Taco Spaghetti

Taco spaghetti doesn't sound good at all, but SURPRISE! It's delicious!

5 oz. dried spaghetti, broken

1 lb. ground beef 

1 large onion, chopped

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp. taco seasoning mix

11 oz. can whole kernel corn with peppers, drained

1 cup sliced pitted black olives, drained

1 cup cheddar, shredded

1/2 cup salsa

lettuce (optional topping)

Cook pasta al dente. Drain. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pan, cook beef and onion until meat is brown. Drain fat. Stir in water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked pasta, corn, olives, half of the cheese, and salsa.

Pour into lightly greased casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until melted.

M&M Cookie Bars

The other day I had the urge to bake so I decided to whip up these m&m cookie bars. I am so glad I did, well maybe my mind is but my body isn't because I could not stop eating them. They even stayed soft and chewy for a few days unlike when I make regular cookies. 

12 TBSPs butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tsps vanilla extract

2 1/8 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 12oz bag mini M&M's, divided

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil, make sure the foil goes up the sides of the pan too.   Mix the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together. Stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Fold the flour, salt, and baking soda in until just combined. Stir in 1 cup of m&m's.

Pour batter into pan and smooth it out.  Place remaining m&m's on top and smoosh into batter a little. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 25-28 minutes. 

Penne Rosa

I have had this recipe on my Pinterest board for a long time. Now that I have made it I am kicking myself for not making it sooner. It was amazing! We've been to Noodles & Co restaurant before and have seen other people eating this and always say we're getting that next time because it looks so good, but we can't ever remember what it's called when we return so we haven't actually ever tried the restaurant version. I hope my version is just as good if not better!

1 (1 lb) box penne pasta

1 lb boneless chicken breast

1 (8 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes (drained)

2 (16 ounce) jars alfredo sauce 

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

Cook chicken and cut into small pieces.  Boil noodles in large pot.  

In a large saucepan mix Alfredo sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and spinach. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes.

Drain pasta and add to sauce mix. Also, mix in the chicken. Stir and serve immediately. 

SO GOOD! 

Greek Chicken Pita Folds

This recipe looked so yummy I couldn't wait to cook it up.

1 medium onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat

1½ teaspoons lemon pepper

½ teaspoon dried oregano

4 pita pocket breads

½ cup plain yogurt

In slow-cooker, combine onion, garlic, chicken, lemon pepper, and oregano. Place chicken in and spoon mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4–6 hours.  Heat pita bread as directed on package.  Remove chicken from slow-cooker and shred.  Stir yogurt into onion mixture in slow-cooker. Place chicken in pita and put yogurt mix over top.