Pasta with Alfredo Sauce and Veggies (and BACON)

 

This is versatile and delicious.  If it weren't for that inconvenient problem of my lactose intolerance I would have 6 bowls of this.  Aren't you so glad I shared that information with you?!  Really, though, this comes together so fast and tastes fantastic.


Pasta with Alfredo Sauce and Veggies (and BACON)


Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta (angel hair, fettuccine, penne, whatever you like/have on hand)
Vegetables (This is where you can really customize.  I only happened to have red pepper today so I used that.  You could use zucchini, broccoli, carrots, spinach, whatever you like/have on hand!!)
6 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup heavy cream (I used half cream and the rest half and half)
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil pasta according to package directions.
While the pasta is boiling, fry the diced bacon until crisp. Add in the veggies and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until they are tender-crisp.
Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, add the butter and cream until heated through and butter is melted. Add in the Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is thoroughly melted and sauce is a smooth, creamy consistency.
Drain pasta when done and add to a large serving bowl. Pour in the bacon and broccoli and toss it in with the penne. Pour the Alfredo sauce over top of the penne and stir until well combined.
* I don't actually do this because, surprise, some of my children don't like Alfredo sauce and, don't be shocked, but some also don't like vegetables.  I just leave everything separate and customize everyone's serving.  The children who don't like Alfredo sauce love pasta with just butter and Parmesan cheese on it, so that works easy enough.

Bolognese Sauce

I know Carrie already has a Bolognese Sauce posted on here, but this is a slightly different take.  I found it on a site where there are a lot of healthy recipes because I'm making those baby steps towards eating better.  This is so good it's hard for me to believe that is good for you, but there you go. 

Mental note:  things that are good for you can also be tasty Kathee!!! 

Good to know!


Bolognese Sauce
Recipe from Skinny Taste


Ingredients:

4 oz pancetta, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, minced
1/2 cup carrots, minced
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1/4 cup white wine (I didn't add this)
2 - 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and fresh pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup half & half

Directions:

In a deep heavy saute pan, saute pancetta until fat melts.  Add butter, onions, celery and carrots and cook until soft.  Add meat, season with salt and pepper and saute until browned.  Add wine, cook until it reduces down, about 3-4 minutes.  Add tomatoes and bay leaf.  Simmer covered on low, at least 1-1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Add half & half and parsley, cook 2 minutes longer. Makes about 8 cups.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

My husband and I are TRYING to eat healthier, but, sigh....... sometimes that's not so much fun.  Last week we had salads for dinner for four nights.  That got old pretty quick.  I was excited to find this recipe because I really love chicken parmesan.  It was SO good.  I was sad that there wasn't any left overs.


Baked Chicken Parmesan
Recipe from SkinnyTaste

Ingredients:

4 (8 oz) chicken breast halves, sliced in half
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara
cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.  Spray a large baking sheet lightly with spray.

Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl.  Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture.  Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Lightly spray a little more cooking oil on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.  Turn chicken over, bake another 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese.  Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Skillet Lasagna, Breadsticks and Cinnamon Bread

Perhaps you thought that my addiction to tormenting my children had subsided, but don't fear, it is alive and well!  I'm not quite sure why every time I am drawn to a meatless meal it contains ricotta, but I AM sure that I have two children who are extremely irritated with me because of it.  This meal was so fast and easy, yay!  I love fast and easy meals.  I saw a recipe for Skillet Lasagna here, and I decided that I would make it a little bit easier by just using jarred spagetti sauce, and a little bit more palatable for ME by using ricotta instead of cottage cheese.  I feel about cottage cheese the way two of my kids feel about ricotta.  I get shivers even THINKING about it.  Yuck.  This breadstick recipe is another fast one, and it is delicious.  The cinnamon bread, well, what can I say?  It's bread with cinnamon, of course I loved it.  It was gone the next morning so I'm pretty sure some other people in my home loved it too (unless I Sleep Ate it, which is a possibility.  There's got to be a reason why I keep gaining weight, and blaming it on me eating food while I'm sleeping is just honestly the most logical thing for me to believe right now.)


