Pasta Bolognese

This is by far one of the most delicious pasta dishes I have ever made. This is hearty and amazing! I started with Mario Batali's Ragu Bolognese recipe and changed it around a bit. You will need 2lbs of ground meat for this recipe and please, please, please don't use two pounds of 96-98% ground beef. Fat= flavor!!!  I use one pound of a meatloaf mix which is typically 85% lean and one pound of 96% lean organic ground beef.

2 Tbsp of butter
3 Tbsp of olive oil
2 stalks of celery
8-10 baby carrots
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
3/4 can of tomato paste
2 lbs of ground beef- at least one 1lb should be 85% lean
1 cup of milk
1 cup of red wine
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese, shredded-1/4 cup for sauce plus additional for serving
pinch of red pepper flakes if desired
1 lb rigatoni
1/2 cup of reserved pasta water

Put the carrots, garlic, celery and onion in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. If you don't have a food processor, finely chop veggies with a knife. In a large pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and butter. Then add the diced veggies and cook for 10-15 min or until veggies are tender. Turn heat to medium high and add 2 lbs of ground beef to the veggies. Cook the beef for 10-15 min or until brown. If there is alot of grease, drain beef. Then add wine, tomato paste, milk, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook on low for 1-1 1/2 hours. Taste the sauce and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Boil water for noodles and cook rigatoni. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooked pasta water and add 1/4-1/2 of the pasta water to the sauce to thin it out a bit. Drain the rigatoni and add to sauce. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sliders

These are incredibly easy to make and perfect for football Sundays!

4 large chicken breasts
1 bottle of Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce
Hawaiian dinner rolls
1 cup of chicken broth
Ranch or blue cheese dressing
Celery

Add chicken, 1/2 bottle of wing sauce and chicken broth to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours. Remove chicken breasts and shred chicken. In a bowl, combine chicken and remaining 1/2 bottle of sauce. Return chicken to the crockpot to warm or heat chicken in the microwave for a few minutes to warm. Serve on Hawaiian rolls with ranch or blue cheese.

Baked Spaghetti

I recently had Baked Spaghetti at an Italian resturant in downtown Naperville and it was incredible. I've never had anything quite like it. This is my attempt to re-create it and it's pretty darn good!

1lb of thin spaghetti
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1lb of ground beef
2 cups of mozerella cheese
2 cups of Italian blend cheese
16oz of cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/2 Parmesan cheese
5 Tbsp of butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Boil water and cook the pasta for 7-8 min. Drain noodles and place in a large mixing bowl. The noodles don't need to be fully cooked since the pasta will continue to bake in the oven. In a large pan, cook the ground beef, drain fat and add spaghetti sauce. Warm the sauce and set aside. Add eggs, Parmesan cheese and butter to the noodles and mix. Take tongs and place 1/2 of the noodles in the buttered 9x13 dish. Then layer with sauce, 8oz of cottage cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup of Italian blend. Repeat layers. Take a piece of aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Cover the dish and bake for 40 min. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 15-20 more minutes. Enjoy!

Party Potatoes

If you like twice baked potatoes, you will love this dish. How can you go wrong with a golden buttery crust on the outside and creamy, cheesy potatoes on the inside? I'm not a big onion fan, but chive and onion cream cheese gives the potatoes a nice flavor and isn't overpowering. Feel free to substitute with plain cream cheese.

6-7 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 container of chive and onion cream cheese
2 Tbsp of butter
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of hot milk
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes or until fork tender. While potatoes are boiling, preheat oven to 350.  Drain and mash potatoes. Add remaining ingredients and transfer to a large bowl or mixing bowl. Beat potatoes with a mixer until fluffy.  Give potatoes a taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and add potatoes. Add an additional tablespoon of diced butter on top of the potatoes and bake 45-60 min until golden brown. Enjoy!

