Crockpot Ravioli

Another great dish found on Pinterest. Thanks to Becoming Betty blog for posting! This made a lot, so there was plenty of leftovers.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (I used fresh spinach)
16 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

Directions:
*Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Put in crock-pot and add sauce, tomatoes and seasonings. Cook for 6-7 hours on low. Add the last 4 ingredients during the last 30 minutes of cooking and turn crock-pot to high. I added the fresh spinach, pasta, parmesan and 1 cup of the mozzarella and I mixed it all up really well. Then I added the last 1/2 cup of mozzarella to melt on the top.


Recipe courtesy of http://becomingbetty.blogspot.com/2011/03/crock-pot-ravioli-casserole.html

Chicken & Keibasa Couscous

Another great recipe thanks to Pinterest. Found this website with a bunch of 30 minute meals. You should check out this blog. I plan on making more dishes in the future thanks to momswhothink.com!

Ingredients:

1/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
6 ounces fully cooked kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced into ½-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1 cup couscous
1 medium green pepper, cut into strips
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Rinse chicken, pat dry. Cut into bite-size strips and set aside.

2. In a 10-inch skillet cook and stir kielbasa, celery, carrots over medium-high heat about 5 minutes or until kielbasa is browned.

3. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more or until carrots are nearly tender. Drain off fat.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan bring the 1 1/3 cups broth to boiling. Stir in couscous; cover remove from heat. Let stand while preparing meat and vegetable mixture.

5. Add chicken and green pepper to skillet, cook and stir over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

6. Combine the 1 cup broth and cornstarch, stir into skillet.

7. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, then cook and stir for 2 minutes more.

8. Fluff couscous with a fork. Serve chicken mixture over couscous. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe from momswhothink.com

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

This dish was so delish and warmed us right up. It is one of the recipes I pinned on Pinterest. It was really easy to make. It reminded me of broccoli cheddar soup at Panera. I served this dish with some biscuits.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 c chopped carrot
1 c chopped celery
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 c chicken broth
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp flour
1/2 c water
2/3 c milk
2 c chopped broccoli
2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Melt butter in large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.
2. Add garlic and cook 1-2 additional minutes.
3. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender.
4. Mix flour with water. Add to soup and simmer until slightly thickened.
5. Add milk an broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.
6. Stir in cheese. Allow to melt. Serve.

Recipe courtesy of Lulu the Baker via Pinterest

Taffy Apple Salad

This side dish we gobble up every Thanksgiving and Christmas in our family. The fruit and nut combo make a great side addition to you holiday meal!

Ingredients:

1 large can chunk pineapple in juice, drain and save juice

1 1/2 TBS vinegar

1/2 c sugar

1 egg

1 TBS flour

2 c chopped apple

2 c mini marshmallows

1 1/2 c peanuts (dry roasted, no skins)

8 oz Cool Whip

Directions :

1. To pineapple juice, add: vinegar, sugar, egg and flour. Mix well.

2. Boil the juice mixture until thick. Cool. (Sometimes I do this part the night before to really ensure the mixture is cool.)

3. Add cooled mixture to cool whip and mix.

4. Add apples, pineapple, nuts, and marshmallows to mixture in a large bowl. Turn with a spatula or large spoon until blended.

5. Chill for an hour.

Recipe courtesy of Patty Wills

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken and Roasted Potatoes

This wonderful and easy dish I made for dinner tonight thanks to Pinterest. :) I served with steamed broccoli to balance out this meal. It will be a recipe I will be repeating. The chicken was tasty and the potatoes were scrumptious. Hope you try it. You won't be disappointed!


Chicken-
Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 package of Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1/2 tsp of garlic powder

Directions:
1. Preheat over 400*.
2. Mix cheese, dressing, and garlic powder.
3. Moisten chicken breasts with water; coat with cheese mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish.
4. Back 20-25 minutes until chicken is no longer pink in the center.

Recipe courtesy of momswhothink.com via Pinterest.


Potatoes:
Ingredients:
baked potatoes
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Parmesan cheese
butter

Directions:
1. Cook a pierced potato in the microwave until it's soft all the way through...about 6-7 minutes, flipping over every 2 minutes.
2. Cut the potato in half. Then cut the half into squares. Don't cut all the way through, just down to the skin.
3. Season with butter, parmesan cheese, and Lawry's seasoned salt.
4. Broil for 10-15 minutes in oven on the middle rack.

Recipe courtesy of iowagirleats.com via Pinterest

Mini Sheperd's Pies

I'm addicted to Pinterest! It has brought me to so many new recipes to try (in addition to ideas for classroom, decorating, entertaining, etc!) This dish I found on Pinterest that was pinned from tasteofhome.com. What's great about this dish is that not only is it very tasty, you can freeze half the batch too!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 3 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/3 cup chili sauce or ketchup
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1-1/4 cups mashed potato flakes
• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
• 1 tube (12 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• 1/2 cup crushed potato chips
• Paprika, optional

Directions:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until tender; drain. Stir in the chili sauce, vinegar and salt; set aside.
• In a small saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Pour into a small bowl. Whisk in potato flakes until blended. Beat in cream cheese until smooth.
• Press 1 biscuit dough onto the bottom and up the sides of each of 10 greased muffin cups. Fill with beef mixture. Spread potato mixture over beef. Sprinkle with potato chips; press down lightly.
• Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Serve immediately, or cool before placing in a single layer in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 2 months.
• To use frozen pies: Thaw in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 5 servings.

Recipe courtesy of www.tasteofhome.com via Pinterest

Parmesan Bowtie Skillet

I'm not exactly sure where I got this recipe from. I found the recipe on the back of some scrap paper that I copied down from somewhere. I found it with all my cook books this weekend while packing. I thought I'd try this dish and add some hot Italian sausage to spice it up. ;) Brian, my food critic, said it was definitely a repeater.

Ingredients:
3 cups of bow tie (farfalle) pasta, cooked and drained
1 14oz jar of spaghetti sauce
1/2 c ricotta
1/2 c mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 package ground Italian sausage (I used hot)

Directions:
1. While I cooked the pasta, I browned the sausage. Drain and set aside.
2. Combine cooked pasta, spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese in a skillet. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and add sausage.
3. Cook ten minutes.
4. Remove from heat. You can sprinkle with extra mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese depending on your liking.

Serving suggestion: Garlic bread and/or a side salad

Makes enough for leftovers for lunch tomorrow!