The Ultimate Test

Using the Orange Puree I tested the secrets of the sneaky chef to see if it was possible to hide vegetables in Macaroni and Cheese. I of course tested this out on my 2 1/2 year old. I also added some diced ham because it was for Sunday night dinner.....don't judge me......I am pleased to say that it worked pretty well all except for that one chunk of carrot that must not have been chopped well enough but I quickly scooped it out and no one knew. The only thing I would say if you're going to just do straight up macaroni and cheese is to add a little salt. The blandness of the puree transfers to the macaroni a little. You could also add some extra shredded cheese and be fine as well. I give this recipe a 5 just for the pure sneakiness of it!

So it's not much of a recipe:

1 box of Macaroni and Cheese (follow directions on package)
1/4 cup Orange Puree
salt to taste

optional: cooked, diced meat of your choice; shredded cheese

Pesto Lasagna Rolls

This is a Taste of Home recipe I used in conjunction with the White Puree recipe. It turned out great and no one could tell there was zucchini and cauliflower in it. The recipe actually did call for some zucchini in it which is why I thought this puree would work well mixed in with the cheese mixture. So instead of the zucchini I added 1 cup of White Puree. Instead of the first 4 ingredients I just used already made pesto sauce. One other thing I added was some chicken to the cheese mixture...just to give us some meat :) Oh and I give this recipe 4.5 stars (I needed more pesto sauce).

Ingredients

2 cups Fresh basil leaves
2 cloves Garlic
1 cup(3oz) shredded Parmesan Cheese, divided
3/4 cup Olive oil
15 oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Egg, beaten
1 cup Diced zucchini
16 Lasagna noodles, cooked drained and cooled

Preparation

Prepare pesto sauce in covered blender or food processor by processing basil with garlic until chopped. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; process until well mixed. With machine running, slowly add oil and coninue processing until smooth. Set aside. In medium bowl, combine ricotta and mozzarella cheese, remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and egg; blend well. Fold in zucchini (or fold in White Puree).

Spread 2 heaping Tablespoons cheese mixture on each lasagna noodle.
Roll up each noodle length wise and stand vertically in greased 11x7-inch baking
dish. Pour pesto sauce over lasagna rolls; cover and bake in preheated 350* F.
oven 40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

.

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

For all of you who have leftover pumpkin after the Thanksgiving holidays, I thought I'd share this recipe I found from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute meals cookbook. We all loved it! The leftovers were gone in 2 days! It sounded weird at first but I thought I'd try it out and was very pleased! I went a little easy on the nutmeg with this dish since the last dish I used it on turned out nasty! I give this recipe a 5!

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine (I used more chicken broth)
1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Creamy Chicken Macaroni

Tonight's meal was again from the newest Kraft Food and Family magazine and was one of my favorite types of meals, a one pot dish! Love it! Less mess and only one pot to clean afterward. I didn't have any paprika in the house....among all my thousands of spices so I used Old Bay seasoning instead....didn't do much for the chicken so I give this recipe a 4.5!

1 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 tsp. paprika
2 cups water
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 pkg. (7-1/4 oz.) KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

HEAT oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and onions; cook and stir 5 min. Add paprika; cook and stir 1 min.

STIR in water, broccoli and Macaroni; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 10 min. or until macaroni is tender and chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

ADD Cheese Sauce Mix and sour cream; stir until well blended. Cook 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Speedy Chicken Stirfry

It's that time again, when Kraft Food and Family sends me another magazine and I use it A LOT! I loved this recipe and there are no leftovers since those were eaten today so you know it was good when the leftovers are no longer around. My favorite part of this recipe is the Kraft Asian dressing, I love all the flavors they have that help make a dish wonderful! I give it a 5!

8 oz. angel hair pasta (capellini), uncooked
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. each: ground ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/3 cup chopped PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 min. of the pasta cooking time.

MEANWHILE, spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 to 8 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper; cook 1 min., stirring occasionally.

DRAIN pasta mixture; place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon evenly into four serving bowls; sprinkle with the peanuts.

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.

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.

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.

Nona's Yummy Lasagna

So I made this recipe a couple days after my family left (just haven't had time to post it) and loved it! This also comes out of the ward cookbook. I just love lasagna (except for that nasty seafood one I tried a while back) and this one was easy...and delicious. I had it for lunch the next 2 days afterwards until all the leftovers were gone. Yeah it was that good....I thought about it all the time. Tim was bummed when I told him I had finished off the lasagna...good thing I had some other left over he wanted to eat instead. So I definitely give this recipe a 5!

