Orecchiette with Sausage and Roasted Peppers

Orecchiette with Sausage and Roasted Peppers (wrysmyguy)
Serves 6.

2 medium red bell peppers, four flat sides sliced off core, ribs and seeds discarded
2 medium yellow bell peppers, four flat sides sliced off core, ribs and seeds discarded
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound orecchiette or other short pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat broiler. Place peppers, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil 4 inches from heat until charred, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; steam 2 to 3 minutes. Using a paper towel, rub off pepper skins, reserving any juices in bowl. Thinly slice peppers crosswise into 1/4-inch strips; return to bowl. Set aside.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Add roasted peppers; cook until heated through.
Transfer sausage mixture to bowl; add pasta, butter, reserved pasta water, and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna (MrsD12*3*04)
(Altered from recipezaar.com)
Serves 8-10

Ingredients
4 cups cooked chicken (rotissere chicken chopped)
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup chopped onion or equivalent in onion powder
2 garlic cloves, minced or the equivalent in garlic powder (that's what I use)
1 (29 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1 (15 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1 (15 ounce) can beans of choice (I use red kidney beans- you can use a 2nd can if you are bean fans)
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped (preferably fresh)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
12 uncooked no-boil lasagna noodles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375'.
Rinse can of beans under cool water (it helps remove some of the salt)

In a large skillet, cook onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until tender (or skip this step if you are using the powers and put in with enchilada sauce). Stir in enchilada sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, add chicken and rinsed beans and stir to combine. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta cheese and cilantro.

Spread 3/4 cup chicken mixture into a sprayed 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. dollop ricotta mixture and cheese, Layer with three noodles, repeat chicken/bean mixture and 1 cup shredded cheese. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and shredded cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Quick Tips: I buy a roasted chicken already cooked and cut it up (a la Costco or the like). I also buy a pkg of Mexican Blend Cheese that already has two cups of the Cheddar and Jack.

Crock Pot Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Tetrazzini (CarissaS)

cornstarch
1 cup half and half
¾ cup Parmesan cheese
1 package spaghetti
1 package shredded mozzarella cheese 16oz

Into crock pot place:
chicken
1 can chicken broth
1 cup white wine
1 chopped onion
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoons parsley
1 package sliced mushrooms (optional)

Place on LOW for 4-5 hours. (I have cooked it all day for 10-12 hours on low without a problem.)
Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with ¼ cup water. Stir into pot. Cook on high for 20 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup ½ and ½, cooked spaghetti, and ¾ cup Parmesan cheese. Heat thru out for approx. 5 min.

Add 1-3 additional tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with a minimal amount of water as needed to thicken sauce.

When appropriate thickness is reached, add 1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese. When melted and mixed thoroughly, serve over warmed pasta.

Mile High Lasagna Pie

Mile High Lasagna Pie (jerseyjessie)

14 lasagna noodles
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 ½ cups finely chopped carrot
2 cups finely chopped zucchini
4 cloves garlic
3 cups sliced button mushrooms
2 6oz packages pre washed spinach
2 Tbsp fresh basil
1 egg beaten
15oz ricotta cheese
1/3 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
26 oz jar of tomato sauce (or you can make your own)
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Cook noodles, drain and rinse in cold water, set aside

Meanwhile in a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrot, zucchini and half garlic. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until crisp tender. Transfer to a bowl

Add remaining oil to skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook and stir about 5 minutes. Add spinach, cook 1-2 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon to another bowl, stir in basil.

Combine egg, ricotta, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375F.
To assemble pie use a 9x13 spring form pan. Spread ½ cup pasta sauce, arrange 3-4 cooked noodles over sauce, trim and overlap to cover sauce. Top with half of spinach-mushroom mixture. Spoon ½ ricotta cheese mixture over spinach mixture.

Top with another layer of noodles, spread with ½ remaining pasta sauce. Top with all of zucchini-carrot mixture.

Top with another layer of noodles and remaining sauce. Gently press down pie with back of spatula.

Place spring form pan on foil lined baking sheet. Bake in pre-heated oven for 60 minutes. Top with remaining cheese for last 15 minutes. Once done baking let stand on wire rack for 15 minutes before serving. Remove sides of pan.

* Allow lasagna to sit for at least 15 minutes to absorb all the sauce, if you remove the pas side too soon the lasagna pie will fall apart!*

Beefaroni

Beefaroni (sweettarte501)

1lb ground beef
1 (16oz) package pasta
2 C shredded Cheddar cheese
S&P
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 tbsp butter

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Crumble ground beef into large skillet over med-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until evenly browned. Drain.

While the beef is cooking, bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender. Drain and stir in butter. Transfer to a large casserole dish.

Mix ground beef, tomato sauce, and Cheddar cheese with pasta. Sprinkle with S&P.

Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.