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.

Panna Cotta

Last night's dessert was DELICIOUS!  My husband and I had panna cotta for the first time a few months ago and I have been wanting to make it ever since.  The recipe only made 6 ramekins, but I didn't double it because I was almost sure my kids wouldn't even want to try it.  (Was I sure, or was I hoping?)  Three of them decided they wanted to try it so I divided one ramekin into thirds (yes, I am THAT greedy) telling them, "I know you will hate this, I am sick that it is getting wasted."  Well, they inhaled it and pronounced, "This tastes like wiggly vanilla ice cream!!!  More! More! More!"  So, being greedy, I divided another one into thirds!!!  I know!!  But in my defense, I had made a backup pan of brownies that they had all already eaten one of, so really, I was just limiting their sugar intake. (wink).  One of my boys spent about an hour thinking of all the different things we could do to panna cotta ("lemon flavored, chocolate sauce, oh, I know Mom, BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE!") so I know that they really did love it and weren't just being silly.  This is easy and delicious, it's a perfect summertime dessert.

Panna Cotta
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1/3 cup skim milk (I used 1%)

1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin

2 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used half whipping cream and half half and half, that's what I had)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.

In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, watching carefully, as the cream will quickly rise to the top of the pan. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual ramekin dishes.

Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before serving.

Serve with fresh berries, chocolate sauce, use your imagination!

Overnight Sausage Casserole

Overnight Sausage Casserole
Recipe from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

6-8 slices white bread
Softened butter for bread
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 oz. pork sausage browned
1 (4 oz.) can green chiles
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Directions:

Remove crusts from bread and butter on one side.  Place bread, buttered side down, in a 9 X 13 baking dish.  Sprinkle cheese over bread.  Sprinkle sausage over cheese, then top with green chiles.
Whisk the eggs, add milk and seasonings and combine.
Slowly keep stirring while pouring over casserole.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 50 to 60 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes, then serve.

Irish Potato Candy and Champ

So one of my kids announced to me one night "Oh yeah, I have a report on Ireland I'm doing tomorrow and I'm supposed to bring food for it."  Really?  Thanks kid.  I scrambled to find Irish recipes I had the ingredients for and settled on Champ (basically mashed potatoes) and Irish Potato Candy.  The candy has no potato in it, it just looks like a potato.  I was pretty proud of the suckers, they looked so authentic!!  They were delicious, I loved them.  It was funny watching the kids in my son's class decide if they were going to be brave enough to try them though.


Irish Potato Candy
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into balls or potato shapes, and roll in the cinnamon. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color.

*  I followed the suggestions of some of the reviews and rolled it in a mixture of 1 tbsp. cinnamon and 1 tbsp. cocoa powder.  I only rolled it once, since some of the reviews said it had too strong of a flavor if rolled twice.

Champ

Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and halved

1 cup milk

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 cup butter

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Place potatoes into large pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain well. Return to very low heat and allow the potatoes to dry out for a few minutes. (It helps if you place a clean dish towel over the potatoes to absorb any remaining moisture.)

Meanwhile, heat the milk and green onions gently in a saucepan, until warm.

Mash the potatoes, salt and butter together until smooth. Stir in the milk and green onion until evenly mixed. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve piping hot in bowls. Set out some extra butter for individuals to add to their servings.

* The only thing I did differently in this one is I used only about 1/4 bunch of green onions.  I was pretty sure the kids would freak out if I used the whole bunch.

Sweet Pork

My kids love it when I make this Sweet Pork.  They know it means they can make whatever they want with it; one had nachos, another a burrito, a couple had stuffed quesadillas and I made myself a big salad with it!  They love having a choice, and frankly, I just love the sweet pork!!  I've tried a lot of recipes for it and this recipe is what I've ended up with after mixing a whole bunch of recipe ideas together.


Sweet Pork

Ingredients:

4 lb. pork roast
2 tbsp. canola oil
32 oz. can Macayo's enchilada sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup Coke

Directions:

Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Sear the roast on all sides until golden brown.

Combine the enchilada sauce, brown sugar and Coke in a slow cooker.  Add the pork, cover and cook on low for 7 hours (I've done it 4 hours on high too).

Remove the pork and shred.  Put back in the slow cooker and stir to combine with the sauce.

Serve on salads, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, tacos, whatever you can think up!!!

Three Cheese Beef and Ziti

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet, I make it ALL THE TIME.  I found the recipe in a random cookbook my Grandpa gave me right after I got married, so, that was pretty much just a few years ago.  No?  Almost 20 years ago?  What the?  Anyway, I started calling it Fake Lasagna after awhile, because that usually got a more favorable response than the actual recipe name.  Please feel free to call it ANY NAME YOU WANT!!!  I was super nice to my kids with no taste (you know who you are!), and only put ricotta cheese on half of it.  You two are spoiled.

There is a reason why this is on my regular recipe rotation, this is fast and yummy!!


Three Cheese Beef and Ziti
Recipe from some old Reader's Digest Cookbook from five, twenty years ago.

Ingredients:

8 oz. ziti, macaroni, or other small pasta
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (of course I don't add this, are you kidding?)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
10 oz. frozen french style green beans, or whatever kind you like, partially thawed
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Boil the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, saute the beef and onion(bleh) in a large skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently to break up any clumps, until the beef is browned - about 5 minutes.  Drain off the excess fat.  Stir in the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.  Add the green beans, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

*** Let me just take a second to confess that I don't ALWAYS add the green beans.  I would love for them to be in it, but I get a lot of complaints when I do, and sometimes, I just don't want to deal with that.

Stir in the cooked ziti, then place large spoonfuls of the ricotta on top but not touching.  Sprinkle the mozzarella in between.  Cover and cook just until the mozzarella melts and the ziti and beans are heated through - about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

My youngest son recently had a birthday, and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted me to make he replied, "a plain, white one".  I was surprised at how hard of a time I had finding a "plain, white cake" that I wanted to make!  I finally saw this recipe and was glad I did, I have wanted to make one of these for years and this was the perfect opportunity.  This makes a very sweet cake, but that is fine for special occasions I think.

White Texas Sheet Cake
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup water

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup butter or margarine and water to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, 1 teaspoon almond extract, salt, and baking soda until smooth. Pour batter into a greased 10 x 15 x 1 inch baking pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 22 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and tests done. Cool for 20 minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup butter or margarine and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Mix in sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Stir in walnuts. Spread frosting over warm cake.