Pumpkin-Ricotta Pasta Bake

I got this recipe here: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/main-dish/quick-recipe-pumpkin-ricotta-pasta-casserole-130962

Olive oil
1 pound pasta, such as farfalle, small shells, or elbows
One 15-ounce container ricotta
One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/2 cup yogurt
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, divided

Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Set aside. Bring a 4-quart pot of water to boil over high heat, and stir about 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta, and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for a slightly shorter amount of time than specified by the package. (For instance, if the package specifies 10 to 12 minutes, cook for 9 to 10, or until just barely al dente.) Drain the pasta and toss lightly with olive oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, pureed pumpkin, eggs, and yogurt. Whisk in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and ginger.

Stir in the pasta and coat completely with the pumpkin mixture. Stir in the pecans, chopped pecans, sage, and garlic. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over top. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

e-notes: I didn't have plain yogurt on hand (since that's what I assume is meant by "yogurt.") I used sour cream instead. I also did 1 1/2 t. salt. My husband thought it could have been a little bit more pumpkin-y with a little less of sage. I didn't mind the amount at all. I probably did 1/2 c. nuts b/c I just bought a small baggie. When I had read the comments about this, a lot of people commented about it being dry. So I did cover my casserole for all but the last few minutes. It was slightly dry, more paste-y, really. But so delicious! My husband and I thought maybe you could add some cottage cheese to help it be a little more sauce-y? Totally loved this, as well as all 4 of my kids.

Butternut Squash Bake

I found this lovely recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-bake-2/detail.aspx.

Ingredients:

• 1 (4 pound) butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
• 1/3 yellow onion, minced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 6 ounces crumbled blue cheese
• sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss the squash, onion, olive oil, 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, thyme, and blue cheese in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a large baking dish. Sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs over the squash.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on top, 35 to 40 minutes.

e-notes: So I love, love, love this. So does my husband. We put way less blue cheese, though. We put a small amount in the mix and bake it like it says. Then we'll let people sprinkle how much or how little of blue cheese they want. A little goes a long ways in my opinion. My one boy didn't like it too much until he very lightly sprinkled it with the cheese. YUM.

Lasagna Rolls

I have adapted this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network. Find her original recipe here.

Lasagna:
1 15 oz. container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 C. plus 2 tbs. grated parmesan
3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 lg. egg, beaten
3/4 tsp. salt plus more for boiling water
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 tbs. olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 to 3 C. marinara sauce
1 C. shredded mozzarella @ 4 oz.

Whisk the ricotta, chopped spinach, 1 C. parmesan, prosciutto, beaten egg, salt and pepper in bowl to blend.

Add olive oil to large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to the bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Pour some of the sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Spread about 3 tbs. of the ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Sprinkle a little mozzarella on each noodle as well. Starting at one end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching atop the sauce in the dish. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the rolls. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan over the rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 375 until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 20 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Any remaining marinara sauce can be heated and served on the side.

Notes: I do not suggest substituting cottage cheese for the ricotta, gross. Ricotta is much tastier and much more smooth. However, if prosciutto is out of your budget, you can use cubed ham. Just make sure to chop it to smithereens before you add it to the ricotta mixture. As far as the baking time, I generally watch to see the sauce inside get bubbly and then take off the foil for the last 15 - 20 min. Just fyi, the pic is of the assembled rolls, pre-baked.

Turkey and Pasta with Peanut Sauce

6 ounces dried fettuccine or linguine
2 c. fresh pea pods, tips trimmed
1 c. cooked turkey or chicken strips
1 c. coarsely chopped fresh pineapple or one 8-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained
1/4 c. chicken broth
2 T. creamy peanut butter (although I think chunky would be fine too)
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. lime or lemon juice
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Cook pasta according to package direction. Meanwhile, halve the fresh pea pods, diagonally. Place pea pods and turkey in a large colander. Pour hot cooking liquid from pasta over pea pods and turkey in colander; drain well. Return the pasta, pea pods, and turkey to the hot pan. Add the pineapple.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan stir chicken broth into peanut butter. Heat and stir with a whisk until peanut butter melts. Stir in soy sauce, lime juice, red pepper, and garlic; heat through.

Add sauce to the pasta mixture. Gently stir to coat pasta with sauce.

