Cowboy Lasagna

This recipe is called cowboy lasagna, but after doing some searching it looks like the majority of the cowboy lasagna recipes are different than this one, either way it was still really good.

1 lb ground beef

1 tsp salt

dash pepper

1 tsp sugar

16 oz tomato sauce

8 oz wide egg noodles

3 oz cream cheese

1½ pints sour cream

½ cup cheddar cheese (I used mozzarella) 

Brown meat, garlic, salt and pepper. Add sugar and tomato sauce, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Mix sour cream and cream cheese.

Cook noodles and place 1/3 of noodles in a greased casserole and cover with 1/3 sour cream mixture and 1/3 tomato and meat mixture.

Repeat layers and cover with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Italian Chicken Sausage Pasta

For some reason this summer I haven't felt like cooking very much.  I've just resorted to hot dogs, burgers, pizza or other quick dinners.  Once I saw this recipe on pinterest I knew I had to make it soon.  It was so good!!

1 lb pasta, cooked according to package directions

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound Italian Chicken Sausage, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

1 1/2 cups alfredo sauce

2 cups marinara sauce

1 teaspoon ground dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried ground basil

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add an additional tablespoon of oil if needed, and add sausage chunks. Add in oregano and basil and cook the sausage for 3-4 minutes, or until it starts to brown.

Stir in alfredo and marinara sauce and cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes over low heat.  Add in cooked pasta and stir to combine.

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole

Since it was the end of the month I was running out of food. I sort of just searched my cabinets and then hopped online to see what I could make. This recipe reminds me of the pizza casserole I made before but since it had spaghetti noodles and was assembled a bit differently I decided to give it a try.

I actually made all this while the kids were eating breakfast, then I just put it in the fridge until it was dinner time. Then I popped it in the oven.  

12 oz uncooked spaghetti

1 lb ground beef

2 ounces pepperoni

1 (26 oz) jar pasta sauce

cheese 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef. 

Cook noodles al dente. Drain and place in bottom of lightly greased baking dish. 

Pour cooked and drained meat on top and cover with sauce. 

Place cheese and pepperoni on top of everything. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. 

It was pretty good. It did need some more sauce though as the bottom portion of the noddles didn't even have any sauce on them. I still preferred my other pizza casserole recipe though =)

Lasagna Roll Ups

I saw this recipe on pinterest, of course. I've made regular lasagna before, but wanted to try this since it was rolled up. It was sort of messy and took longer than a regular layered one would, but it was nice to have them all separated into little squares when it came time to get them out of the pan. Mike said it was the best lasagna he's ever had. I think next time I won't roll them up, but I will still make it with the same ingredients.

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb lean ground beef

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 (15 oz) container Ricotta Cheese

1 large egg

1/3 cup parsley 

2 1/4 cups grated Mozzarella Cheese

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

12 uncooked lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, parsley, 1 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese until mixed well. 

Boil noodles in water with olive oil until al dente. Brown ground beef and drain grease. Return to pan. Pour in spaghetti sauce and simmer on low heat until noodles are done. 

Pour 1/3 cup of the meat sauce onto bottom of 9x13 baking dish. 

Lay noodles out flat one at a time. Layer some of the cheese mix and then some meat sauce onto each noodle. Roll them up and place them into dish seam down. 

(I lost one noodle while cooking)

Place remaining meat sauce and cheese mixture on top spreading evenly. Cover with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. 

Crock Pot No Boil Manicotti

Manicotti is on the list of my favorite foods. So making it in the crock pot was right up my alley.  

2 cups cottage cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 ½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning

¼ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1-8oz. package manicotti

 ¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Jar or can of favorite marinara sauce

Spread about 1/2 cup of marinara sauce on bottom of crock pot. 

Mix cottage cheese, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Fill manicotti noodles with this mixture. 

Place filled noodles in crock pot. 

Pour remaining sauce and remaining cheese on top. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours. 

YUM! 

I purchased some crock pot liners the other day and this was the first recipe I used them for. It was nice to not have anything to clean up since I just tossed the whole liner bag in the garbage. But I'm not sure if I'll use them again since it seemed to make my noodles stick and was kind of annoying when I was trying to scoop them out since the bag was so big and I kept scooping the bag up with my noodles. 

Crock pot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

A friend of mine posted on their facebook that they were making this for dinner one night. I immediately searched her pinterest board and found the recipe. It's not your typical crock pot meal because you have to cook the noodles and it only cooks for 2-3 hours, but that's nice too because I threw it all together before picking Marley up at school, then once she got home from school we were off to dance class, and it was ready when we got home from dance. Always nice to come home and have dinner waiting.

1 pound Velveeta Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product 

12 1/2 oz canned chicken, drained & flaked 

10 3/4 oz Cream Of Chicken Soup

10 3/4 oz Cream Of Mushroom Soup

10 oz canned tomatoes with green chilies

1/2 cup water 

1/2 tsp table salt 

1/2 tsp black pepper 

14 1/2 oz cooked spaghetti

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker (except pasta)

Cook pasta and drain. Add to crock pot. 

Stir well. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours. 

This made a lot. We ate some for dinner and I froze the rest before sending it to my brother and sister-in-laws so they could try it out. 

Pierogi Casserole

Pierogis are one of our favorite foods in this house. Marley calls them froggies, it's too cute to correct so that's what we all call them now. When I came across a recipe for pierogi casserole on pinterest, of course I added it to the menu. 

9 lasagne noodles, cooked (I used no boil noodles so mine aren't cooked)

4 cups hot mashed potatoes

1/2 cup  Philadelphia Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese Spread

1 pkg. bacon bits, divided

2 cups shredded cheddar Cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In bowl mix together mashed potatoes, cream cheese, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup bacon. 

Spray baking dish with non stick spray. Place a layer of noodles in dish and cover with 1/3 of the mashed potatoes mix. 

Repeat layers two more times. 

Cover with remaining bacon and cheddar cheese.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. 

This tasted just like "froggies" My only problem with it was the edges were really hard (see photo below) I think if I make this again, I will make sure to spread my potato mix all the way to the edges to ensure that they're not so crunchy.  Otherwise, delicious! 

Chicken Ranch Lasagna / Shells

I already made this once, typed it all up, pinned it to pinterest and everything. Then for some reason it disappeared.  Not exactly sure why or how it happened, but it gave me a reason to make it again.

2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk 

1 (1 oz) pkg. Hidden Valley dry Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix 

3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken

1/8 tsp pepper

1 (16oz) lasagna noodles, cooked 

1 1/2 to 2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 to 2 C mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat milk, pepper and ranch powder stirring frequently until dry ingredients are dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Layer half of the noodles, chicken and cheese in dish. Pour half of sauce mix on top. Repeat layers. 

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. 

Last time I made this I used lasagna noodles. This time I used shells. It was much better this time. Either way works, but the shells seemed to add more volume to it, where as the lasagna noodles seemed flat and not as filling. 

Mini Won Ton Lasagna

I saw these cute little lasagna's on pinterest and just wanted to make them because of their cuteness. 

Won ton wrappers

pasta sauce

ricotta cheese

mozzarella cheese

italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray. Place one wrapper in each cup. 

Fill with sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese. Place another wrapper on top and repeat layers. Sprinkle italian seasoning on top. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. 

Overall, they were pretty good. The original recipe says you could also add meat, which I think would help make them even better.