Taco Pasta

From Eat Cake For Dinner

Taco Pasta

1 Lb. ground turkey or beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can mild Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles)
3 - 4 c. water or low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 - 2 c. small pasta
2 Tbl. butter
2-3 Tbl. flour
1 c. milk
 1 1/2 c. Cheddar cheese, grated
 salt and pepper, to taste
 chopped cilantro, for garnish, opt.
 

Brown ground meat in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add taco seasoning, undrained Rotel, water or beef broth and uncooked pasta.  Reduce heat and cover.  Simmer 12-14 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.  If the liquid has all been absorbed and the pasta is still not done, add more liquid.  In a separate saucepan, melt butter; add flour and stir until a thick paste forms.  Cook a few minutes to allow the flour flavor to cook out, stirring occasionally.  Slowly whisk in milk and stir until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in the grated cheese until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour sauce mixture into pasta and stir to combine.  Cook a few minutes or until reaches desired thickness.  Garnish with cilantro, if desired.  Serves 4. 

Toasted Ravioli

16 oz. pkg. meat filled Ravioli (fresh of frozen -unthaw if frozen)
2 eggs beaten
1/4 c. water
1 t. garlic salt
1 c. flour
1 c. bread crumbs plain
1 t. Italian seasoning
Marinara Sauce

Mix water with eggs and beat well, set aside. Mix Italian seasonings and garlic salt with the bread crumbs and set this aside.
Measure flour in bowl and set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer or skillet to 350 degrees for deep frying.
Dip ravioli in flour then in the egg wash, then in bread crumbs and carefully place in hot oil. Fry until golden, remove from oil and drain. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.

I've had these at Olive Garden before, and although not the same , they still taste good! I happened to have seasoned dry bread crumbs which we used. I'm not sure if that changed the flavor or not, but they were still good.

Pizza Buns

I found this recipe from Colleen's Recipes, and we LOVED it!

You can find her step by step picture tutorial HERE.

DOUGH

¾ cup very warm water

½ cup sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg (room temperature)

3½ cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons dry active yeast

1 teaspoon salt

"Mix the warm water (hottest out of your tap) with the sweetened condensed milk, vegetable oil and sugar and salt. The hot tap water will cool down in temperature once it is mixed with the oil and milk (so it won't hurt the yeast). Next, whisk in the egg and the yeast. Let this sit for several minutes until the yeast looks well dissolved.

NOTE: When you first mix up this dough, it will seem stiff and dense. Don't let that freak you out...just follow the instructions and it will bake up beautifully.

Once it is well dissolved, mix in the flour (using a stand mixer is easiest) and mix with dough hook on medium speed until smooth (about 5 minutes or so). Place in a bowl sprayed with vegetable spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let this sit in a warm place for an hour or until it is double in size.

Remove from the bowl and cut into 8 pieces (makes 8 sandwiches). Roll each piece out into an 8 inch circle. For pizza filling, put about ¼ cup of cheese in center of circle; top with a little pizza sauce and some toppings.

I found that these were easier to shape if you sit the 8" circle in a cereal bowl before you add the fillings. Draw up the edges of the dough and pinch them together.

This dough is a dream to work with...it stretches without tearing and sticks together beautifully when it comes time to "pinch it shut".

Cover with plastic wrap and let them sit for 20 minutes. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven for 20 minutes. When they come out of the oven, brush them with butter.

NOTE: The fully baked leftovers (full size) reheat, beautifully, in a preheated 350F oven in 20-23 minutes and taste exactly like they did the first time they came out of the oven."

-Colleen

My kids LOVED these. We've made something similar to this before. But what made these different, is the sweetness in the dough. I found a "combo" pizza with all the topping tasted the best. We also tried hot ham, cheese and broccoli, and BBQ chicken and cheese and loved them all! You have to try these!

We made the dough quick and easy by making in our bread machine on the dough cycle.

Chicken Cordon Bleu In Pastry

1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 cup Kraft Philadelphia® - Cream Cheese Spread - Chive & Onion
4 thin slices deli ham
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
4 slices Swiss cheese

Directions
On an ungreased baking sheet, separate dough into four rectangles; seal perforations. Spread 1 tablespoon cream cheese lengthwise down the center of each rectangle. Place ham widthwise over dough. Arrange chicken in center of each rectangle. Wrap ham around chicken. At each long end, pinch dough together around chicken, forming points.
Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in the chicken reads 170°. Top with slice of Swiss cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and pastry is golden brown. Yield: 4 servings

We made these the other night for dinner. What can I say...we love anything that has to do with Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Spanish Rice Dinner

Recipe and Picture from Taste Of Home

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1-1/2 cups cooked long grain rice (We pre-cooked the rice according to package directions because the last time we ate this the rice was uncooked and the liquid was thin).
  
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) cut green beans, drained
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 4 servings.

I was a little skeptical when I found this dish but I thought we'd try it anyway. It was a hit at our house.

Garlic Clove Chicken

Recipe and Picture from Taste Of Home

• 1 roasting chicken (5 to 6 pounds)
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 40 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried celery flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon each dried tarragon, thyme and rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Place chicken breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff onion in chicken; tie drumsticks together. Arrange garlic cloves around chicken. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drizzle over chicken and garlic.
• Cover and bake at 350° for 1-3/4 hours. Uncover; bake 30-45 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 180°, basting occasionally with pan drippings. (Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly.) Cover and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Yield: 6 servings.