(From the Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary Cookbook)

Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo

This is from the Great American Recipes cookbook

Serves 4 -6 depending on serving size

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (I use the fresh kind in the cold section of the store)
1 box fettuccine
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil to taste

1. Place the butter in a large heatproof bowl. Using a wooden spoon or electric mixer set on low, beat until smooth (I always use the mixer because my hand gets way too tired!). Add the cream and Parmesan cheese. Stir until well blended. Set aside.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and immediately add the hot pasta to the butter mixture in the large bowl. Using two forks or a large noodle serving spoon, toss the fettuccine in the butter mixture to coat well. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Sometimes I'm not fast enough and the cheese will clump or not quite melt. I pop the bowl in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to heat it back up and stir some more. Because of my turtle speed, I mix my pasta and butter in a 13x9 glass baking dish, not a bowl).

3. Sliced basil can be added to the top according to taste.

***This is so yummy! We usually add seasoned cooked chicken strips and/or broccoli to this. Leftovers are great too. I won't tell you the calories because then you won't make this, but we all know 2 sticks of butter and heavy cream aren't the best if you are on a diet. :)

Tallia's Cheesy Stuffed Shells

16 oz. low-fat cottage cheese
10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained
26 oz. spaghetti sauce

Note - I used ricotta instead of cottage cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400. Mix cottage cheese, spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella, parmesan, and Italian seasoning until well blended. Spoon 1 heaping Tbsp. of the cheese mixture evenly into each pasta shell.
2. Spoon half of the sauce into 13x9 pan. Place shells, filled sides up, in baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce mixture over shells. Cover with foil.
3. Bake 25 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake uncovered an additional 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Orzo and Potato Parmesan

Here is another orzo recipe. We had this for dinner tonight.



2 tablespoons butter
1 cup uncooked orzo
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c Italian dressing
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups water
1 cube chicken bouillon (1 tsp)
1/2 c sliced sausage or chicken, cooked
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in orzo and garlic, and sauté until lightly browned. Place potatoes, carrot, and onion in the saucepan. Continue to cook and stir until tender. Add dressing, salt, and pepper.
2. Mix water into the saucepan. Add bouillon and stir until dissolved. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10-12 minutes, or until orzo is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Top with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Jill's Lemony Orzo with Grilled Chicken and Spinach

Lemon Vinaigrette

Pinch of salt and pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon (1.5 Tblsp lemon juice)
1 Tblsp rice vinegar
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

Lemony Orzo with Grilled Chicken and Spinach

1 chicken breast shredded
1/2 pound uncooked orzo
1 handful washed and dried spinach (I love the spinach so I use 2 handfulls)
1/4 cup toasted pinenuts*
Grated parmesan cheese

* Heat the pinenuts in a skillet on the stove, stirring constantly as these will burn very quickly and easily.

Grill chicken breasts making sure to salt and pepper both sides. Meanwhile, place a large pot of salted water over high heat. When it comes to a rolling boil, add all the orzo and cook according to package directions.

When the chicken is finished cooking, place the ckicken on a plate to cool. Shred the chicken when it is cool enought to handle.

After the orzo is cooked to al dente, drain all the water and place the orzo in a large bowl. Immediately add the spinach. The heat from the orzo will wilt and "cook" the spinach. Next add the shredded chicken and toasted pinenuts. Toss with lemon vinaigrette and Parmesan cheese.

Note - As this sits in the refrigerator, the vinaigrette loses some flavor. If you plan on eating it later, be sure to heat it and maybe add a little lemon juice.

The original recipe is double everything, but it's too much for my family to finish so I make this recipe. My husband loves this, my kids love this (well except for the picky one) and I can't get enough. It's so yummy! Thanks to my amazing friend Jill for her recipe.

Homemade Egg Noodles and Chicken

2 c diced chicken or turkey
3 c chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
pepper and other spices to taste
1 batch homemade noodles (below)

Combine first three ingredients in large sauce pan and bring to boil. Add noodles and boil until noodles are just cooked through. You may need to add more liquid depending on how thick your noodles are, how deep your pan is, and so on. Fresh noodles cook faster than dried, thin noodles cook faster than thick, so do not boil too long! Season to taste (we are partial to sage in this dish) and enjoy the goodness.

Egg Noodles
-----------
2 cups flour
1 t salt
4 eggs
few drops of water as needed

We make our pasta dough directly on the counter surface but use a bowl if you wish. Combine the flour and salt. Mound the dry ingredients on the counter and put a depression in the top large enough for an egg. Crack the egg into the depression and use a fork to incorporate the flour into the egg. Repeat with remaining eggs. Then knead, adding water a few drops at a time if necessary, to make a smooth dough. Use a pasta mill to roll dough and cut noodles or divide the dough into workable pieces and roll with a rolling pin and cut with a pizza cutter. You may make the noodles ahead of time, dry, and store a few days, or immediately cook.

