Cheesy Stuffed Shells

Tonight's recipe was a lot easier than the last one. It came from (of course) the Kraft Food and Family magazine. Usually when I see italian meals with something stuffed it takes forever or it's just complicated to make. But this was a breeze. No meat in this recipe just some spinach and cheese. I added a can of mushrooms since Aiden is a huge fan of mushrooms and I know I can get him to eat longer if they're in there. Otherwise, I just made the recipe as is. I give it a 5!

1 container (16 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Low Fat Cottage Cheese
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked, drained
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 large tomato, chopped

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Mix cottage cheese, spinach, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning until well blended. Spoon 1 heaping Tbsp. of the cheese mixture evenly into each pasta shell.

COMBINE spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; spoon half of the sauce mixture into 13x9-inch baking dish. Place shells, filled sides up, in baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce mixture over shells. Cover with foil.

BAKE 25 min. or until heated through. Uncover; top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, an additional 2 min. or until cheese is melted.

Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I have officially become a magazine mom. I subscribed to Family Fun magazine and just love it. That is where last night's recipe came from. I looked at it last week before I needed to go grocery shopping because there were things in this recipe that I have never bought before but have always wanted to cook with like tomatillos. Some of the mexican restaurants around here have great salads with this tomatillo ranch dressing that is amazing! If I find a good recipe for it I'll let you know. Anyway this was an amazing dish! We just had leftovers for lunch and there is only one enchilada left so you know this was good. Tim raved about all night! That always makes you feel good. Even Aiden gobbled it down. I do have to say that this wasn't an easy recipe meaning it took longer than my normal 30 minute meals since you have to prepare the sauce and then the enchiladas. But it was worth it. This recipe is a lot easier if you own a food processor of some sort or a blender. I give this recipe a 5!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

For the Sauce:
2 pounds tomatillos
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped white onion
1/3 cup chopped cilantro, lightly packed
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies, drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream

For the Enchiladas:
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas (I used burrito size flour tortillas)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. To make the sauce, husk the tomatillos, and rinse them under warm water to remove any stickiness and dirt. Broil the tomatillos on a foil-lined baking sheet 1-2 inches from the heat, turning them once, until they are softened and slightly charred, about 7-9 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the white onions and saute until golden brown about 5 minutes.

3. Transfer the tomatillos to a blender and add the sauteed onions, cilantro, green chilies, cumin, sugar, and salt and puree until smooth.

4. Return the tomatillo sauce to the skillet and cook it over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Add the broth and cream and continue cooking until the sauce is slightly thickened and not watery, about 5-8 minutes. Add more salt if desired. (This sauce has more of a sweet taste to it).

(I skipped this next step since I used flour tortillas instead of corn)
5. To make th eenchiladas, brush both sides of the tortillas lightly with oil and lay them on a cookie sheet in stacks of two. Heat them in a 375 oven just until they're soft and pliable, about 3 minutes.

6. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, half of the cheddar, half of the monterey jack, the chopped onion, and the salt. Add 1/2 cup of the sauce to the chicken mixture and toss to combine.

7. Spread a third of the remaining sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 inch baking dish. Place 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the other tortillas. Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the casserole.

8. Bake the casserole at 375 until the enchiladas are heated through and the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown, about 20-30 minutes. Severs 6-8 people.

Creamy Lemon Squares

Since I've gone through all the dinner recipes I wanted to use from this issue of Kraft Food and Family, I decided to make some of the desserts from it. I was craving sugar like mad since I had to sort of fast for some physical...so I made a dessert to take my mind off food. Sounds nuts right? Well it helped a little because I knew I'd be able to eat it later. So anyway, I love lemon bars (especially from a box) but when I saw this recipe and saw that I had all the ingredients on hand I decided to give it a try. It was great! Never have I had lemon bars come out so good! I definitely give this dessert a 5!

20 Reduced Fat NILLA Wafers, finely crushed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold margarine
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. grated lemon peel, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder
2 tsp. powdered sugar

PREHEAT oven to 350ºF. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan; set aside. Combine wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour and the brown sugar in medium bowl. Cut in margarine with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.

MEANWHILE, beat Neufchatel cheese and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and 2 Tbsp. flour; mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp. lemon peel, lemon juice and baking powder; pour over crust.

BAKE 25 to 28 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. grated lemon peel just before cutting into squares to serve. Store leftover squares in
refrigerator.

