Garlic Ground Beef & Spinach with Cheese Tortellini

This is a super easy weeknight meal (less than 30 minutes) and was a big hit with the entire family! This is not a heavy creamy dish. There will be a little beef broth in dish if you're serving right away but by next day, that pasta will have soaked it up and it will still be great. I imagine this would be amazing with a little cream cheese added to sauce to thicken. But it's good as is and less rich. If you use refrigerated tortellini then add it to simmering sauce until it cooks through.

1 lb (450g) ground beef

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 package (20 oz) frozen cheese tortellini

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional) or dried

 

Cook the tortellini according to the package instructions. Once done, drain the pasta & save about a cup of the cooking water.  While tortellini cooks, brown the beef, breaking it apart with your spatula as it cooks. Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes & garlic. Stir for a minute. Pour in the broth and pasta water. Let the mixture come to a gentle simmer. Add butter & stir. Add in spinach, parmesan cheese & parsley.  Serve.

Chicken Caesar Croissandwich

I love homemade but choose the Just Bare chicken for this because they are just so good & cuts down on time, making this an easy weeknight meal! These sandwiches are awesome & take you to flavor town. 

1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp anchovy paste
Lemon
1/2 c mayo
1/2 tsp dijon
1/4 tsp Worcestershire
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 c shredded parmesan
Romaine lettuce, cut into strips

4 croissants

4 lightly breaded chicken breast fillets by Just Bare

Butter (optional)

Garlic Powder (optional)

Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Parsley (optional)

To a large bowl, add 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tsp anchovy paste &  juice of 1/2 lemon. Mix & let sit for 5 minutes. Add in 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 tsp dijon, 1/4 tsp worcestershire, 1/2 tsp pepper & whisk together. Then add in 1/2 cup shredded parmesan and mix well. 

Air fry chicken breast fillets until done. While they're cooking, slice croissants but not all the way through. I like to melt a little butter with garlic powder to smear on top of each croissant. Then sprinkle a little shredded parm cheese & parsley, pressing into the top. This makes them prettier. Warm through for just a minute or 2 once chicken is done.

Grab your reserved dressing from step 1, add in thinly shredded lettuce & toss.

Place lettuce mixture on bottom half of croissant, top with chicken, then more lettuce.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I made so many changes to the original recipe, this is now mine. The original called for cooking the chicken with the peppers & onions then adding the pasta until it’s cooked through, about 15 min. I don’t like to cook my protein and veggies together so I did it a bit differently. I also cooked my pasta first and set it aside. Double the garlic, added a bit more Cajun seasoning and added red pepper flakes as well as Parmesan cheese which was not in original at all. This was excellent and a keeper per the fam! 

 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4), cut into 1-inch pieces
3-4 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded & cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded & cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
12 ounces penne pasta
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes Italian style

6 ounces cream cheese, cubed, at room temperature
Parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup
4 scallions, sliced, for serving

 

Season chicken thigh pieces with 2 tsp Cajun seasoning. Leave 1 tsp aside. Let chicken come to room temp for ½ hour while prepping everything else. Heat 1 tblsp oil in large wide pan over medium-high heat. Add the peppers & onions and cook until they just begin to release some of their juices, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic &  cook until softened, 1 minute. If you like softer veggies, cook longer and deglaze pan with a little if needed. Set aside on a plate. In same pan, heat 1 tblsp oil. Add the chicken & cook, browning on each side about 4 minutes total. Add veggies back in, along with chicken broth & tomatoes. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and reduced a bit, about 15 minutes. Mine was still pretty thin at this point so I added in the cream cheese and lowered to a simmer. Once cream cheese was melted, I added in the rest of the cajun seasoning (taste to see if you need to add more), cooked pasta & Parmesan. Take it off heat & let it sit. This thickened up nicely.

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

Found here, this is definitely in the top 3 desserts I have ever made. The first time, I only greased the pan with Pam spray like the recipe suggested but it wasn’t enough so the cake stuck & broke apart. It was so moist I was able to push it back together & disguise the mistake with the lemon glaze. No one knew or cared it was so dang good. Second time, I greased it with butter then sprinkled flour all over. Perfection. The picture doesn’t show too much glaze as I was light handed. Next time, I will be more liberal with it. It’s a must to follow the instructions completely, leaving the certain ingredients at room temp where noted. I used fresh blueberries. I also measure my flour in grams with a scale to ensure accuracy but it’s not necessary if you measure it properly and not pack it down. I also used lemon extract instead of zest because I just didn’t feel like zesting however many lemons to get 2 tblsp. I will continue to do so.