Skillet Lasagna
Recipe modified from Remodelaholic


Ingredients:

24 oz. jar of spagetti sauce

15 oz. ricotta cheese

2/3 cup Parmesan

3 tbsp. dried parsley

2 beaten eggs

3/4 cup Mozzarella

salt and pepper
1 box (or less) No cook Lasagna Noodles

Directions:

Put 1/3 of the jar of spagetti sauce in an oven proof skillet.  Break up a couple of the lasagna noodles and layer it over the spagetti sauce.  In a bowl, combine the ricotta, parsley, eggs, 1/4 cup of Mozarella and salt and pepper to taste.  Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.  Repeat this with the sauce, noodles and ricotta.  Top with one cup Mozzarella.

Then place back on the burner, medium high heat for five minutes covered.  Remove the lid and place the whole skillet into preheated 400 degree oven (make sure your skillet is oven safe!) and bake for 20 more minutes.

Let stand a few minutes before serving.

Breadsticks
Recipe from Siggy Spice


Ingredients:
1-½ cups warm water
1  tbsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast from a jar.  Sorry, the packets don't hold a full TBSP
2 tbsp. sugar
3-½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2-4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp. garlic salt
1-2 tsp herbs/seasoning of your choice.  I am using an herb blend that is for mixing with olive oil and dipping bread, but any herb or combo of herbs that you like would work well.
4 tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
 
Mix together water, yeast, sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1-2 tbsp. olive oil (just enough to coat) onto the bottom of a 16"x14" cookie sheet.  Roll out the breadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and large enough to fit onto baking sheet.  Place whole sheet of dough on baking sheet, then brush 1-2 tbsp. olive oil over top of dough making sure it is all lightly covered.  Sprinkle garlic salt and herbs of choice over top of olive oil.  Using a pizza cutter, cut breadsticks into desired length and width.   Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Remove plastic wrap and place in preheated oven and allow to bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and brush melted butter all over top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cinnamon Bread
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen


Ingredients:

2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 cup White Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Baking Soda
½ teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
2 whole Eggs
1 cup Buttermilk
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
¼ cups Oil
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, eggs, buttermilk, extract and oil. Beat/whisk together for about 2 minutes.  Pour batter into a prepared pan (large size) and smooth top.  In a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon and cut in the butter using a knife and fork until mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle cinnamon mixture on top of batter. Use a knife and cut in a swirling motion, giving it a marble effect.
Place in oven and bake for 50 minutes. Test with toothpick. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing loaf from pan.

Pasta Alla Amatriciana

So delicious! This recipe is a keeper.

Pasta Alla Amatriciana
The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

6 oz bacon (6 slices), chopped medium
2 Tbsp exra-virgin olive oil (I forgot to use the oil and it was still fabulous)
1 onion, minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp salt
1 pound linguine (I used fresh—makes a huge difference)
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot for the linguine.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon and oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until the bacon is crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the fat left in the skillet.

Add the onion and red pepper flakes to the fat in the skillet and return to medium heat. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and the diced tomatoes with their juice and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

When the water is boiling, stir in the salt and linguine. Cook, stirring often, until the linguine is almost tender but still a little firm to the bite.

Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water (I didn’t end up using this), then drain the linguine and return it to the pot. Stir in the tomato mixture, crisp bacon, and cheese and toss to coat. Add the reserved pasta cooking as needed to loosen the sauce before serving.

Pasta E Fagioli

Bacon alert!

I know, I know, I make a whole lotta soup over here. But I'm so cold and soup feels so good when you're freezing all the time. This soup was so good. The flavor was amazing. Actually, I wouldn't call it a soup, it's more stew-like. If you want it more soupy then add more broth, I suppose.

Pasta E Fagioli
The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

•4 slices bacon, chopped medium
•1 onion, chopped fine
•4 garlic cloves, minced
•2 zucchini, diced
•1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
•1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
•1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
•2 15.5-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed
•3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•2 1/2 cups water
•Salt
•1 3/4 cups orzo
•1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
•Pepper
•1 cup Parmesean cheese, grated
•Extra virgin olive oil (for serving)

Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the onion, zucchini, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion and zucchini are softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, beans, broth, water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in the pasta and cook until just slightly underdone.

Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Skillet Baked Ziti

On Sunday I made Baked Ziti. I love this recipe because it's yummy and so, so easy. Oh, and the kids love it.