All in one pot saucy pasta

That's quite a long name for quite a tasty dish. Tonight's meal came from the Kraft Foods website (I already exhausted the dinner recipes from the magazine). And I finally got to use my brand new pan! It turned out great and my pan was fantastic (although I did have to use a cookie sheet as a lid). There were plenty of leftovers, not because we didn't like it but because the one pot meals usually make a ton of food! Aiden liked it because it had mushrooms in it and then decided the wall needed a new coat of paint....spaghetti sauce red. Nice... I give this recipe a 4.5!

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked (any pasta would work here)
3-1/2 cups water
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce (about 3 cups)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped red peppers
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

BROWN meat large deep skillet; drain. Add onions; cook until tender.

ADD pasta, water and spaghetti sauce. Bring to boil; cover Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 min., stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and red peppers; cook 5 min.

SPRINKLE with cheese.

Crustless Bacon and Cheese Quiche

Tonight's meal was again from the Kraft Food and Family magazine, Spring 2007 issue. I have always loved breakfast foods for any time of day....I'm weird like that...but Tim doesn't like to eat pancakes, waffles or french toast for any time other than breakfast. So I compromise by making things with eggs so I can get my breakfast fix whenever I want....maybe it's the pregnancy. Anyway, this quiche was great! My tweaks: I don't ever buy green onions so I never have them on hand. I just sprinkled the mushrooms with onion powder while I cooked them. I also added 1 can of diced green chiles for a little more flavor. Again, Aiden just picked out the mushrooms and got one bite of eggs in there but Tim and I ate to our hearts content...ok so maybe just Tim did. It was a great dish though for any meal. I give this recipe a 4.5!

1 cup sliced green onions (about 5 medium)
1 cup chopped tomatoes (about 1 medium)
12 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (4 oz.)
12 eggs
1/3 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 325ºF. Reserve 2 Tbsp. each onions and tomatoes; set aside. Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to paper towel-covered plate, reserving 1 Tbsp. of the bacon drippings in skillet. Add mushrooms to skillet; cook and stir 2 min. or until tender. Remove from heat. Chop bacon. Add to mushrooms along with the onions and tomatoes; mix well.

BEAT eggs and sour cream with wire whisk until well blended. Pour into greased 13x9-inch baking dish; top with bacon mixture and cheeses.

BAKE 30 min. or until center is set. Sprinkle with reserved onions and tomatoes. Let stand 5 min. before cutting into pieces to serve.

Lemon Shrimp Pasta Salad

Tonight's meal came from the Kraft Food and Family magazine, Spring 2007 issue. I of course tweaked it a bit to my liking but it turned out great and had amazing flavor. Now I think this is supposed to be served lukewarm to cold (like most pasta salads) but I really wanted something hot for dinner so I thawed my frozen shrimp in a collander and when it was time to drain the noodles and asparagus, I drained them over the cold thawed shrimp, thus making everything warm and toasty! The cheese melted into it too making it extra good. The only thing that wasn't cooked or warmed were the tomatoes that were mixed in after. The only downside is that Aiden wouldn't eat more that 3 noodles out of it....too much flavor for him I guess. Tim and I loved it though and there were plenty of leftovers to go around. I give this recipe a 4.5!

3 cups (8 oz.) farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked (I used garden rotini)
1 lb. fresh asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 lb. cooked large shrimp (20 to 25 count) (I used a lb. of the small shrimp)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (I used regular tomatoes)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Natural 2% Milk Reduced Fat Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese Crumbles (I used regular shredded cheese)

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding asparagus to the cooking water for the last 3 min. of the pasta cooking time; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well.

MEANWHILE, mix dressing, oregano and lemon peel.

PLACE pasta mixture in large bowl. Add dressing mixture, shrimp, tomatoes and cheese; mix lightly. Serve immediately. Or, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

A new toy!

I wasn't sure which blog to post this to but then I realized, if you're like me and you love the all-in-one pot meals, then you'll definitely appreciate my latest find. I am all about never paying full price if I don't have to, which is why I frequent stores like TJ Maxx and Ross dress for less. What I love is that these stores are like Walmart (they have everything) but cheaper if you can imagine it. So a couple weeks ago I had my eye on a 12" deep skillet. I've been wanting one ever since I discovered the all-in-one pot recipes, however, my 12" skillet isn't deep enough and the food always slops over the sides. Thus started my search for a deep skillet. And I found it at Ross. Everytime I went to the store after I found it I would walk down that aisle and it would be there waiting for me to buy it. And today....I finally broke down and bought it! Not too shabby for $14! It's a non-stick Farberware 12" deep skillet and I can't wait to use it! The recipe I made tonight I thought was an all-in-one pot recipe but it turned out not to be so I have to try out my new skillet another night. But would you look at this beauty!