup coarsely grated extra sharp cheddar (about 4 ounces)

For cheese sauce and macaroni:
3 Tbsp unsalted bitter
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 cups coarsely grated extra sharp Cheddar (about 1 pound)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound elbow macaroni

put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 400F. Butter a 3-quart shallow baking dish.

Make the topping: stir together butter, panko and cheese in a bowl until well combined.

Make the sauce: melt butter in a 5 quart heavy pot over moderately low heat. Whisk in flour and red pepper flakes and cook, whisking, for 3 minutes to make a roux. Whisk in milk in a slow stream, then bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. Simmer, whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in cream, cheddar, mustard, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming.

Cook the macaroni and assemble the dish. Cook macaroni in a 6 quart pot of boiling salted water (1 tbsp salt per every 4 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain macaroni.

Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl, then transfer to baking dish (mixture will be loose)

Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni. Bake until top is golden and bubbling, 25 to 35 minutes.

Recipe is from my friend Amy Dries's kitchen

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Homemade Mac and Cheese. I tell ya, I am not sure why I decided to make this, for those of you who know me, know that I am not a big fan of cheese. So I took a gamble and here it is:

{Baker's note: This recipe was AWFUL! Simply AWFUL! I think I cooked the noodles to long, blah, blah... anyhoo. I pretty much had to force feed the whole family so my efforts didn't go to waste. So why am I blogging about it you ask? I did put in all the work to make it, so maybe it will turn out better for you. Let me know!}

Before going into the oven


Fresh out of the oven

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

3 cups milk

1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced

1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 large egg 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

Topping:

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving. Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.

Recipe came from Alton Brown, "Good Eats" on the food network (Though I think he would cringe to know how badly my tasted)

Simply. Lasagna

{To put it simply... I made this yesterday for a family I took dinner to, and yes, forgot to take a picture of it. It looked yummy though!}

I love this recipe because you assemble it using uncooked noodles. It also freezes REALLY well! Love it!

1 pound ground beef
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese, divided
1 (15 oz) container Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 (26 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodle, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350F. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1 1/4 cup mozzerella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley and egg until well blended: set aside. Drain meat: return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Pour water into empty sauce jar cover and shake well. Add to skillet; stir until well blended (you should have about 5 cups.)

Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce onto bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish; top with lauers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of the meat sauce. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/4 cups mozzerella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with greased foil.

Bake 45 min. Remove foil; continue baking 15 min. or until center is heated through. Let stand 15 in. before cutting for easier serving.

Recipe from Kraft foods online recipes

Chicken Cordon Blue Bake

I am NOT NOT NOT a casserole person, but this one wasn't too bad. I actually thought it was yummy!


2 packages reduced sodium stuffing (I used the regular stuff)
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 lb sliced deli ham, cut into i inch strips
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (I used 4 cups chicken, it was tasty)

Prepare stuffing mixes according to directions on box. Meanwhile in a bowl combine soup and milk. Put cooked cubed chicken in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Sprinkle with pepper, layer on ham, Swiss cheese and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, soup mixture and stuffing. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese (at this point you could freeze it for another day. If freezing thaw in fridge overnight and remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking) Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-14 minutes longer.

(This recipe came from "The Sisters Cafe")