Just in case you didn't know...I hoard cookbooks. (The internet is slowly changing that though.)
I found this in one of my favorite cook books...Taste Of Home!

Chicken Pepper Stir Fry

1 (of each) small green, sweet red, and yellow pepper, julienned

1 medium onion quartered

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 Tbls. olive oil, divided

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

3/4 tsp. Cajun seasoning

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 Tbls. water

1 Tbls. lemon juice

1 Tbls. honey mustard

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. Worcestershire

Hot cooked rice

In a large skillet, stir-fry the peppers, onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil until crisp-tender. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, stir-fry the chicken and Cajun seasoning in remaining oil until juices run clear.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, water, lemon juice, mustard, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce; pour over chicken. Return pepper mixture to the pan; cook and stir for 1 minute. Serve with rice if desired.

Erika's Pork Chops

This is inspired by my moms "Sunday Pork Chops", but revised by me.

4 boneless porkchops
1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 Tbls. garlic salt

Gravy:
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 Tbls. reserved flour and garlic salt mixture
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 2/3 c. milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. milk

Wash pork chops. Coat the porkchops in the flour and garlic salt mixture. Spray skillet with pam.Brown the pork chops on each side. Put pork chops in the crockpot.
add the reserved flour and garlic salt mixture to skillet with any pork chop drippings. Add 1 1/3 cups milk and chicken bouillon. Stir with a wire wisk until smooth and thickened. add cream of mushroom soup to 1/2 c. milk. Stir. Add gravy mixture to crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours, or until done.

*Serve with rice.

I love this dish. My mom used to make something similar to this growing up. Hunter isn't a big fan of pork, but he absolutly LOVES this dish.

Three Cheese Shells

1 box large pasta shells (cooked according to directions)
2 eggs
3 cups mozzarella cheese, (divided)
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (or ricotta)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbls. Dried Parsley
1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
Dash Pepper
Spaghetti Sauce

Cook Pasta according to manufactures directions.

For filling, in a medium mixing bowl stir together eggs, half the mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, the 1/2 teaspoon oregano, and dash pepper. Spoon filling into shells.

Once the shells are cooked thoroughly, stuff them with the above mixture.

Pour half of the spaghetti sauce into a 9 x 13" baking dish. Arrange stuffed shells in the baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese atop. If desired, cover and chill shells for up to 24 hours.

To serve, bake the stuffed shells, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until heated through.

I loved this dish as a kid, still do! My mom used to make these all the time. Yum!
My whole family loved these, even right down to the baby! Serve with warm garlic bread. Enjoy!

Italian Crock Pot Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts (whole or cut up)
salt and pepper to taste
4 Tbsp. margarine, melted
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
seasoned salt
Pre-Cooked noodles or rice

Mix together chicken, salt, pepper, melted margarine and dressing mix in crockpot; let cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Add chicken soup and cream cheese; sprinkle with a little seasoned salt. Cook for 2 hours more. Serve over hot cooked noodles.

A friend from Kenai brought over this dish as we were getting ready to move. I had never had it before, but I loved it. It was easy preparation...and we all love easy right? Enjoy!

Easy Macaroni Hamburger Casserole

1 box macaroni and cheese
1/2 lb. hamburger
1 can corn, drained, or frozen corn
1 can tomato soup
1 onion

Brown hamburger and onion; salt. Cook macaroni and drain. Combine macaroni, packet of cheese, hamburger, corn and soup. Stir together and warm long enough to blend flavors.

This was a "quick fix"meal...gotta love 'em! Hunter thought it tasted a lot like hamburger helper..Is that a compliment? Addi and Briggs loved it. In fact little Briggsy kept handing us his plate for more. He ended up having ***5*** helpings. whew! We hope you enjoy this a much as Briggs did.

Orange Chicken Kiev

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 Tbls. minced chives

2 Tbls. minced fresh parsley

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

6 slices provolone cheese

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 egg

1/4 c. orange juice

1 c. dry bread crumbs

1/2 tsp. grated orange peel

In a bowl, combine the butter, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Shape into a 6-in. x 2 in. rectangle; place on waxed paper. freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Flatten chicken to 1/4 in. thickness. Cut butter mixture into 6 strips. Place one strip into the center of a cheese slice. Roll the chicken around the cheese, and butter mixture. Tuck in the ends. Secure with a toothpick.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl. in another bowl, beat egg and orange juice. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs and orange peel. Coat chicken with flour, dip in egg mixture, then roll in crumb mixture. Place seam side down in a greased 13 x 9 x 2 in. baking dish.

Bake uncovered at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Discard tooth picks before serving.

This was an interesting dish...I must say. Mike thought it was heaven. I on the otherhand, thought he must be extra hungry. It was good, but I thought it tasted a little dry. Almost like it needed a little sauce to go over it. Next time I make this, I will try making an orange sauce to go over it. Enjoy!

Mango Ginger Glazed Chicken

This chicken is absolutely amazing! The first bite was a little odd, but after the first bite, it was delicious! My kids LOVED this meal!

3 ripe mangos

1 big ginger root, peeled

1 c. brown sugar

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 2 limes

Salt and pepper to taste

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Put first five ingredients in a blender and puree; season. Put puree in med. saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Grill chicken using the glaze.