Creamy Tomato Baked Penne Pasta & Cheesy Garlic Bread

I love trying new recipes and this one definitely didn't disappoint! It was a lot like the Upside Down Spaghetti that we like so much but all mixed together... with beef... and a different noodle. Lol! It was relatively easy to put together. Not as easy as some of my other recipes, but it was still pretty easy! I made Cheesy Garlic Bread to go with it because we had it at Chef Tom's the other night and my husband really loved it. I thought, "I can make this!" The pasta recipe became Rigatoni for us (because it was on sale and it's a whole lot like Penne) and is courtesy of Mindika Moments. The original recipe can be found here!

CREAMY TOMATO BAKED PENNE PASTA
(Mindi Original)

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 12 oz. bag penne pasta
4 oz. cream cheese softened
2 C. mozzarella cheese
½ C. Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large sauté pan, brown the beef until fully cooked
3. Add the cream cheese to the beef, stirring until melted and incorporated into the beef.
4. Add the marinara sauce to the beef mixture; heat through.
5. Add the cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese to the sauce, mix well.
6. Transfer pasta and sauce to a 9x13 pan.
7. Top with mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

CHEESY GARLIC BREAD

CRUST
1 pkg. Dry yeast (2 tsp. = 1 pkg.)
2 Tbsp. Lukewarm water
~Dissolve yeast in warm water.
1 egg
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Shortening or oil
1 cup boiling water
3 cups flour

Beat egg, add shortening, salt, sugar. Slowly stir in boiling water. Cool to lukewarm and add yeast mixture. Add ½ flour; stir (or beat with electric mixer) until smooth. Add remaining flour. Knead to soft dough. Roll to fit pan. Spread light coating of oil over dough on pan. Let rise 15 minutes. Will rising, spread on mixture of butter and garlic to your personal taste preference. Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning and top with Mozzarella Cheese. Cook at 425 for 15 - 20 minutes.

The Logan County Hamburger

This was an excellent recipe that I found at http://threeonfood.blogspot.com/. It is a spin on grilled cheese sandwiches that was delightful! We added bacon, pickles, ketchup, and barbecue sauce and these were a hit! It IS SOOOO EASY! You'll love it! The picture is courtesy of Three on Food.

THE LOGAN COUNTY HAMBURGER
From Three on Food

1 pound ground beef (85 percent lean)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 medium yellow onion, half grated, the other half thinly sliced (Or onion powder)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 slices white bread
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
12 slices American cheese, optional

In a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, grated onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined. Form into thin patties. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the burgers about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Drain the grease from the skillet. In the same skillet, place six slices of bread, butter side down. Top each with a slice of cheese, if desired, some onions and a burger. Top with remaining slices of cheese, if using, and bread, butter side up. Cook each sandwich until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with mustard, ketchup, pickles, or any other desired hamburger toppings. Makes 6 burgers.

Repeats!

It is always fun to do some classic repeats for dinners! There is no use having favorites if you only get to have them once! Here are the dinners we have repeated this month that are already located on this blog. You can find them at the following addresses:

ENCHILADA CASSEROLE: http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/10/enchilada-casserole.html

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU PASTA: http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/12/chicken-cordon-bleu-pasta.html

PINEAPPLE MEATBALLS: http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/12/pineapple-meatballs.html

SKILLET ENCHILADAS: http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/05/skillet-enchiladas.html

Happy eating!

Chicken Cajun with a Chile Cream Sauce

I subscribed to all sorts of different recipe places that send me new recipes daily. If I think I would ever attempt to make it, or if it sounds good, I save it. This is one of those recipes, courtesy of Campbell's Kitchen! I had cayenne pepper, cumin, curry, and coriander all on hand... but no cajun. It is a bit pricey at some places so if you don't already have it, watch out for that! This is a tasty meal that we really enjoyed!

CHICKEN CAJUN WITH CHILE CREAM SAUCE
From Campbell’s Kitchen

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tsp. Creole or Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup water
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chiles
1 tsp. lime juice
1/4 cup sour cream
Hot cooked regular long-grain white rice

Season chicken with Creole seasoning. Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned. Add soup, water, chiles and lime juice. Heat to a boil. Cook over low heat 5 min. or until done. Stir in sour cream and heat through. Serve over rice. Serves 4.

*I don't like to deal with bulky chicken breasts so I cut mine up. I find it helps get an even flavor too. We also like things spicy so I added a bit of cayenne pepper to my final sauce - tasty!

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

I stumbled across this recipe on a blog and now I can't find it again except in my recipe compilation! But this was FANTASTIC! I have never had a Monte Cristo Sandwich before (nor had Jake) and we LOVED this. After using whole wheat bread I could only get down one sandwich before being super full and Jake only got down 2! He spent the whole evening talking about how amazing these sandwiches were! Try them! They are fabulous!

MONTE CRISTO SANDWICHES

2 eggs
1/4 c. maple syrup
4 slices of bread
cream cheese
2-3 slices deli black forest ham
2-3 slices deli turkey
2 slices Swiss cheese'
powdered sugar
Raspberry Jam (or any jam you like)

Mix eggs and maple syrup together with a fork and pour in a shallow dish. Dip the bread in the egg (make sure the bread is well-covered with the egg mixture) and cook on a griddle or in a frying pan (as if you were making French toast). Spread a good amount of cream cheese on half of the toasts. On the same toasts, add half of the ham and turkey and a slice of Swiss cheese. Top each sandwich with the remaining toasts. Turn the griddle to a low heat and add the sandwiches. Warm each sandwich until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and sprinkle each sandwich with powdered sugar. Cut into halves or fourths and serve with raspberry jam. Yield = 2 sandwiches.

*I didn't want to spend a lot of money on meat so we just got the Land of Frost meats and they were still great! Also, if you warm up your jam a little bit it is really tasty!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was feeling down the other day and I decided to get outside of myself and bake some cookies for my sweet husband! He requested Chocolate Chip Cookies and I just added a bit more Chocolate to help improve my mood even more. :-) We went to Mom and Dad Bentley's house that evening to celebrate our brother Henry's 12th birthday and served the SUPER MOIST cookies with Mom Bentley's homemade ice cream! I made 24 cookies and they were GONE by the time I had finished my small bowl of ice cream! I think they were inhaled! The picture and recipe are courtesy of Allrecipes.com. They went too fast for me to get a picture! For the original link go here.

CHOCOLATE CHOCHOLATE CHIP COOKIES
From Allrecipes.com

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Yield = 24 cookies

Bubble Pizza

This great recipe is from a blog on the web that is no longer available! Luckily, I snagged this classic recipe before that could happen. This is a regular at our house. It is so quick, easy, and versatile and Jake especially loves it, even as left overs.

BUBBLE PIZZA

1 jar pizza/tomato sauce OR *your own pizza sauce recipe
2 cups Mozzerella cheese
2 tubes buttermilk biscuits
Sausage, pepperoni, chicken, mushrooms, spinach, olives, onions, any pizza topping you love.

1. Open the two tubes of biscuits and cut the individual biscuits into quarters. Place in bowl and set aside.
2. Open or make your pizza sauce. Stir in with biscuits being sure to coat all of the pieces.
3. Add toppings, NOT CHEESE. Mix well.
4. Pour mixture into a GREASED 9x13 pan (Pyrex is best).
5. Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Remove and sprinkle cheese over the top. You may not need all two cups (we didn't).
7. Bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Serve.

*Classic Pizza Sauce (adjusted particularly for this recipe)

1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1/4 tsp. Ground sweet basil
1/4 tsp. Oregano
1 1/2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. Sugar
1/4 + 1/8 tsp. Garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together.