Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake

Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake

 

Prep time  20 mins

Cook time  30 mins

Total time  50 mins

 

Author: The Cooking Jar

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 16 oz. penne/ziti/rigatoni pasta
• 2 cups Alfredo sauce
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 3 cups poached/grilled/rotisserie chicken, cubed
• 15 oz. ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

 

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta till just before al dente
2. Drain and rinse pasta under cold water to stop the cooking process
3. If you're making Alfredo sauce from scratch, see notes
4. Mix pasta with the Alfredo sauce, sour cream and chicken
5. Combine ricotta, garlic, eggs, Parmesan and parsley and mix throughly
6. Season the pasta mix with salt and pepper to taste
7. Add the ricotta mixture to the pasta and stir to combine
8. Top with a thick layer of mozzarella cheese
9. Bake in a 9x13 casserole dish at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until bubbly
10. Broil at 450 degrees F for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown
11. Serve hot

Notes

Alfredo sauce (2 cups):
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups Parmesan, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Over medium low heat, melt the butter and pour in the heavy cream. Stir to combine
Season with salt and pepper to taste
Add the Parmesan cheese in portions and stir to mix

Inspired by Plain Chicken

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

1	tablespoon instant minced onion
1	tablespoon cornstarch or use 1 tablespoon of potato starch
1 1/2	teaspoons salt
1	teaspoon granulated sugar
1	tablespoon parsley flakes
2	teaspoons green pepper flakes
1/4	teaspoon instant minced garlic
1	teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4	teaspoon italian seasoning
1	teaspoon oregano
1/2	teaspoon basil

Notes:

Spaghetti Seasoning Mix.
Just boil the pasta, and add the meat and sauce ingredients.

www.justapinch.com

I don't use the green pepper or red pepper flakes since I use stewed tomatoes and they have green pepper in them.

Beef and Cheese Manicott

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Total Time: 55 min

Prep   15 min

Cook  40 min

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Intermediate

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 14 (8-ounce package) manicotti
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Heat a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, onion and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cool.

Brush 1 teaspoon of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.
Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and parsley. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix. Stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining sauce over.
Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, then the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Dot entire dish with the butter pieces. Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the sides of the dish, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

Andrea's Lasagne made from scratch

A) 1 lb ground beef and 1 onion chopped add a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, a 1/2 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper brown in large skillet.
Italian Seasoning is Tone's seasoning (oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary and sage)

B) Peeled fresh or frozen tomatoes pureed to equal 2 to 2.5 cups add 3 tablespoons of tapioca starch and blend well.  Pour into ground beef mixture and add 1 - 16 oz can of tomato sauce.  Simmer until thickened.  About 30 minutes to get all the seasonings to mix.

C)  Mix 1 cup cottage cheese and 1 egg salt and pepper.

D)  Using Oven Ready Lasagne Noodles layer Sauce, Noodles, Cottage Cheese Mixture, Shredded Italian Cheese or  Mozzarella Cheese, Noodles, Sauce, Shredded Italian Cheese or  Mozzarella Cheese

Bake in 9x13 pan for 30 minutes at 350.

Macroni & Cheese

• Prep Time 30 minutes
• Total Time 1 hour
• Yield Serves 8

Ingredients

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound elbow pasta
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 4 cups milk
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, (optional)
• 1 1/4 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese (5 ounces)
• 1 1/4 cups shredded white cheddar cheese (5 ounces)
• 8 ounces ham, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 slices white sandwich bread

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente; drain and reserve. Meanwhile, in a 5-quart heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in flour to coat onion. In a slow steady stream, whisk in milk until there are no lumps.
2. Cook, whisking often, until mixture is thick and bubbly and coats the back of a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in cayenne, if using, and 1 cup each yellow and white cheddar cheese. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Toss pasta with cheese mixture; fold in ham. Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or individual dishes. Set aside.
4. In a food processor, pulse bread until large crumbs form. Toss together with remaining 1/4 cup each white and yellow cheddar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Top pasta with breadcrumb mixture. Bake until top is golden, about 30 minutes.

Cook's Note

This recipe makes enough to fill eight 12-to-16-ounce baking dishes. Divide the macaroni and cheese evenly, sprinkle with topping, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.

Lasagna Roll Ups

Lasagna Roll Ups

Brown 2 lbs Hamburger
1 small chopped onion (brown with hamburger)
Then add:
1 Can Speghetti Sauce
1 can diced Tomatoes

Boil Water for Lasagna Noodles

once water is boiling add noodles I used 12 total

Large bowl Combine
1 Container Ricotta Cheese
1 Container Cottage Cheese
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper
1/2 small pkg  mozzarella
1 cup thawed spinach (optional)

Once everything is ready I put 1/2 meat mixture into the bottom of a pan, then put the noodles on my cutting board and let them dry a little and took a spatula and  spread on my cheese mixture to each noodle and rolled them up and set them on top of the meat mixture and once I finished I added the rest of my meat/sauce mixture and added the rest of the mozzarella

I added frozen Spinach to my cheese mixture, however to be honest my 7 year old hated it! But my 4 and 3 year old thought it was delicious!

This is a meal that can easily be frozen too!