Tex Mex Chicken Pasta

Recipe courtesy of: laurenslatest.com

3/4 lb. think spaghetti

3 Tbsp. butter

1 cup diced yellow onion

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup milk

1/2 lb. white cheddar cheese, grated

1 Tbsp. chopped jalapenos

1/2 Tbsp. jalapeno juice

1/2 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used leftover rotisserie chicken)

3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

Cook pastas according to package directions. Melt butter and saute onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth and milk to prevent lumps. Increase heat to thicken sauce. Sprinkle in grated cheese and stir until well blended with sauce. Stir in cumin, salt, pepper, jalapenos, jalapeno juice, chicken, cilantro, and pasta. Toss to coat everything evenly in sauce. 

I have "liked" at least 30 different recipe pages on Facebook, and the number slowly grows as I find more pages that I love. It's bad enough that I have so many recipes saved on Pinterest, so to have Facebook to add fuel to the recipe fire is really quite ridiculous. Nonetheless, I have plenty of wonderful pages that I follow that inspire me to want to add new meals/desserts to our recipe rotation. Unfortunately I don't have the time (or the money) to try every single recipe that I drool over, so I have to pick and choose (which is REALLY hard). I saw this recipe yesterday on Lauren's Latest, and lucky for us, we already had everything at home. We just had a rotisserie chicken the night before, and the leftovers were originally slated to become a wonderful chicken salad. But this recipe happened to appear in my newsfeed, and so my plans quickly changed. 

This was absolutely delicious! Ding-a-ling me added 2 cups of chicken broth instead of just one, so it was a bit more runny than I wanted it to be. And of course, I didn't realize this until just now while posting the recipe :) Ah, the joys! The amazing thing is this recipe passed the "lunch test" A.K.A, if it isn't good leftover, we don't make it again. It may sound crazy, but it is a must that a recipe is one that we can take for lunch the next day. So leftover lovers rejoice! It's great the next day! I highly suggest using a rotisserie chicken if you can. It was tender and so full of flavor. And if you don't have white cheddar, don't sweat it! I had a ton of shredded cheddar on hand, and it was wonderful.

Spicy Spaghetti

2 green peppers

2 cans tomato paste

2 cans crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. basil leaves

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 pkg. pepperoni slices

1 pkg. meatballs

Cut up green peppers and cook in medium pot until soft. Add tomato paste, cooking until color becomes orange, then add crushed tomatoes and stir slowly. Add salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic. Last, add meatballs and pepperoni to sauce. Let simmer for at least one hour.

This recipe may not look like much, but I promise you it is absolutely wonderful. The spiciness of the pepperoni with the flavor of the bell peppers makes for an incredible sauce. Add meatballs to the mix and you have an amazing, hearty meal that can be thrown together in no time. The next time we make this, I would love to try it with onions, because I think onions are wonderful is spaghetti sauce. If you're feeling adventurous, you can always buy whole pepperoni and slice it yourself. Although I love it that way, I prefer just the plain packaged pepperoni. Not only is it delicious in the sauce, it's so much easier to just throw it into the pot!

Southwestern Chicken

For the Sauce:

1 pkg. frozen tri color pepper and onion blend (I used Birds Eye)

1 can diced tomatoes, drained 

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. butter

garlic powder, to taste

oregano, to taste

black pepper, to taste

salt, to taste

For the Chicken:

2 Chicken breasts

Italian dressing

2 slices provolone cheese

For the chicken: Pour enough Italian dressing in the bottom of a casserole dish to marinate the chicken. Place chicken in the dish, and pierce with a fork to allow dressing to soak in. Cover the top of the chicken with Italian dressing as well, then cover dish with aluminum foil and place in refrigerator. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

While the chicken marinates, begin preparing pepper sauce. On medium heat, melt butter in saucepan. Add peppers, onions, and tomatoes. (It's ok if the tomatoes aren't drained completely! As the sauce simmers, the excess tomato juice will reduce down.) Once onions and peppers have softened, add minced garlic, then gradually add seasonings to taste. Reduce to low heat and allow to simmer, stirring and tasting occasionally to make sure the seasoning is how you like it.

While sauce simmers, place chicken on grill and cook until done. As soon as chicken is removed from the heat, place one slice of provolone cheese on top and cover with saucepan lid to allow it to melt. Service chicken on a bed of long grain and wild rice, then top with pepper mixture. Ennnnjoooyy!!!!

The last time I had this meal was over 10 years ago. I have been craving it for the longest, but never got up the nerve to try and throw it together myself. Yesterday, as I was driving home from work, I decided I was going to give it a shot. My Mom first discovered this recipe watching Food Network one Saturday morning, and it was so easy that she just threw it together. Turns out that either she never used a recipe, or she did it so much that she didn't need the recipe. And that turned into no recipe for me! After many discussions with my Mom that consisted of "Did it have tomatoes? Did it use tri color peppers? Do you remember this, etc. etc?", I felt like I knew enough to try and wing it. Let me tell you.... this is the best dinner we've had in a long  time. Mainly because it was something completely different, but also because it just tastes so dang awesome. All of the flavors meld perfectly together. The sweetness of the peppers and onions combined with the hint of Italian dressing in the chicken, and the slight saltiness of the rice is just magical. Really. Really. Magical.

Mom's Lasagna

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 Tbsp. basil

1 (16 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste

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10 oz. lasagna noodles

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 cups cottage cheese

2 Tbsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. salt

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced very thin

Brown meat slowly, spoon off excess fat. Add next five ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook noodles according to package directions. In separate bowl, combine parmesan cheese, eggs, pepper, cottage cheese, parsley, and salt. Place half of the cooked noodles on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish; spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles, then top with half of the meat sauce. Repeat layers. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, putting mozzarella on top about 10-15 minutes before done. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

There is something about lasagna that is so comforting. What I love about the dish is that it is truly so easy to make it into your own creation, and there are so many different versions! I have tried several, but I have to say that my favorite is just the good ol' classic. This recipe has been in my family since before I came along, and it is, to this day, one of the most requested recipes my Mom makes when we all go to Tennessee to visit. To me, this is the best lasagna I've ever had. It may be because I've eaten it for YEARS, but nonetheless, it is delicious! I suggest leaving the crushed tomatoes chunky, instead of mashing them to a pulp, or even getting a can of whole tomatoes and crushing them yourself. Trust me, it's amazing!