Easy Bruschetta

I love bruschetta. I probably eat it at least once a week in the summer. I have fresh basil and tomatoes in my garden which makes this an easy dish to make. You can either used canned diced tomatoes or fresh plum tomatoes. This is delicious by itself or topped with cheese. Goat cheese, Parmesan and Mozzarella all work well in this appetizer.

1 can of diced tomatoes, drained, Italian seasoned if available or 5 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
6-8 basil leaves, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 Tbsp of Balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
sliced and toasted baguette
Goat cheese, Parmesan or Mozzarella-optional

Drain tomatoes and place in a medium sized bowl.  Add remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit at room temperature for an hour and serve on toasted baguette

Tater Tot Casserole

MMMM. Look at that-potatoes and gooey melted cheese. How can you go wrong?

I love casseroles because they are so easy to make and always a hit with my kids.

I use McCormick Steak Seasoning anytime I use ground beef in a recipe.

It gives the meat a nice flavor without being overpowering.

Be sure to completely defrost the tater tots before you assemble the casserole.

1-1 1/2 lbs of ground beef

2 cans of Campbells Golden Mushroom soup

8oz of sour cream

McCormick Steak Seasoning

1 package of tater tots or tater tot crowns-defrosted

Cheese-1-2 cups of shredded or 5 slices of American Cheese torn up

Preheat oven to 350. Cook the ground beef in a large pan and add a few sprinkles of the McCormick Steak Seasoning as it cooks. Drain grease from beef if necessary. Give the cooked beef a taste and add more steak seasoning if you wish. Add the soup and sour cream to the beef and cook over medium heat for a few minutes until the mixture is warmed through. In a 9x13 pan, layer the beef mixture, 1/2 of the tater tots, cheese and then repeat layers. Bake for 30-40 min and enjoy!

To defrost the tater tots- defrost in the fridge 24 hours before making the dish or thaw in the microwave before preparing dish

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is one of those dishes that I wait to make until the kids go to bed. It takes some time to prepare so have a glass or two of wine and enjoy it!  If you can get the veggies and chicken prepped earlier, it will save you some time. This dish freezes well too. You can make this dish as mild or spicy as you like. This definitely has a bit of a kick so I would add a little seasoning, give it a taste and adjust. Sun dried tomatoes are available in the produce section. I soak them in oil about a hour before making this recipe. They do sell sun dried tomatoes in oil but they are much pricier then soaking then on your own.

1 1/2 red or green peppers, or a combination of the two
3-4 large chicken breasts, thinly sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 small red onion
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 of a 3.5 oz bag of sun dried tomatoes, julienned if possible
2/3 box of fettuccine
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of white wine
Cajun seasoning
butter
olive oil
Parmesan cheese, shredded
salt and pepper

Boil water for fettuccine and cook noodles for 11 min. Thinly slice the peppers and onion. Chop garlic-one clove for the veggies and the other for the chicken. Thinly slice the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces. Place a pan on medium heat and add 1tbsp of oil and 1/2 tbsp of butter. Add veggies and one clove of garlic. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender. Add 1/4 tsp of Cajun seasoning to the veggies as they cook. Remove veggies from the pan with a  slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Return the pan to medium heat and add 1Tbsp of oil and 1/2 Tbsp of butter. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 tsp of Cajun seasoning and add to the pan. Add an additional 1/2 tsp of Cajun seasoning to the pan as it cooks. Cook chicken for 5-7 min or until cooked. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Get a whisk and return the pan to medium heat. Add the white wine and use the whisk to get all of the brown goodness off the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce for about 2-3 min. Add the heavy cream and continue to whisk the wine and cream together. Let the cream sauce reduce my half. Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese to the sauce. While the cream sauce is reducing, add 1/2 tsp of Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper to the sauce and give it a taste. Add additional Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the sun dried tomatoes from the oil. Once the sauce reduces, add the tomatoes, veggies and chicken. Drain noodles and add them to the sauce. Sauce will thicken as it stands. Serve and enjoy! Top pasta with additional Parmesan cheese