Spinach Lasagne with Béchamel sauce

Lasagne:
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
2 T Parmesan cheese
2 10-oz packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
12 oz lasagne noodles
2 c spaghetti sauce
12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (about 3 c)
2 c Béchamel sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, Parmesan and spinach. Set aside.
Cook lasagne noodles in boiling water until slightly chewy, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare Béchamel sauce. Cover and set aside.
Drain lasagne noodles and rinse with cold water.
Evenly spread the following layers in a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan:

1. first third of Béchamel
2. noodles
3. first half of ricotta
4. second third of Béchamel
5. noodles
6. half of spaghetti sauce
7. half of mozzarella
8. noodles
9. ricotta
10. last third of Béchamel
11. noodles
12. other half of spaghetti sauce
13. other half of mozzarella

Cover pan with foil (sprayed with nonstick spray) and place in oven for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Twelve 300-calorie servings.

Béchamel sauce:
2 c milk, almost boiling
3 T butter
4 T flour
salt and pepper to taste
dash of nutmeg

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. When foam subsides, sprinkle flour into butter, whisking all the while. Cook flour until foaming but not brown, about 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; add hot milk all at once and stir until bubbling subsides. Replace on heat and bring to boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Sauce should be thick and smooth. Season to taste.

Crockpot Lasagna

I got this recipe from a friend way long ago and never tried it out until a few weeks ago. My family really liked it and so I made it again for the missionaries. I've tweaked it a liitle and so here is my version:

9 lasagna noodles
1 lb. ground turkey
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
24 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 t. basil
1/4 t. oregano
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 c. cottage cheese (I used low-fat)
1/2 c. ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
mozarella cheese

Cook the ground turkey and the garlic until done. Add this to the cans of tomatoes (the ounces are slightly off - they might be a few ounces off or something. I can't remember what they are and my trash is already out. Sorry. It really doesn't matter though, of course). Stir in the basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

In another bowl mix together your cottage cheese and ricotta.

In the crockpot put 2 cups of the tomato/meat mixture. Next break up 3 lasagna noodles (1-2 inch sized pieces) and layer them on top. Next place 1/3 of the cottage/ricotta cheese mix in dollops over the noodles. Layer 2 more times with the tomato/noodles/cheese. Top the last layer with the last remaining 2 cups of tomato mixture.

Cook on high for 3 1/2-4 hours or on low for 6. (I have only done it on low since I make this up before church and start it cooking at 10:30. I don't want it done until 4:30ish and so I do it on low. I'm sure high would work well, too.)

You can top it with mozarella cheese. The original recipe calls for 2 cups. I probably shredded about 3/4 - 1 c. and let people top their own servings.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

8 oz. uncooked rigatoni
1 TBL Olive oil
1 Cup finely chopped onion
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach THAWED
3 Cups cubed chicken breast
1 14 oz. can of Italian style tomato (use juice in can)
1 8 oz. chive and onion cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups Mozzarella


Spread oil on bottom of 11x7 baking dish. Bake onions at 375 for 15 minutes. Drain and press spinach. Cook rigatoni and chicken. Dice chicken and mix all ingredients together. Spoon into baking dish. Top w/ cheese. Bake 375 covered for 30 minutes and then 15 minutes uncovered. ENJOY!!!!

Cheesey Manicotti

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package manicotti shells
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 egg
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 jar pasta sauce

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add manicotti and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix 3 cups mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, egg, and basil. Stuff cooked manicotti with the mixture.
Spread about 1/2 the pasta sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti in the dish, and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, and continue baking 10 minutes, until mozzarella is melted and bubbly.

Broccoli and Bow Ties

*This recipe comes from "Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style" Love her recipes!

Kosher salt
8 cups broccoli florets (4 heads)
1/2 pound farfalle (bow tie) pasta - you can really use any kind you like
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove of garlic minced (I love garlic so I add more)
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, optional
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Cook the broccoli for 2-3 minutes (I do 2 minutes) in a large pot of boiling salt water. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon or sieve. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

In the same water, cook the bow-tie pasta according to the package directions (I cook it for 9-10 minutes). Drain well and add to the broccoli.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemon zest over medium-low hear for 1 minute. Off the heat, add 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and lemon juice and pour this over the broccoli and pasta. Toss well. Season to taste, sprinkle with the pine nuts and cheese, if using, and serve.

*This dish is so easy and even my little 2 yr old will eat it. Enjoy!