Recipe #25 - Baked *Insert Pasta Here*

I was looking for something very easy when I came across this recipe... and it delivered! The original recipe calls for ravioli, but I used tortellini. I think it'll work just fine with whatever kind of pasta you want!

Ingredients:
*25 oz frozen pasta
*1 jar of marinara sauce
*2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
*parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400*. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Spread 3/4 cup of pasta into the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of the pasta in the baking dish. Top with half of the remaining pasta sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella. Repeat layers, starting with the pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly in the center. Let stand for 10 minutes prior to serving.

TTFN!

Recipe #24 - Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is actually not too difficult. The worst part was shredding the chicken... but it was worth every minute. It's actually two different recipes combined. The first recipe is for the enchiladas, originally found here. The second recipe is for the sour cream sauce, originally found here. (The sour cream sauce recipe also has a recipe for the enchiladas, but the first one sounded better to me, so I combined the two!)

Ingredients (for both recipes):
*1.5 cups of cooked chicken breasts, shredded
*1 medium onion (optional)
*3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, divided
*3/4 cup of salsa **modified from the original recipe
*4 oz of reduced fat cream cheese
*8 tortillas
*1/4 cup of butter
*1/4 cup of flour
*1 15 oz can of chicken broth
*1 cup of sour cream
*1 4 oz can of chopped green chilies (optional)
*fresh cilantro (optional)

To prepare the chicken enchiladas:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large skillet with non stick cooking spray. Add onion (if using one) and cook over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, or until tender. Add chicken, 1/2 cup of cheese, salsa and cream cheese. Heat and stir until cheese is melted. Spoon 1/3 cup of chicken mixture into tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish.

To prepare the sour cream sauce:
Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Stir the flour in to make a roux, stirring and cooking until bubbly. Gradually whisk in chicken broth, stirring frequently, until boiling. Remove from heat and add sour cream and green chilies (if used). Stir until smooth.

Pour the sour cream sauce over the rolled enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese, and fresh cilantro, if desired. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until cheese on top is melted.

TTFN!

Recipe #23 - Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I had some beef already cut up and ready to use stored in my deep freezer, so I searched for a new recipe to try it in. That's when I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Stew. It was very good, and so easy!

Ingredients:
*2 tblsp olive oil
*1.5 lbs of boneless sirloin, diced into 1 inch pieces
*1.5 tsp of kosher salt, divided
*1/2 tsp pepper, divided
*2 tblsp all purpose flour
*2 med onions, each cut into 8 wedges
*8 garlic cloves, crushed
*1/4 cup white cooking wine
*1 cup beef stock
*2 tblsp tomato paste
*3 bay leaves
*1 tblsp thyme
*1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained
*3 cups of potatoes, diced into 1 inch pieces
*2 cups of carrots, diced into 1 inch pieces

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, sprinkle beef with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Cover beef with flour, until well coated. Place beef in skillet, until all sides are browned. Dump beef into crock pot.

Add garlic and onions to skillet and sauté for 5 minutes. (I did not use onions, only the garlic, so I only sautéed for about 2-3 minutes, until the garlic was fragrant.) Add wine to skillet, scraping bottom of pan to loosen up browned bits. (I did not have white cooking wine so I just used a small splash of some white zin I had on hand.) Add mixture to crock pot.

Top beef and onion/garlic mixture with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, until beef is tender. I stirred about every 2 hours. With about 1-2 hours left, I realized the veggies were not as tender as I would have liked. I turned up the heat to high and cooked for about another 45-60 minutes, and it was perfect. Top with remaining salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves.

Enjoy! TTFN!