Skillet Baked Ziti
recipe courtesy RecipeGirl

1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 cups water
12 ounces ziti (3 ¾ cups)
½ cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup minced fresh basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 475°F. Place oven rack in middle position. Measure out water and pasta.Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon salt in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain a vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 15 to 18 minutes. While pasta is cooking, measure out cream, Parmesan and basil.Stir in cream, Parmesan and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Serve. Servings: 4
Cooking Tips
*Be sure to preheat your oven before assembling the ingredients.
**If your skillet is not ovensafe, transfer the pasta mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the cheese and baking.
***Penne may be used in place of ziti.

Sausage, Spinach, and Cheese Stuffed Shells with Olive Garden Salad and Italian Breadsticks, PLUS Mom's Texas Sheet Cake

(Kath, here's another ricotta dish to torture your kids with!)

Friday night we fed the missionaries from our church. We always try to feed the missionaries when we can because we feel blessed that so many sweet people fed us while we were on our missions. Plus, the kids love it when the missionaries come over! My kids, the social butterflies that they are (yeah, they didn't get it from us or their grandparents or anyone they are related to for that matter). It was a super yummy meal, if I do say so myself.

Sausage, Spinach, and Cheese Stuffed Shells
From Redbook Magazine

1 package(s) (12-ounce) jumbo pasta shells (about 36 shells)
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1/2 cup(s) finely chopped onion
3/4 pound(s) bulk sweet Italian sausage
2 clove(s) garlic, minced
1 large egg
1 container(s) (15-ounce) whole or part-skim ricotta cheese
1 box(es) (9-ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
3/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounce(s) fresh mozzarella, grated
1/2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
1 jar(s) (32-ounce) tomato sauce with basil

1.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta shells and cook according to package instructions. Drain in a colander; rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain shells on paper towels.
2.Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat; add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sausage, breaking up into smaller bits with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat.
3.Beat egg lightly in a large bowl; stir in ricotta, spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, mozzarella, salt, pepper, and the cooled sausage mixture until blended. Fill pasta shells with mixture.
4.Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish. Arrange stuffed shells in dish. Spread remaining tomato sauce over pasta shells. Cover dish with foil; bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Remove foil; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes longer.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing and Salad Mix

Olive Garden Salad Dressing
1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/3 C. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt - or one clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Olive Garden Salad Mix

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes please add a little extra sugar.

Olive Garden Salad Mix
1 bag American Blend Dole Salad
4-5 slices Red Onion
4-6 Black Olives
2-4 Banana Peppers
1/2 C. Croutons
1 small Tomato Quartered
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place bag of salad in bowl. Place on top of lettuce but red onion, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top.

Find Soft Italian Breadsticks here.

Mom's Texas Sheet Cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 sticks margarine
1 cup water
4 tbsp. cocoa
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs

Mix sugar, flour and salt in a bowl. In heavy pan, bring butter, water and cocoa to a boil. Take cocoa mix from heat as soon as it boils and add immediately to dry ingredients. Add sour cream, eggs and baking soda; mix well after each. Batter will be thin. Bake in jelly roll pan at 375 degrees for 20-25 min. Prepare frosting while cake is baking. Frost as soon as cake is removed from oven.

Butter Nut Frosting
1 cup nuts (optional)
2 sticks margarine
1 box powdered sugar
6 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
4 tbsp. cocoa

Boil milk, butter and cocoa in heavy pan until bubbly. Stir in sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add nuts. Spread over hot cake.

Meatless Lasagna, French Bread and Homemade Twix Bars

I'm beginning to think that I have some sort of sick compulsion to upset my kids, because I served a meal with ricotta for dinner last night AGAIN.  The fits that were thrown were epic, they will go down in our family history as The Great Ricotta Tantrum of 2011.  The problem is, I really love ricotta, and lets face it, I'm a selfish person.  So last night I made a meatless lasagna.  I just played around with my regular lasagna recipe and added some veggies to it that I thought my kids wouldn't mind eating.  Boy, was I wrong!!  My husband and I loved it, but the kids kept saying things like "What's this green leaf?"  "Are there tomato chunks?  I see tomato chunks!!!"  "What are those green things?"  and the ever popular, "Where's the meat?"  Kids, I am so, so sorry that I am trying to cut meat out of our meals ONE DAY A WEEK.  That's it, one day.  Give me a break!  Thank goodness they like bread, they inhaled it once it came out of the oven!  I bribed them into eating half of their lasagna by telling them they couldn't have any dessert unless they did.  As soon as I said that they started eating away, because our dessert was incredible.  Homemade.  Twix.  Bars.   Yes, you heard right.  I'm not going to lie and tell you they come together in a snap, because they're a TAD time consuming, but worth every minute.

