Cheesy Taco Pasta

One of the foods that does not enter our home is Hamburger Helper, I know we have tons of food that is just as bad but hey, we all have our line that we don't cross, lol. It's one of those meals that just seems silly to pay extra for when you still have to fry up some beef, you probably have pasta in the kitchen anyway so all you need are some spices. But sometimes you find yourself in a time crunch or life gets in the way and you need something that's easy. This reminds me a lot of a Hamburger Helper type of meal.

And by making this yourself you control how much of everything (especially the sodium) you're putting in! This recipe comes from a fellow blogger; Lauren's Latest and was a hit in our home. It's not a gourmet meal but some days you're just happy to have something on the table that everyone eats. We had this with garlic bread and salad which was a nice compliment.

Kielki

This is one of those dishes that most Mennonites grow up with, it will vary depending on what region you're from but this is how we make ours. I made my own wide eggs noodles for this but you could also buy them, but I find making your own gives you a little more control and you could substitute whole wheat flour to make them healthier.

We normally eat this with cooked bacon, but I still had sausage in the freezer so I went with that. I like to cut the sausage into small but size pieces and than pan fry them in a cast iron pan until done. With bacon we just serve it on the side.

Pasta:
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp cream

Knead the dough until you have a nice smooth elastic dough and prepare according to your pasta machine instructions. Cook in boiling salted water for about 3-5 minutes.

Cream Gravy:
1 Tbsp oil, butter or drippings
1 small onion, chopped
Pan fry this until onion turns a nice brown colour.

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 tbsp Bisto traditional gravy powder (brown)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix together and stir into the fried onion. Bring to a boil, constantly stirring until thickened (the amount of Bisto specified is an estimate so you might have to adjust to get a thickened gravy). Spoon this over your cooked pasta. Serve with Mennonite sausage or cooked bacon.

Notes: Most people I know that serve this will serve the fried onions on the side, but I find doing it this way saves me a step and since you're topping your pasta with the fried onions anyway, why not just add it to the sauce and have less hassle. (And it's one less dish to clean!)

I started using the Bisto gravy powder to thicken my sauce and flavour it at the same time after a friend suggested it to me, this is always how I make my cream gravy now. The other method is to use Knorr gravy browner and cornstarch.

I also use half milk, half cream instead of the traditional 100% cream. I like to save calories where you can and just the thought of using so much cream makes my hips cringe, lol.

Have a great day!
Tina

Lasagna Casserole

I love lasagna but I hate the preparation, so this casserole is right up my alley. You can make this any way that your family typically likes lasagna. We don't like cottage cheese so we don't add that but you most certainly could.

Lasagna Casserole
2 cups uncooked pasta, I use elbow
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 can tomato soup
1/2 jar pasta sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, fry up the ground beef with the onion, chopped green pepper and chopped tomato. Once your meat is cooked add the remaining ingredients and let this simmer until it is a somewhat thicker consistency. Now stir in the cooked pasta, and cover with cheese. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.


Serve this with garlic toast and a salad and you have a great meal! And less prep work then your usual lasagna.


Enjoy!
Tina

Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

My husband and I go out to eat far to often. Ever since my firstborn there hasn't been a week that we didn't go out or take something home (usually alot more than just once a week). She's almost two now! WOW, how time flies! I'm trying to get in the mindset of thinking ahead so that I can make more meals at home. Sometimes I do pretty good other times I end up not cooking alot. Tonight I was seriouly considering going out again but I overcame and had a very good supper to show for it! I found this one at All Recipes. Ilove it and will be making it again.

Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

MEATBALLS
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

SAUCE
3/4 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve.

Enjoy, Erna

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

I found this spaghetti recipe years ago when our church affiliation came out with a cookbook. It's been a super hit in our household. I get great reviews everytime I make it. We even used this recipe once for a fundraiser and people loved it!



Italian Spaghetti and Meat Sauce


1 green pepper, chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 lg. jar spaghetti sauce
1 can italian tomato sauce
2 cans tomato soup
1/2 cup grated cheese (I use mozzerella)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp sweet basil
2 lbs ground beef, cooked


Simmer all of the above ingredients except meat for 1 1/2 hours. Add hamburger meat and summer for another 30 minutes. Serve over spaghetti. (I use whole wheat pasta) Serve with garlic toast and parmesan cheese.

Tina

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Good morning, so here's my first recipe post. I found this recipe on All Recipes and with all the great reviews it had, I decided it was a must to try. The recipe calls for cooking the breasts whole but I prefer smaller slices so I changed that, I also used 1/2 c cream and 1/2 c milk instead of the full cup of cream the recipe orginally calls for, gotta try and save calories where you can!

I find this recipe looks really nice when prepared and would definitely serve this to guests. A keeper for sure.



Cajun Chicken Pasta

4 ounces linguine pasta, cooked
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced
2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
2 tbsp butter
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 fresh mushorooms, sliced
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
black papper

Directions:
Place the sliced chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bag and shake to coat. In large skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken in the butter until cooked.

Add the bell peppers, mushrooms and green onion. Stir fry for a few minutes, reduce heat.

Add cream, milk, basil, lemon juice from the half lemon, salt, garlic pwd, and black pepper. Heat through.

Arrange linguine on serving plate and top with the cajun chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

The orginal recipe called for 2 chicken breast halves, but I used two whole chicken breasts and kept the remaining quantities the same. This would serve about 3 good sized adult portions.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!
Tina