9 lasagna noodles
1lb. ground beef
Desired amount of onions (I loved
that I got to pick!)
2 (8oz.) cans tomato sauce
1/8 c. Italian seasoning
1 to 2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream
grated cheese

Boil water. Cook the lasagna noodles until tender. To make the meat
sauce, brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet. Stir in the tomato
sauce and Italian seasoning. Simmer, stirring occasionally. Take off heat. Add
the cottage cheese and sour cream. Lightly grease a large baking dish. Spoon in
enough meat sauce to lightly cover the bottom of dish. Top with 3 strips cooked
noodles. Spread meat sauce over noodles and sprinkle cheese on top. Repeat
layers, ending with meat sauce (I actually ended with cheese on top). Bake
covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes to set layers.

(Note: You can use dry noodles instead of boiling the noodles before hand. If you do this, pour 1/2 cup water over the layered lasagna and let it sit for 15-30 minutes before baking.) -Natalia Magnusson

Garden Risotto

I loved this recipe (also from the ward cookbook) since it used 2 chicken breasts which is what I usually use in a recipe even if it calls for more. I also love it because you cook everything at once, there's no 50 million steps to this recipe! This also made a ton of food which is great for leftovers. Unfortunately, we have no more leftovers they were gone the next day! That's how good this stuff is! I couldn't find Orzo pasta...dumb Walmart doesn't have it so you have to go to a regular grocery store to get it. It looks like rice but it's pasta so it's in the pasta section. Instead I used small shells pasta. The difference in cooking this way is it needs a little longer to cook and extra liquid maybe a cup more. But it still turned out great! I give this recipe a 5!

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, uncooked and cut into bite size pieces
3 T. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can chicken broth
1 3/4 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup parmesan cheese

In a sauce pan saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil and brown the chicken along with it. Add chicken broth, uncooked pasta and broccoli. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Stir occasionally so the orzo pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pan. This only takes a few minutes. STir in the corn, salt and pepper and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. --Jessica Mathews

Cacciatore-Style Chicken Bake

Tonight's meal again came from the Fall issue 2006 of the Kraft Food and Family magazine. It turned out great and I thought that maybe next time I make it I'll make pasta to put it on. I love the recipes that are done all in one pan. It didn't take long to make either. The only difference I made was that I added cheese before putting the stuffing on top. I give this recipe a 5!

1-2/3 cups hot water
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small each: red and green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 jar (14 oz.) spaghetti sauce

PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Add hot water to stuffing mix; stir just until moistened. Set aside.

PLACE chicken, peppers and onions in 13x9-inch baking dish; mix lightly. Pour spaghetti sauce over chicken mixture; top with prepared stuffing.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Made over Chicken Tetrazzini

I made this one a couple days ago and the leftovers are already gone so it was pretty good. It comes from the Kraft Food and Family magazine, Spring 2006 issue. It wasn't too difficult to make either which I love. It called for red peppers but I was fresh out so I used green....I'm not sure what the difference is other than the color. To me, this dish tasted like tuna noodle casserole but it was chicken. Go figure. If you end up making this one, comment on what you thought about the taste. I give this recipe a 4.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) spaghetti, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 medium red pepper, chopped
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, cubed
1/4 cup flour
1 can (14 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/2 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken, peppers and mushrooms; cook and stir 5 min. or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet; set aside.

PLACE Neufchatel cheese, flour and broth in skillet. Cook and stir with wire whisk until boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 min., stirring frequently.

DRAIN pasta; return to saucepan. Add Neufchatel cheese mixture, chicken mixture and 2 Tbsp. of the Parmesan cheese; mix well. Spoon into 2-qt. round casserole dish; cover with foil. Bake 25 min. Top with mozzarella and remaining 1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese; continue baking, uncovered, 2 min. or until mozzarella cheese is melted.

Quick Fettuccine Cacciatore

This recipe brought me back to the reason I love to cook.....because the food is so good! It came from the Spring 2006 Kraft Food and Family magazine. It looks like the Food Family magazine is sending out it's Summer 2006 issue! I'm pumped for some new recipes! I used regular spaghetti and Basil seasoning instead of the fettuccine and fresh chopped basil. Tim had seconds on this dinner so you know it's good. I definitely give this recipe a 5!

8 oz. fettuccine, uncooked
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped
1 cup each: sliced green peppers and sliced mushrooms
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Italian Mozzarella/Parmesan Cheese Blend
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

COOK pasta as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink. Add peppers and mushrooms; cook 3 min., stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes with their liquid and the dressing. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

TOSS pasta with the chicken mixture; sprinkle with cheese and basil.

