Penne with Carrots and Peas

My husband is often not at home at dinner time, so it is just me and my two little girls most nights. When making dinner for me and my girls I am always at a lost for what to make. I don't like making a huge meal that either one of them might not eat and then I went to all that work for days and days of leftovers. I am always looking for new recipes that are fast, kid friendly and does not make a huge amount. I got this recipe from an advertisement for Barilla Pasta in the FamilyFun magazine. I thought it was perfect for my girls, First, what kid does not love pasta? Second, there is cheese. Third, peas and carrots, my chicas love their veggies, weird I know, but they do. A conversation at dinner goes like this "Eat more meat and then you can have more veggies", true story.

Barilla Piccolini Mini Penne with Carrots and Peas

1 Box Piccolini Mini Penne (I actually could not find the mini size, so I used regular)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup white onion, diced small

1 cup carrot, diced small

1 cup frozen peas

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

HEAT the oil and onion in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute for 3 minutes or until onion is slightly translucent.

ADD the carrot and saute for an additional 2 minutes.

ADD the peas and saute for 2-3 more minutes.

Meanwhile COOK the penne according to the package directions. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

DRAIN and toss the pasta with the sauce, add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water to the sauce and saute for an additional minute.

REMOVE pan from heat, top the pasta with the grated cheese, and serve.

2-Step Stroganoff

This is one of my stand-by recipes that I always have the ingredients, quick to make and everybody loves it in the family.

Campbell's 2-Step Stroganoff

1 lb. Ground Beef

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire

1/3 cup milk

1 can sliced mushrooms, drained

Step 1

Brown hamburger with garlic powder, drain off fat.

Step 2

Add the rest of ingredients to browned hamburger, heat through

Serve on Farfalle or extra wide egg noodles.

Easy Parmesan Chicken

First off, sorry for the green noodles. We have a tradition of having green spaghetti on St. Patrick's Day. I love this recipe, because it really is so easy and delicious, unlike other Parmesan chicken recipes that you have to dip the chicken in egg and then in bread crumbs and so many steps I don't like to take sometimes. I have made this a couple times and the first time I used the bottled spaghetti sauce and then Brian, my husband, mentioned how even better it would be if I used my own sauce. So the picture above is the the recipe made with my homemade spaghetti sauce, without the hamburger. It was very good, Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Parmesan

What you need

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
6 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.)
1-1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Make It

HEAT oven to 375°F. Pour sauce into 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir in 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) Parmesan. Add chicken; turn to coat both sides with sauce. Cover with foil.

BAKE 30 min. Uncover.

TOP with remaining cheeses; bake 5 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF) and cheese is melted.

Recipe adapted from Kraft Foods

Here is the my sauce recipe that I used instead of the bottled spaghetti sauce.

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

1 quart tomatoes, I drain about half of the liquid so the spaghetti is not watery.
1- 6 oz can tomato paste
2- 8 oz. tomato sauce
1 packet of spaghetti seasoning
1 can of mushrooms, drained (optional)

Combine ingredients in sauce pan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 min.

Holy Tomatoes!

This is our third year in having our own garden and in my gardening life I have never seen such big tomatoes! They are beautiful and I am not a big tomato lover. My husband and I are so happy with our skills that it must be documented.

Here is the biggest one! A picture cannot do it justice. I would say you could come over and see it yourself but it has already been bottled.

Out beautiful bottled tomatoes

The spaghetti made from the beautiful bottled tomatoes.

My mother as long as I can remember has been bottling tomatoes. She uses her stewed tomatoes in many ways. She makes goulash, lasagna, spaghetti or anytime a recipe calls for stewed tomatoes. Today I am going to share my mom's spaghetti sauce with you. It is very simple and delicious.

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground hamburger

1 quart tomatoes, I drain about half of the liquid so the spaghetti is not watery.

1- 6 oz can tomato paste

2- 8 oz. tomato sauce

1 packet of spaghetti seasoning

1 can of mushrooms, drained (optional)

Brown hamburger and drain then add the rest of ingredients; bring to a boil and then simmer until your spaghetti noodles are done.

Recipe of the Week-Ravioli Casserole

I don't remember where I got this recipe, but I have had it for awhile. I love lasagna but sometimes I don't have enough time to make it. So this recipe is perfect because it is similar to lasagna but tens times easier. Enjoy!

Ravioli Casserole

1 jar Spaghetti Sauce

1 package (25 oz) Frozen Cheese or Beef Ravioli, cooked and drained

2 cups small curd cottage cheese (16 oz)

4 cups shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Spread 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce in an ungreased 9x13 baking pan. Layer with half of ravioli, 1 1/4 cups of sauce, 1 cup cottage cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 min until cheese is melted and all bubbly.

Let Stand 5 min.