2 cups (300 grams fresh) blueberries + 1 tablespoon (8 grams) all-purpose flour

2 and ¾ cups (345 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar

4 large eggs room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

⅓ cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon zest (I used lemon extract)

¼ cup (60 ml) canola or vegetable oil

1 cup (230 grams) full fat sour cream, room temperature

For the lemon glaze:

1 cup (120 grams) confectioners sugar

2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) fresh lemon juice, use as needed

 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Add the blueberries and 1 tablespoon of flour to a mixing bowl and toss together until all of the blueberries are coated with the flour. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter & sugar for about 4-5 minutes until light & fluffy. Mix in the eggs one a time until well combined, then mix in the vanilla. Slowly mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest & oil. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients on low speed. Mix in each addition until just combined, making sure not to over mix the batter. 

There will be quite a bit of batter, so I suggest using a rubber spatula to turn the batter a few times to make sure everything is well combined. Then add the blueberries &  gently fold them into the batter until just combined. Grease & flour the bundt pan. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan & evenly spread it around. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if needed for the last 5-10 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning. Remove from the oven & cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then invert the cake onto the wire rack to finish cooling.

For the glaze, in a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar & lemon juice until well combined and no lumps remain. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more lemon juice. If the glaze is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar to thicken it up. Pour the glaze on top of the bundt cake and allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes so the glaze can harden.

Chicken Fajita Casserole

This was a nice simple dish to make during the weekday. The recipe from here said to toss the tortillas into the mixture (I used flour instead of corn). Because I wanted a more nacho feel, I did toss a little into the mixture but then purposely tucked most of them in through the top of the casserole with the tops sticking out to get nice & crisp. If you want more of a casserole then toss the mixture very well. As for the chicken, I pan seared them in a little vegetable oil until nice & brown. Use the same pan for the veggies for max flavor.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large red bell pepper, sliced

• 1 large yellow bell pepper, sliced

• 1 medium onion, halved and sliced

• 4 teaspoons chili powder

• 2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 ¼ teaspoons garlic powder

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper

• 2 ½ cups sliced cooked skinless, chicken thighs

• 1 tablespoon lime juice

• 6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, halved and cut into large pieces

• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add red and yellow peppers and onion; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside 1 teaspoon spice mixture and sprinkle the remaining spices over the vegetables. Continue cooking and stirring until softened, about 4 minutes more.

3. Combine cooked chicken and the reserved spice mix in a medium bowl; add to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until the chicken is warmed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Gently stir in tortilla strips. Sprinkle with cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake until the casserole is hot and the cheese is melted, 15 minutes. Broil for 1 minute. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with sour cream and hot sauce.

   
   

   
   
   
   

Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake

I found this recipe on beyondthechickencoop.com and made some minor adjustments. The homemade pepper jack cheese sauce makes this a keeper and it’s flexible so add whatever you do like or take away anything you don’t. I doubled the garlic which is already reflected below. And I marinated my chicken in Italian seasonings, onion & garlic powder, lemon and olive oil for 30 min before grilling or sauteing in  a pan. I also added mushrooms but may not always for the mushroom haters. I didn’t bake it for the 20-30 minutes since everything was cooked through, just added a little parm & mozz on top then broiled. 

 

8 ounces penne pasta (whole wheat penne worked nicely too)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons flour

2-3 clove garlic minced (this is doubled from original recipe)

2 cups milk whole milk (Used 1 or 2% which is fine)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes

⅛ teaspoon Italian seasoning

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded, about 2 cups (can add mozzarella too)

¼ cup Parmesan cheese shredded

1 cup Mozzarella (if using in the mixture and on top like I did)

2 cups cooked chicken chopped (breasts or thighs work well)

1 cup canned diced tomatoes 15 oz can, drained

Topping

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley chopped, optional

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. In a sauce pan over medium heat combine oil and flour. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Whisk in milk. Continue cooking over medium low heat, stirring often. Add seasoning. When milk begins to simmer, it will begin to thicken. Do not boil. Turn heat off and whisk in Monterey Jack cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Fold in tomatoes and chicken gently. Add cooked and drained pasta and fold gently until covered with cheese sauce. Spray a 2 quart (8x11") casserole dish with a non-stick spray. Add pasta mixture. Top with remaining ¼ cup Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Bake uncovered in a preheated 400° oven for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Add chopped parsley before serving.

Mississippi Pot Roast

This recipe is all over the net but I found it here specifically. I followed exactly except I did not have pepperoncini on hand & used banana peppers instead. It was absolutely outstanding. Since I didn't have 8 hours to spare before dinner, I started out on high for a few hours then reduced to low for the last couple. But next time, I will go low and slow all the way. There was no way to improve on this recipe and was the most flavorful roast I ever had. Served with mashed taters.

1 (3-4 pounds) chuck roast
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet au jus gravy mix
1/4 cup butter
4-5 pepperoncini peppers
 
Place roast in the slow cooker and sprinkle the top with the ranch dressing mix and the au jus mix. Place peppers on top of the mixes, and add the butter. Cook over low heat for 8 hours. Serve with noodles, rice or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Do not add any water or broth to this! It will make enough liquid as it cooks. This tastes delicious with potatoes and carrots! I like to add a few quartered russet potatoes and a large handful of baby carrots to the crockpot when there is about 1-2 hours left of cooking time.