Kids' Pasta and Cheese

My husbands only comment on this meal: "not the best recipe." I'd have to agree with him. I was expecting to feel this way though. The name of it does have the word "kid" in it. And it is kid friendly. Logan's comments on it: "mmm, nummy. Hot dogs!" 

This recipe will be put in the "kids lunch" file. I'd probably put in 3 hot dogs instead of 2, we're a hot dog loving family. So this recipe is 3 stars for me, but probably a 4 star for Logan. It just depends on your audience.

Kids' Pasta and Cheese

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:
1 cup acini di pepe pasta
1 cup frozen peas
2 turkey or chicken hot dogs - sliced thinly
4 ounces (about 1 cup) shredded melting cheese such as American, cheddar or gruyere
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper as desired


Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions until just before desired doneness is reached. Two minutes before pasta is done, add peas and hot dogs to cooking water and cook until heated through.


Drain water from pasta, hot dogs and peas. Put back into pot and add milk and cheese. Heat over a very low flame, stirring constantly until cheese is melted and pasta is coated well. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Tortellini with Smoked Sausage

Red peppers and edamame. Two ingredients that make me excited about a recipe. Not only are they so good, but they are so good for you! For those of you that don't know ( I didn't until I started dating Brian) edamame are just boiled soy beans. You can find them in the frozen isle at the grocery store. Brian and I like to buy the big bags from Costco. Although this dish had big potential it fell a little short. And I'm certain the sauce was to blame. C'mon, just 1/2 cup of italian dressing? Pretty lame, and it tasted pretty lame. I will probably make this again, but I will serve it with an alfredo or a rose sauce. None of this "1/2 a cup of italian dressing" crap. So, because of the italian dressing, this dish only gets 3 stars. It could have been great, but it wasn't. But I really do like the combination of everything else. I'll be combining them again for sure.

Tortellini with Smoked Sausage

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:

1 pound frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup shelled edamame
1 cup diced red pepper
1 pound smoked sausage
1/2 cup Italian dressing

Directions:

Set 6 quarts of salted water to boil in a large pot. Meanwhile, chop red pepper and slice the smoked sausage into 1/4 inch-thick rounds. Stir-fry red pepper and sausage together until heated through -- about 5 minutes.

Add tortellini to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Add edamame to water and boil for another 2 minutes. Drain tortellini and edamame well.

Toss everything together with the Italian dressing and heat through one final time.

Creamy Chicken and Rotini Primavera

5 stars, 5 stars, 5 stars! The first 5 star dish from the 15 dinners under $1.50 pin. This was really yummy. I did use fresh carrots and broccoli instead of frozen, but I'm sure this recipe would still be great with frozen veggies as well. It's the sauce that makes it great, and the sauce is so easy. Cream cheese, milk, and italian dressing just mixed together and stirred into the pasta and vegetables. Honestly, when I find a dish this yummy that is this easy I get really excited. I did add a little extra cream cheese and italian dressing because I wanted it to be a bit saucier, but I just poured random amounts in until it looked good. And remember, if you decide to use fresh veggies instead of frozen, cook the vegetable before you add them to the rest of it. I've made recipes before where I've substituted fresh for frozen and forgot to cook them. 

Creamy Chicken and Rotini Primavera

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:
1/2 pound dry rotini

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast - cubed
1 pound frozen vegetable mix - thawed
4 ounces Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese)
1/2 cup lite Italian dressing
1/2 cup 2% fat milk

Directions:

Cook rotini per package directions to desired doneness. Drain well and keep warm.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken cubes and cook until no longer pink.

Combine cream cheese, dressing and milk and whisk until smooth.

Add thawed frozen vegetables to chicken along with sauce mixture. Stir well and heat through - about 5 minutes. Serve.

Almost Lasagna

Day 1 of the 15 meals under $1.50 challenge. When I read the name of this dish I thought "Why Almost Lasagna? What's so hard about making real lasagna that we can't go all the way?" And I still feel that way. The only difference I guess was the macaroni noodles. But I'd still prefer to just use lasagna noodles. I love lasagna. I crave it all summer long when it's too hot to turn on the oven. But this dish was just OK. A 3 star dish. It was kind of bland. But I guess that could be easily remedied by choosing a yummier past sauce to use in it. The macaroni noodles were nice for little toddler hands to scoop them up and eat them. I used grated zucchini in it (leftover from my Quinoa Burritos) and you couldn't tell it was in there, so that is always a bonus. It makes a lot of food. I would definitely agree that it is $1.50 a serving. I froze half of it and will use it when we move next month. But with all that said, I probably wont make it again. I prefer my own Lasagna recipe better, which is no recipe. I just throw stuff in there until it tastes good.

Almost Lasagna

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:

1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked, (or other similarly shaped pasta-like small shells)

1 pound Ground turkey, (or beef, chicken, sausage or tofu crumbles)
1 jar Pasta Sauce, (26 ounces)
 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 pound Ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups Veggies , (diced zucchini, matchstick carrots, etc.)
 salt and pepper

Instructions:

Brown meat and drain well, if necessary. While meat is cooking, stir together eggs, ricotta, grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.

Mix cooked meat, macaroni, sauce and veggies. Add ricotta mixture and blend well.

Coat a 9-by-13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread half of macaroni mixture evenly over the bottom. Top with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella and another sprinkle of Parmesan. Cover with foil.

Coat a 9-by-13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread half of macaroni mixture evenly over the bottom. Top with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella and another sprinkle of Parmesan. Cover with foil.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and bake the casserole for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes until the cheese on top is lightly browned and bubbly.

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo

I am giving this recipe 5 stars. I have been obsessed with goat cheese lately so any half decent recipe with goat cheese is going to get a high review from me. I also love roasted red peppers. This recipe is just a winner in my eyes. Every time I see the picture on my pinterest board I think "I have to make this this week!" Just writing about it makes me hungry. It is just so good and so fatty. The fatty stuff is always the best stuff. I justify my eating this by remembering that it has red peppers in it. Red peppers cancel out all the fat, right? The only thing I changed about this recipe was that I left out the artichoke hearts. Not because I don't like artichokes, just because I was too lazy to put them in.

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo

Source: Lauren's Latest

Ingredients:

2 whole red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fat free half & half
4 oz. garlic & herb goat cheese
2/3 cup grated parigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 cup artichoke hearts (optional)
1/2 lb. linguine, cooked to al dente
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place red peppers on baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes until peppers are charred. Remove from oven and cover with foil 10 minutes.
In the mean time, saute onions and garlic in olive oil 7 minutes or until tender. Pour in half & half, goat cheese, salt & pepper. Stir to melt goat cheese into sauce and keep warm over low heat.

Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop into large pieces and place into sauce along with parmesan cheese. Stir to melt cheese and remove from heat. Pour sauce into food processor and puree, or use an immersion blender. Place back into hot pan and toss with cooked pasta. Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with more parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and parsley, if desired.