Lasagna Cups

These are super yummy and perfect for a potluck as a finger food. People can grab one or a few and have their own individual lasagna. Fyi rolling these things are not that easy so they can be very time consuming. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients:
for the sauce-

2 TBS olive oil
1/2 large onion
1/2 lb lean ground turkey or ground beef
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1- 6oz can tomato paste
1- 8oz can tomato sauce (+1/2 can water to wash out can)
1- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 TBS dried basil
1/2 TBS dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sugar
salt & pepper to taste

for the cheese filling-

1- 10oz tub Philadelphia Italian Herb & Cheese cooking cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, grated & divided
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg

21 lasagna pasta sheets

Directions:

For the pasta- Bring Large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta sheets 2 min less than package directions and drain. Place pasta on greased baking sheet until you are ready for assembly.

 Brown your Ground meat so its ready for the sauce. 

 Meanwhile for the sauce- heat olive oil over medium heat and saute onions, pepper, zucchini and garlic until tender, 5 min.

 Stir in cooked ground turkey/beef and tomato paste until well incorporated. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook 30 min. or so. (The longer it cooks the better it will taste) This will be very thick.

 For the cheese filling- Stir all ingredients together excluding half of the grated mozzarella cheese. Set Aside. 

For assembly- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 jumbo muffing tins (i just used regular ones) with squares of parchment paper. If they dont stay in on their own, thats ok the pasta will help with that. Line the edged of the muffing tins with 1 pasta sheet per cup.  pasta sheet will over lap. Spoon about 1/2 TBS of the sauce into the bottom of each cup next cut 9 pasta sheets into quarters and press one of these pieces of pasta into the bottom on top of the sauce. Top pasta sheet with a good amount of cheese mixture then sauce then cheese mixture again then sauce again then add another square piece of pasta on top of that then add more sauce and mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for 25-30 min or until everything is hot and bubbly. Serve hot. 

Baked Cheesy Penne

This was ok. I expected to have more flavor in this but it was still pretty good. ENJOY!!

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally 
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used 8 oz of button mushrooms)
• 1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (I used an italian blend that had provolone in it)
• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until juices run clear, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.  While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes).  Use a little extra olive oil if needed. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot , melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.  If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie.  If cooking, sprinkle on top. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cranberry-Avocado Salad with Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is one of my all time favorite salads and dressing ive EVER had! I think yall will enjoy this and its healthy too. I will include the recipe for the biscuits in this too. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients for the Dressing:

⅓ cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
½ teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons dried mustard
1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup white balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions for the Dressing:

For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a pint sized glass jar and shake well to dissolve sugar.

Ingredients for the Salad:

12 ounces baby spinach, arugula, field greens

1 small bunch cilantro, washed and dried, leaves removed whole from stems
2 medium avocados, peeled and halved
¾ cup dried cranberries

3/4 Almonds

Directions for the Salad:

For the salad, place greens and cilantro leaves in a large bowl. Add avocado and dried cranberries and about 1/4 cup of the dressing and toss gently. Scatter candied almonds over salad and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pass extra dressing at the table.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits:

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix

¾ cup cold whole milk
4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

for the garlic butter to spread on top 
2TBS butter
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt


Directions:
 Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

Lasagna Soup

When i saw this recipe at first i was kinda iffy about making it but i thought id try it anyways and boy oh boy was this yummy. My husband gobbled this up and even ate leftovers. Its not the healthiest thing to eat but it sure is a great comfort food :) Enjoy!!!

Directions:

2tsp. olive oil

1-1/2 lbs. italian sausage

3 cups chopped onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 TBS tomato paste

1 28 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

6 cups chicken stock 

8 oz mafalda or fusilli pasta (you can use broken up lasagna noodles as well)

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper to taste

for the cheese:

8 oz ricotta 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1/4 tsp salt 

pinch of pepper

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage. You can use ground and break it up into bite sized pieces or use a sausage link and cut into pieces before cooking. Brown for about 5 min. Add onions and cook until softened. Add garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook for about a min. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for about 3 to 4 min., or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color. Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 min. Meanwhile cook pasta till al dente. 

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt and pepper. 

Place a dollop of the cheese mixture sprinkle a little mozzarella on top and put noodles in bowl then ladle the soup on top and then top with some mozarella cheese. YUMMY

got this recipe from: http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2011/03/24/lasagna-soup/

Bruschetta Chicken

This chicken recipe is super yummy and pretty good for you too. ENJOY!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup crushed garlic croutons
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 large tomatoes
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, minced (appox. 1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper to taste


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9x13 baking dish. Place flour & beaten eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken into flour, then into eggs. Place into baking dish. Combine parmesan cheese, crushed croutons, & melted butter then sprinkle on chicken. Loosely cover with foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until top is browned and chicken is cooked through. Chop tomatoes and combine with last ingredients. Spoon mixture over chicken, and return to oven for 5-7 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through.

got this recipe from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meredithdavis/3517153046/in/pool-34955636712@N01/

Chicken Ranch Tacos

These are by far the best tacos ive ever had in my life and my family has been making tacos forever. I absolutely love tacos and ranch and crockpot cooked chicken so this is perfect!!! Its easy fast and taste delicious and its all done in the crockpot. Most of my favorite meals happen in the crock pot lol. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients:

2lbs of raw chicken breast (not frozen). 
1 packet of dry ranch dressing
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 can of chicken broth

Directions:

Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 3 hours then shred chicken and let it cook on low for another 30 min. Heat the taco shells and assemble your tacos.

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts

Some of the best stuff ive ever had omg im seriously in love with this recipe haha. Enjoy :)

Ingrediets:

4 large boneless chicken breasts
2 cups flour
4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper
3 TBS ground ginger
2 TBS ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp ground sage
2 TBS paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 eggs
8 TBS water
2 TBS olive oil
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and using a meat mallet, pound the meat to an even 1/2 inch thickness  You can also slice the breasts into halves horizontally. In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, black pepper, ginger, nutmeg, thyme, sage, paprika and cayenne pepper. In another bowl whisk together the eggs and water. Heat skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temp so the chicken does not brown to fast. I put my stove to around 4 out of 10 on the dial, or just a little under med heat. Dip the chicken in the flour then in the egg wash then again in the flour and then place in the skillet and fry 4 to 5 min per side until golden brown and crispy. Drain on a wire rack for a couple of min. before dipping the cooked breasts into the honey garlic sauce.

Honey Garlic Sauce
In a medium saucepan add the olive oil and the minced garlic. Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. 
Add the honey the soy sauce and the black pepper simmer together for 5 to 10 min remove from heat and allow to cool for a few min. Watch this carefully as it simmer because it can foam up over the pot easily.