One Pot Spaghetti

One pot spaghetti was something I threw together on one of those nights when I was super busy and needed something that I could start and leave on the stove for a few minutes. Because I was busy, I didn't measure everything, so I don't know the Points+ on it. Also, this isn't anything fancy, and I'm sure A LOT of people make their spaghetti this way. I'm just posting this to remind myself.

Ingredients
1 lb 93% lean ground beef
8 oz of spaghetti noodles (1/2 of a package)
1 28 oz jar of Prego Heart Smart Traditional Sauce
Water
Grated Parmesan cheese

Brown the ground beef in a sauce pan, then break spaghetti in half and add to pot. Add just enough hot water to cover the beef/pasta mixture. Boil until the noodles are soft. Drain water if you need to (I should have, but I let some of the water boil off later). Then, add the spaghetti sauce. This mixture will be a little thick, and you can boil it down if you wish, or eat it this way. Personally, I like it a little moist, because I know I will have leftovers, and I dislike dried out spaghetti noodles. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

VERDICT: We all really liked this. First, it was easy to throw together, and at the end, I could let it simmer and forget about it while I was working on another project. This is a keeper in my book.

Betty's Lazy Lasagna

I watch a lot of Betty's Kitchen on YouTube. I started watching it this summer when I was housebound due to 100+ degree weather. Anyway, I found A LOT of recipes that have become part of my repertoire. And, this is one of them. I did change the recipe some, so here is the link to Betty's Lazy Lasagna. 


The lazy lasagna is not only easy, but it tastes fantastic. Moreover, it's easy to take to work, too. As you can see, the photo I took was with my phone at WORK. That's right, for some reason I kept on forgetting to take the picture at home, and this was the LAST piece we had, so I snapped a photo. As a funny side note, I accidentally threw away that GLAD bowl you see there, I was thinking about something else at lunch and threw away all of my napkins, etc, and this went with it. Because it only cost around $0.50, I didn't feel like digging through the trash to get it. BUT--they make fantastic take to work containers.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
28 oz Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian Spaghetti Sauce
8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups cooked Campanelle pasta

Brown hamburger and add spaghetti sauce, simmer. Meanwhile mix cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream together. In the bottom of an 8x8 pan add the cooked pasta, then layer on the cheese mixture, next add the hamburger mixture. Lastly sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or when the Parmesan cheese begins to brown. 

Yields: 9 servings at  8 Points+ per serving.

VERDICT: We really like this! It has a lasagna flavor, but is much easier to make. What I really like is that you can do all of the work ahead of time, and then just throw it into the oven, which feels like free time for me. And, all you have to do is pair it with a vegetable or fruit, and supper is complete!

Summer Rotini Salad

So, I decided to join Weight Watchers again. The baby weight just wasn't come off (like I want--I can wear all of my old clothes--they just don't fit the same), and after snacking A LOT during yearbook, so I had put on a few pounds. Instead of doing meetings this time, I joined ONLINE. This has been AMAZING for me. I just type in recipes and find out points. I can check points from anywhere...it's been great. 2 weeks and 6-7 pounds down!! I'll know for sure when I weigh myself on Sunday morning. The downside has been that I've had to learn a new point system; but to be honest, I like this one a lot more.


The nice thing about Weight Watchers is that I can eat any food I want--I just have to watch portions. And, that's how I created this recipe.


I was making pasta for Mason and I had some tomatoes and onion from my mom and dad's garden to use up, so I tied some ideas together. One cup of this comes in at only 5 Points+. Serves 6.


Please note: I cooked the pasta and then measured it when cool. I don't know the measurement for the dry pasta.


Ingredients
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup onions*
3 cups cooked and cooled tri-colored rotini noodles
1 2.25 oz can black olives
1/2 cup Kraft Creamy Italian dressing

Mix noodles, tomatoes, onions and black olives together. Add dressing and stir to combine. You can eat right away, but tastes better after sitting for a few hours.

*If onions are not your thing, I would substitute with either more tomato, or with cucumbers or zucchini. Also, if you have a strong onion, you might want to use 1/2 cup onion and 2 1/2 cups diced tomatoes.

VERDICT: We really liked this--especially for the number of points! It's nice and creamy, and feels bad for you--but it's not with all of those tomatoes and onions. However, if you have a strong onion, I would only use 1/2 and add more tomatoes. But, then again, the onion was very strong and it settled down by the next day.

I combined this salad with saucy chicken (I really need to make that again and take a picture of it to post here) and some watermelon for a total supper of 12 Points+.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

We decided on having spaghetti and meatballs for our Valentines dinner about a week ago, and I have to admit that I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into. I have never made authentic spaghetti and meatballs (or as close to authentic as this Midwest girl can get), so I was excited to find a recipe that I thought I would like. I settled on Ina Garten's recipe, staying fairly faithful to the recipe with the exception of swapping an extra half pound of ground pork for the veal. I know how veal is produced and I cannot eat it--I'm sorry, but it's just my opinion. So, here is Ina Garten's "Real Meatballs & Spaghetti" from Barefoot Contessa: Family Style.

