Curly Italian Pasta

We had our Webster girl's Weekend this last weekend and had a blast. There are enough of us that go so we split up meal preparations. I like doing it this way because we get to try something new to add to our recipes. For dinner Friday night, Laura made this Curly Italian Pasta from a new blog she found, Missygrub.blogspot.com. It was so yummy and I liked all the tasty extras in it. It looked pretty easy and made PLENTY for all 11 of us.

Cavatappi pasta (I usually cook half the box for my family of 5)
1 package Italian Ground Sausage
1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
1/3 cup diced onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 can of Italian diced tomatoes
1-1 1/2 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh grated Parmesan and Romano Cheese (I use Sargentos shredded cheese)

Bring water to boil for noodles. Cook sausage until cooked through, drain, return to pan and add green bell pepper, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue browning meat, and cooking veggies. Add Pasta to water, and cook according to package. Add tomatoes to meat mixture, continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Then add Heavy Whipping Cream to meat mixture, low-mid heat. Drain pasta, return to pan. Add about a cup of cheese in the meat mixture and stir till combined, then add to pasta. Top with more cheese.

Baked Potato Soup

Oh this soup. So so so yummy. This recipe comes from my sister-in-law Laurie who is a FABULOUS cook. Everything she makes is a winner. I love this recipe because it is made with left over baked potatoes and everything else I seem to always have on hand. It's a keeper!

2/3 cups butter

1/3 cup flour

7 cups milk

4-5 large baked potatoes

4-8 green onions, sliced (to taste)

12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1 ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

¾ tablespoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

In a large kettle, melt butter. Stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Add potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted.

*serves 8-10 people easily. Half the recipe for 4 servings

Shepherds Pie

Brown 1 pound ground beef with onion. Mix meat with 2 large cans of vegetable beef soup in a 9 x 13-inch glass pan. Put mashed potatoes on top and top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

A super easy go-to recipe for when you can't think of anything else, such as tonight at our house. :)

Chicken Pillows

2 packages crescent rolls

Diced, cooked chicken (1 large chicken breast or 2 smaller)

8 oz cream cheese or cream cheese w/chives

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Herb Stuffing Mix

Take 2 crescent roll triangles, seal perforations and roll out so that it makes one larger rectangle. Combine chicken and cream cheese and spoon mixture into the crescent rolls. Seal edges, dip in butter, roll in crushed Pepperidge farm herb stuffing mix. Bake at 400 for 20 min. Top with gravy. (Canned or envelope gravy mix).

*Freezer Adaptation*

Make as directed, freeze before baking. Let thaw in fridge the morning of.

Mexican Meat Cups

This is one of the recipes that was a favorite growing up. I remember always LOVING when my mom would make these. Now that I'm married, I'm glad Jake likes them just as much as I do. The meat filling makes kind of a lot for our family of 3, so I can either half the recipe or freeze the other half that we don't eat. (I love finding good freezer meals, too. :)

Ingredients:

1 can flaky refrigerator biscuits

1 cup shredded cheese

1 lb. ground beef, brown and drain

½ cup ketchup & ½ cup barbeque sauce, mixed together

1 can corn (opt.)

Place each biscuit in a muffin cup. Press dough to cover bottom and sides, forming a ½ inch rim. Put about 1 T. of cheese into each cup. Combine ground beef, ketchup-barbeque sauce mixture and corn. Spoon into biscuit. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until biscuits are deep golden brown. Cover tops with shredded cheese during the last 5 minutes.

*Freezer option: Freeze the filling separate from the biscuits. Take out the night before, or the morning of, to thaw. Then assemble and bake as normal.

Chicken Divan

4 large chicken breasts

2 packages frozen broccoli

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon curry powder

Simmer chicken until tender and cool. Cook broccoli according to directions on package and cool. Cut chicken and broccoli into serving pieces and place in a large 9x13 dish. Mix soup with mayonnaise, cheese, lemon juice and curry powder. Pour over chicken and broccoli. Cover with foil and bake 1 hour at 350 until bubbly.

Pecan Cinnamon Ring a.k.a. Sticky Buns

A Christmas tradition growing up in the Webster home, I love love love these buns!

It's a super easy recipe as you do all the prep work the night before and just get to enjoy them the next morning.

1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped pecans

18 frozen dinner rolls

1 3oz. pkg butterscotch pudding (not instant)

1/2 cup margarine

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Grease sides and bottom of bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts evenly on the bottom of the pan. Place the frozen rolls on the nuts and sprinkle the dry pudding on top. Melt the margarine and combine it with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour this mixture over the top of the rolls. Set it out overnight of for 6-8 hours. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Tip out on large platter and serve immediately.

*only set out overnight if the room isn't too warm (above 65 degrees), otherwise you'll have rolls all over the counter.