Meatless Lasagna

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. butter

1 cup grated carrots (about 4)

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed

1 bell pepper, finely diced

Minced onion (I have a hate/hate relationship with onion so I don't add this, add however much you want)

You can add any other veggies you want!

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 1 /2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Melt butter in pan.  Add vegetables and saute until soft.   Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water.  Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp. salt, pepper and 2 tbsp. parsley.  Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.  (or you could skip this whole step and use the no boil noodles, do it, for the love of everything easy, DO IT).  In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of sauce in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan.  Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over sauce.  Spread with one half of the ricotta mixture.  Top with a third of the mozzarella cheese.  Spool 1 1 /2 cups of sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan.  Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil.

Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes.  Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

(Disclosure:  the bread is supposed to rise for 1 hour, I was impatient and only let it go 15 minutes, hence the small loaf)

I love this recipe.  It makes 2 big loaves of bread and you mix it all in one bowl.  It's so easy.  I use this cool pan to cook the loaves in, but you also can just use a baking sheet.

French Bread

Recipe courtesy of Denise Giles

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 tsp. sugar

2 pkg. yeast

1 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. cooking oil

6 cups flour

Directions:

Important - use a silver metal bowl and wooden spoon!!!!

Put yeast and sugar in bowl and stir.  Pour warm water over and let stand 5 minutes until it's all bubbly.  Add salt, oil and 1 cup of flour.  Mix together.  Stir in remaining flour.  Leave spoon in bowl and cover with a towel.  Let it rest for 10 minutes.  Stir again.  Repeat this 3 times.

Put dough on floured surface, knead very little.  Divide dough in half.  Roll into a rectangle, then roll it up.  Tuck in the ends.  Lift it up and slam it down on the counter to get the air out (also this makes you look really cool and like you know your way around the kitchen, very impressive to the kids).

Grease cookie sheet and sprinkle with corn meal.  Place bread onto baking sheet or your handy dandy french bread pan.  Let rise for 1 hour with towel over.  Cut gashes at angle on top of bread.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  After removing from oven, put some butter on the top of the bread.

Homemade Twix Bars

Recipe courtesy of Not Without the Salt

Ingredients:

Shortbread
5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground rice (rice processed in a spice grinder until it is able to pass through a fine sieve to remove chunks)* (I DID NOT ADD THE RICE - Kathee)
Make the Shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-X-13-inch baking pan with pan spray and line with parchment paper. Spray the parchment.
In a large bowl  cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the flour, ground rice and salt and allow the dough to come together. The dough will be crumbly but should hold together when you squeeze it.
Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the baking pan. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and bake for another 10 minutes, until the shortbread is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack to room temperature.

Meanwhile, prepare the ….
Caramel
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling over the caramel layer
Make the Caramel:
Combine the sugar, golden syrup, water, and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Remove any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan by wiping down the sides with water. You can use your hand or a pastry brush. Place the pot on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Wipe down any stray sugar crystals that appear using a very clean and wet pastry brush. Do not stir from this point on. Keep an eye on the pan. The mixture will be very bubbly.
When the sugar syrup starts to turn golden brown insert a candy thermometer to check the temperature. When it reaches 300°F, remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for 1minute, or until the bubbles subside. Carefully whisk in the heavy cream. Stir until smooth, then whisk in the condensed milk. Add the salt.  Whisk until smooth.
Return the pan to the heat and stir constantly over medium heat until the caramel reaches 240°F. Remove from the heat and pour over the shortbread. While the caramel is warm sprinkle the surface with the best quality salt you have. Kosher is fine, Fleur de Sel is better, Maldon would be my preferred choice.
Allow to set. This will take about 2 hours.
Once the caramel layer has cooled prepare your …
Chocolate Glaze
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Bittersweet chocolate chips also work)(I USED SEMISWEET BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I HAD ON HAND - Kathee)
2 tablespoons butter
Melt the chocolate and butter over a bain marie or in the microwave. If using the microwave melt it slowly – in 30 second intervals. Stir well after each interval.

