One of my favorite dishes to take when a family needs a meal is Enchilada Stuffed Pasta Shells. One of the benefits of this recipe is that it makes enough for two 13 x 9 baking dishes, which means I don’t neglect my family when I am feeding another family. I don’t like waste, but this is one time where  I like to use disposable aluminum pans. Then the family I deliver a meal to does not have to worry about washing the pan or returning it.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. hamburger
• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 can black beans – drain and rinse
• 1 can diced tomatoes – don’t drain!
• 12 oz. package jumbo shells
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Once it begins boiling add shells and cook according to the package directions.

While the water is heating, cook hamburger and onion over a medium flame until hamburger is browned.

Add taco seasoning, beans, and diced tomatoes. Be sure to add the juice from the diced tomatoes too. Simmer over low heat for for 5 minutes.Remove from heat aside and let cool while the shells cook. Once the meat mixture is close to room temperature, add 2 cups of cheese and mix well.

In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce and salsa. Spoon 1/2 cup of tomato sauce mixture into each 13 x 9 baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

After the shells have been drained, spoon meat mixture into each shell and place it in a baking dish.

After all the shells have been filled. Spoon 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce mixture over the shells in each baking dish. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese over the stuffed shells in each baking dish.

Cover one baking dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes.

If you are taking this to another family, you can cover the dish with foil and put the baking directions on a sticky note on top of the foil.

This is also a great “cook one, freeze one”  meal. If you are not taking a meal to another family, cover one baking dish with plastic wrap and freeze. Defrost in the refrigerator on the day you want to cook the stuffed shells for dinner.

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

• 6 (3-ounce) chicken cutlets, pounded to evenly flatten
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 paper-thin slices prosciutto
• 1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

I love making these for breakfast. They’re so different and so easy! They make awesome leftovers for desserts… You can play around with different variations to find your own preferred filling. We have a child that can’t really eat nuts here, so we omit the nuts in this recipe and double up on the raisins. Feel free to comment and share your variations on here if you’d like!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups peeled and chopped tart apples (I like using Granny Smith)
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 3 tablespoons sugar and also 1/4 cup sugar (keep these measured portions separate)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and also 1 1/4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon (keep these measured portions separate)
• dash of salt
• 1 package (16.3 ounces) large refrigerated flaky biscuits (I use Pillsbury Grands — the one with 8 biscuits in it)
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the apples, walnuts, raisins, 3 tablespoons sugar, flour, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and salt. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes or until almost tender.
2. Flatten each biscuit into a 5-in. circle. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful of sugar mixture over each. Top each with 1/4 cup apple mixture. Bring up edges to enclose mixture; pinch edges to seal.
3. Place seam side down in ungreased muffin cups. Brush tops with butter; sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. With a sharp knife, cut an “X” in the top of each.
4. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. 

Yield: 8 servings.

This is a fast put-together in the crockpot and I promise you the results will taste like you have slaved away on the stove for hours!! Absolutely delicious!! Give this a try No need to limit to using this in sandwiches, you can always add it into burritos, and so many more! I welcome your feedback with other ideas on how to incorporate this beef into other dishes.

Ingredients:

• 3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast
• 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Annie’s Natural Smoky Maple BBQ Sauce)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcesterhire Sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

1. Put the beef in the crockpot. Turn it on high heat.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl and pour over the beef.
3. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours (If you prefer to cook it on low heat, I would suppose it takes anywhere from 6 to 8 hours – I haven’t tried making this on low heat yet)
4. When the beef is done, place the beef on a plate and shred it with 2 forks. Return the beef to the sauce and mix well.
5. Serve it on rolls, in burritos or whatever you’d like

 This is a quick fix in the crockpot. Really simple, delicious and very affordable. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces Kielbasa sausage, cut in quarter-inch slices (I used the Hillshire Farm brand)
• 1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 medium green pepper, diced
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
•  1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
• 2 tablespoons steak sauce
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 cup uncooked instant rice
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

Directions:

1.  Combine sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, bouillon, steak sauce, bay leaves, sugar and hot pepper sauce in crockpot.
2. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove bay leaves; stir in rice and 1/2 cup of water. Cook an additional 25 minutes. ( I just served sausage mixture over rice)
4. Stir in parsley.

This chicken dish is so hearty and so good — give it a try! 

Ingredients:

8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs, about 2 1/2 pounds total, (or you can do what I do — use about 2.5 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound small shallots (around 12 shallots), peeled and halved
5 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper; coat with flour, shaking off excess.
2. In a Dutch oven or 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high. Cook chicken until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove; set aside.
3. Add shallots and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add wine; cook until evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups water; bring to a boil.
4. Return chicken, bone side down, to pot. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until chicken is tender and cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; loosely tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Add tomatoes to pot; season with salt and pepper. Cook on high until sauce has thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and return chicken to pot; cook until heated through. Serve, garnished with tarragon, if desired.

I’ve made this several times now, each time I do something a little different like adding meat-filled ravioli or using different type of cheese. It’s a delicious crowd-pleaser!! 

Ingredients:

• 1 26-ounce jar pasta sauce
• 2 30-ounce bags frozen large cheese ravioli, unthawed
• 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
• 1 8-ounce bag shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in a third of the sauce.
2. Arrange 12 ravioli on top and scatter the spinach over them. Top with half of each cheese. Cover with another layer of ravioli and the remaining sauce and cheese.
3. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until bubbly.

Yes, folks.. that is my sister, Romelia, you see up there having some bites of this yummy spaghetti pie. This is really easy to prepare and is very inexpensive to make.  A perfect dinner on a cold day or a great meal to take to someone in need.

Ingredients:

• 1 box spaghetti, boiled and drained
• 1 lb browned ground beef (you can use ground turkey instead)
• 1 jar of pasta sauce (any kind will do)
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• garlic powder, minced onion and pepper

Directions:

1. Brown meat and boil noodles. In a large pot mix together all the ingredients except the mozzarella cheese. Pour spaghetti mixture into a 9×13 baking dish. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Add mozzarella cheese and bake another 5 minutes uncovered. If you are freezing this dish let it thaw completely before baking and add about 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time.

I have made this so many times for dinner . Ryan loves this casserole and never gets tired of it. There are some changes I have made to Paula Deen’s Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole recipe. So this is my version with the revisions.

Ingredients:

• 1 (7oz) package wild rice (I use Zatarain’s Long Grain and Wild Rice package. It is just PERFECT for this casserole!)
• 1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (10 3/4 oz) can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions minus 1/4 cup of water. In the Zatarain’s one.. it says 2 1/4, so we just cook it with 2 cups of water instead.
2. Bring 2 cups water and 1/2 tablespoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan and cook the shrimp for 1 minute. Drain immediately and set aside.
3. Heat the butter in saucepan and saute the pepper and onion until soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
5. In a large bowl, combine the rice, soup, 1 1/2 cup of cheese, shrimp, pepper and onions. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well. Spray a casserole dish with vegetable spray (we use the 13×9 glass baking dish). Place the mixture in the dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Fast and easy and yet so delicious! You can grab a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket to get your soup on in a flash!

Ingredients:

• kosher salt
• 2 cups prepared gnocchi
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• pinch sugar
• 3 cups cleaned baby spinach leaves
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a medium saucepan of cold water to a boil over high heat, then salt it generously. Add the gnocchi and cook, stirring occassionally, until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, put 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, garlic, butter and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring it to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until the garlic is tender, about 1 minute. Add the spinach and let it wilt for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 3 3/4 cups chicken broth and the chicken and bring just to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and bring to a full boil. Taste and season with salt and a generous amount of pepper to taste.