No-Fail Baked Seafood Lasagna

This recipe comes from the Spring 2006 issue of the Kraft Food and Family magazine. It's funny that this recipe says it's a "no-fail" recipe because this happened to be one of those recipes that Tim said "wasn't bad, but wasn't his favorite". I thought for sure it would be a hit because it had shrimp in it, which is Tim's favorite thing to eat. I thought it was pretty good but it was a little too sweet. The recipe calls for just a little bit of nutmeg and I used imitation crab meat instead of canned crabmeat which already has a slight sweet taste to it. So instead of nutmeg I think I would just add salt. We'll be adding salt to the leftovers. I give this recipe a 3.

3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Cottage Cheese
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
9 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained
1/2 lb. fresh or thawed frozen cleaned medium shrimp (31 to 35 count), cooked
2 cans (6 oz. each) crabmeat, drained, flaked

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Melt butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add flour; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Gradually add milk, mixing well after each addition. Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 to 5 min. or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese; set aside. Combine spinach, cottage cheese, 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the nutmeg.

SPREAD 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Cover with 3 of the lasagna noodles and layers of 1/2 each of the shrimp, crabmeat and spinach mixture; top with 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese sauce. Repeat layers, starting with the noodles. Top with remaining 3 lasagna noodles, remaining Parmesan cheese sauce and the remaining 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil.

BAKE 25 min. Uncover; bake an additional 20 min. or until lasagna is heated through and top is lightly browned. Let stand 10 min. before cutting into 12 pieces to serve.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Last night I made a recipe from the Everyday Food magazine I got in the mail. It turned out pretty good and was a good change from lugging out the big crockpot. Tim liked it...he had seconds, you know it's good when your husband has seconds of what you make. The recipe was in the March 2006 issue of the magazine. It's a spin off of the Martha Stewart magazine empire. It's actually a really good magazine, I got this one for free to see what it was like. I give this recipe a 3.

Here's the recipe:

Serves 4
Prep time: 30 min.
Total Time: 30 min.

1 lb spaghetti
8 oz bacon (8 slices). cut 1 in. thick crosswise ( I used turkey bacon)coarse salt and ground pepper (I just used regular salt and pepper)
3 large eggs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 cup half and half

1. Set a large pot of water to boil (for pasta). In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occansionally, until crisp, 8-12 min.; tranfer to a paper towel lined plate.

2. Salt boiling water generously; add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. (I'm guessing al dente means done).

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan, and half and half. Set aside.

4. Drain pasta, leaving some water clinging to it. Working quickly, add hot pasta to egg mixture. Add bacon; season with salt and pepper, and toss all to combine (heat from pasta will cook eggs).
Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional Parmesan cheese.

Cheesy Chicken Noodles

Tonight....Cheesy chicken noodles. On pg 74. * It turned out pretty good. The recipe called for 6 chicken breasts but I thought, hey that's a lot of chicken to make for 2 people so I only used 4. The sauce turned out a little runny though so if you're going to use less chicken then next time I would use less milk in the recipe than what it calls for to thicken up the sauce. Still a great meal. I give the recipe a 3. I'll make this one again.

Ingredients

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) broccoli cheese soup, condensed
2 cups milk
1/2 cup dried minced onion
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
egg noodles, already cooked

Directions

Place chicken in greased slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients
except noodles and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high heat 1 hour
and then reduce to low heat and cook 5-6 hours. Serve over hot cooked
noodles. Makes 6 servings.

*See first post for cookbook title.

Lasagna

Ok so tonight was Lasagna! Did you know you could make lasagna in a crock pot? I didn't. It's on pg 56 and it turned out pretty good and I have to say I liked that I didn't have to cook the noodles. The only change I made to this one was that I cooked it on low for 3.5 hours instead of 4-5 like she said. I could tell it wanted to burn....but I wouldn't let it. So it actually turned out nice! I give this recipe a 4 ....it wasn't holy crap this is the best thing in the world, but believe me it was good.

Now what to make tomorrow?

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup water
1 carton (16 oz) cottage cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

Break noodles in half. Place half of the noodles in bottom of greased
slow cooker. Stir Italian seasoning into meat and spread half over the
noodles already in slow cooker. Then layer half of the sauce and water,
half of the cottage cheese, and half of the mozzarella cheese over beef.
Repeat layers. Cover and cook on low heat 3.5-4 hours. Do not cook
more than 5 hours. Makes 6-8 servings.