Once completely melted pour over the caramel.  Using an offset spatula, smooth the chocolate in a nice even layer.

Place in the refrigerator to set. They cut best when chilled.

Cut into desired shape and size. Serve.

 

Homemade Pizza

I think it's safe to say that pizza is the most favorite meal at our house. I'm pretty sure we could have pizza every day and the kids wouldn't complain. We usually have pizza on Saturday nights from one of our favorite local pizza joints (we have several, thank goodness) and occasionally I'll make a homemade pizza during the week. This pizza dough recipe is super easy and even easier if you throw it all in your bread machine. Just a side note, I think the key to great homemade pizza is a pizza stone. Seriously, it just makes it so much better. Just add your favorite toppings (Husband and I like various vegetables and the kids are strictly pepperoni and cheese).

Easy Pizza Dough

4 to 4 1/2 c. flour
2 envelopes fast-rising dry yeast (I use 2 T. active dry)
1 t. sugar
2 t. olive oil
1 3/4 c. warm water (110 degrees)
1 t. salt

Put water in mixer bowl. Add yeast and sugar, stir with fork and let sit until creamy. Add oil and half flour and mix with kneader hook. Add remaining flour and salt, knead for 8-10 minutes. Let rest, covered with towel for 10 minutes. The dough may be punched down, placed in a sealable plastic bag and stored in the refrigerator for 12 hours or frozen at this point; return to room temperature before proceeding. Divide the dough into 8 portions for 6" crusts or 2 portions for large crusts (we sometimes make 3-4 thin crust pizzas). Top with sauce, cheese and other toppings. Bake on pizza stone or cookie sheet at 450-500 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Carrie's Notes: I put the ingredients in my bread maker (dough cycle) and it turns out perfect!

Spinach Manicotti ,Divine Breadsticks and a surprise treat for me

Tonight for dinner I tortured two of my kids again and had something with ricotta in it.  I couldn't help it, I saw this recipe in December's Everyday Food and have been wanting to make it ever since.  We all loved it (except the two kids with bad taste).  It was quick, easy and I loved that no one had anything bad to say about the spinach!!  I made the regretfully named Divine Breadsticks to go with.  Please look past the stupid name and try them - they are so easy and yummy.  I started the breadsticks at 5, started the manicotti while they were rising and put breadsticks in the oven with the manicotti for the last 20 minutes.  We were eating by 6:30.  Which is early for us.  I don't understand why, but ever since we moved to Utah I've been serving dinner at 7ish.  I used to have it ready by 5 or 6.   Anyhoo, I digress.  There was some excitement during tonight's meal.  All of a sudden one of the boys started screaming.  I immediately thought "Great.  He noticed the spinach."  which in retrospect was ridiculous because he was SCREAMING.  Even spinach wouldn't get a kid to scream like that.  He triumphantly pumped his fist up holding out a bloody tooth to me.  You know, kiddo, I'm excited that you finally got that stubborn tooth out after a month of it being loose, but come on!!  You gave me a bloody tooth at dinner.  Really?  We moms really live fancy lives don't we?




Spinach Manicotti in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Recipe from Everyday Food


Ingredients:

8 manicotti shells
1 tsp. olive oil
1 container (15 oz.) part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups prepared marinara sauce
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
2 tbsp. heavy cream


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta shells according to package instructions.  Drain well and arrange in a single layer on an oiled rimmed baking sheet.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and lemon zest.  Stir in spinach and season filling to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer filling to a large zip top plastic bag so filling is in one corner.  With scissors, snip a 3/4 inch opening in corner.  Pipe filling into both ends of each pasta shell.  Arrange stuffed shells in an 8 inch square glass baking dish.
In a medium bowl, whisk together marinara sauce, oregano, and cream.  Pour sauce evenly over stuffed shells and top with 1/2 cup Parmesan.   Bake until sauce in center of dish is bubbling and Parmesan is browned in spots, about 30 minutes.  Let sit 5 minutes before serving.



Divine Breadsticks
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen


Ingredients:

1-½ cup Warm Water
1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
2 Tablespoons Sugar
3-½ cups Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
3 Tablespoons Butter, For Melting In The Pan

Directions:

Mix all ingredients (except melted butter) in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread melted butter onto an 11×17-inch baking sheet. Roll out the breadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. Twist slightly if desired and place about 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt, herbs of choice (I vary this depending on my mood, but it usually consists of rosemary, basil, or thyme in some form and crushed finely) and Parmesan cheese. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown.

Leftover Night--Bolognese Sauce for Spaghetti

Thursday night I had to actually be somewhere at 7pm, which never happens. So I took some of my homemade spaghetti sauce out the freezer for dinner. I love, love, love this spaghetti sauce for many reasons. First, it is packed with vegetables (I usually double the veggies, too, because I'm crazy like that) and even my pickiest eater (cough*my husband*cough) doesn't notice them. Second, it freezes beautifully. I always make a big batch and freeze half of it for a dinner in the future.

Favorite thing I heard during Thursday night's dinner? My 5-year-old daughter asked what her baby brother was wearing (he was wearing his new Baby Legs with a onesie) and then let out a big sigh and said, "I wish I could wear leg warmers with no pants on."

Bolognese Sauce for Spaghetti

12 oz ground beef or Italian sausage
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
¼ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped carrot
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14 ½ oz) cans tomatoes
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
2 tbsp parsley
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
½ tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. sugar
¾ cup whipping cream
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan cook beef, onion, pepper, celery, carrot and garlic till meat is brown and veggies tender. Drain fat. Carefully stir in tomatoes, paste, seasonings, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover, simmer 10-15 min., stirring occasionally. Stir in cream; heat through. Serve with spaghetti. 6 servings

Calzones - (also known as, you can't please everyone, every day)

Last week my youngest son asked me to make calzones for dinner.  I love getting requests for dinner (saves me the time trying to think of what to make!) so I was only too happy to oblige him and made them last night.  I was suddenly thrust into a familiar situation - all at once I had two ricotta haters (the same two kids who inhale lasagna like nobody's business).  My kids will change what they like and don't like from one day to the next.  The biggest problem with this is my reaction - my feelings get hurt!!   Logically, I know this isn't reasonable.  There are seven of us in our family, the odds are against me being able to make something every single one of us likes every day.  So what can I do?  I decided I'm just going to make what I want, and fulfill special requests and if somebody doesn't like it, OH WELL. 

After the pouts were over and tears were dried (oh, the injustice of a homemade calzone!!) we went on to have a great meal.  Our Sunday dinner tradition is to go around the table and have everyone explain what they learned in church that day.  Invariably, one will always claim to have forgotten already, another will always say she learned about Jesus and another one always recites his entire lesson verbatim.  The oldest shares the jokes he told while the teacher was trying to drive home a spiritual point, at which time my husband and I both will shout "Don't be THAT kid!!" but he always just laughs and we know he is already thinking of jokes to tell next week.

I love Sunday dinner.

Calzones

This entire recipe is just kind of made up.  I use a pizza crust recipe that I got somewhere ages ago and have changed around so many times it's all mine now.  The filling is just what I felt like filling it with yesterday (obviously, a HUGE mistake according to two of my kids), you could also fill it with sausage, ham, pepperoni, veggies, etc.. etc...

Dough:

2 1/4 tsp. or one packet of active dry yeast

1/2 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups warm water

3 cups all purpose flour

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water.  Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until bubbly.

Stir the salt and oil into the yeast mixture.

Mix in the 3 cups of flour.  Cover bowl with a towel and let rise for 1 hour.  Punch down the dough and let it rest for 1 minute.  Roll out into a rectangle.  I cut it into 5 wide strips which made 5 GINORMOUS calzones.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Filling:

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. parsley

1 tsp. basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in bowl.  Spoon ricotta mixture onto one side of the strip of dough.  Fold the dough over and press along all the edges to make sure the filling doesn't come out.  Brush the tops of the calzones with an egg yolk wash for color.

Bake for 25 minutes. 

I usually heat up some pizza sauce to dip the calzone into also.