Ingredients--Meatballs
1/2 pound ground veal (I substituted 1/2 pound ground pork for this, using an entire pound of pork for the recipe)
1/2 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef (I used lean beef)
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (about 3-4 slices, cut the crusts off)
1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned bread crumbs)
2 TBSP chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp kosher salt (I used only 1)
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 extra-large egg (I used a large egg), beaten
 
Ingredients--Sauce
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (I used 1 large one)
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (I used 2 small cloves)
1/2 cup red wine (I used Middle Sister--love that wine!)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (I omitted this)
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Instructions:
Place all meatball ingredients in a large bowl, gently mix together. Add 3/4 cup warm water to the bowl, mixing lightly. Form the meat mixture into meatballs--I got 20. Meanwhile, pour equal amounts of olive oil and vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat up. When hot, add meatballs in batches, frying on all sides. Remove and drain on paper towels. Discard the oil, but do not scrape out pan.

Add olive oil to the same pan. Saute the onions until tender and translucent. Add garlic and cook for one more minute, then add wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover and simmer on the lowest head for 25-30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. I didn't have a lid to do this with, though, so I put it in in a 13x11 inch pan and baked it in the oven.

Serve over hot spaghetti and cover with fresh Parmesan cheese.

VERDICT: I liked the flavor of this, but would have preferred less garlic. Overall, a winner in my book.

Cheese Puffs and Maggots with Eye of Newt

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

I was being creative last night and trying to gross out my husband, so I came up with this festive menu.While the Maggots with Eye of Newt is my design,the cheese puffs are courtesy of Cooking During Stolen Moments.

Ingredients for Maggots with Eye of Newt
2 cups of elbow macaroni, cooked to al dente
1 small jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 jar green olives
1/2 lb. hamburger

After cooking macaroni, add sauce, meat and olives and cook until hot. Garnish with strips of Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients: Cheese Puffs
1 1/4 c. finely shredded cheddar cheese (I used Colby-Jack this time)
2 1/2 T. butter or margarine
1/2 c. flour
1/2-3/4 tsp spices (I used garlic and paprika)
1 small jar of green olives

Mix everything together except for olives until it resembles a dough. Then flatten out a small round of dough and wrap it around the olive (I always put too much on and then take some off). Repeat until dough is gone. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.


VERDICT: What a yummy meal! I've made the cheese puffs before, and we always like them! And, as you can tell, we are HUGE fans of olives, so the cheese puffs are great with the olives, but we have used jalapenos in the past. The Maggots with eye of newt is pretty good, too!

Spaghetti Pie

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

I remembered reading a recipe from my hometown cookbook that used spaghetti as a "pie crust." However, I knew that it was very calorie dense, so I created my own version. The one I made will feed 4--but if you upped the amount of meat, it could easily yield 6 servings."

Ingredients
4 servings of spaghetti
1 cup Parmesan-Romano cheese, shredded
8 oz fat free cottage cheese (I drain mine to get all the liquid out)
3/4-1 cup No-Sugar-Added Spaghetti Sauce (I used Ragu)
1/2 lb. ground beef, browned in 1-2 tsp olive oil
Black olives for garnish

Cook spaghetti until al dente, then drain. Cool pasta slightly (I used this time to brown the hamburger), and place into a pie plate. Push down on the plate and up the sides to create a crust. Spoon about 1/2 cup Parmesan-Romano cheese into the crust and let melt a little, then spoon cottage cheese over the spaghetti. Mix the spaghetti sauce and ground beef, then place on top of cottage cheese mixture. Lastly, add the rest of the Parmesan-Romano cheese. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes (I baked for 20, and thought 25 would have been better). Let sit for 5-10 minutes and garnish with black olives.

VERDICT: Very good! I don't feel as though I need to tweak this recipe, because it stands on its own. If I had added an entire pound of beef, it would easily feed 6, but with only 1/2 pound, it wouldn't have a lot of heart to it. Anyway, I really like the nutty flavor that the top of the spaghetti pie gets as it cooks, and would recommend that you cook it for at least 25 minutes so that more of the top spaghetti takes on the flavor. <3 Since we're trying to clean out our pantry, I haven't bought much for sides, but we had a banana salad with the pasta (I'll post it tomorrow, because it's a great Halloween recipe). However, I would have loved to serve this pie with French bread and olive oil.

Cheese-burger Macaroni

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

I HATE boxed meals. I think they taste like cardboard. However, I like the idea that some of those boxed meals pose. So, think of this as a homemade version of Cheeseburger Helper.

Ingredients:
1/2 of an onion, diced
1 lb 93% lean hamburger
2 cups beef broth (I used bouillon cubes and water)
1 cup water
1 c. dry macaroni
1 Roma tomato, diced
4 oz 2% Velveeta, cubed

Cook onion in 1 tsp olive oil and some salt and pepper until translucent, then add hamburger and brown. Drain fat. Pepper to taste. Add beef broth and water, then add dry macaroni. Boil mixture for about 10 minutes, or until macaroni is done. Add tomato and turn heat to low. Add Velveeta 2% and stir until melted. Turn off heat and let sit for at least 10 minutes, or until the cheese sauce has thickened. Stir occasionally.

VERDICT: Even better than a box!

Cheesy Chicken Bake

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

I wanted something different tonight, so I read a lot of recipes, then decided to come up with my own, since those didn't hit the spot. Besides, I'm a from-scratch cook--I rarely use recipes. So, this is my version of a cheesy chicken bake.

Ingredients
10 oz chicken, cooked in water (you can use more or less--I just used half of a 20 oz package I had on hand.
4 oz spaghetti, cooked (about 4 cups)
3/4 cup (or so) pasta water
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
1 can cream of mushroom soup (the healthy kind)
4 oz Velveeta 2% cheese, diced
1/2 cup light sour cream
About 1/2 cup (or one can) sliced black olives
1/4 tsp. celery seed (OPTIONAL--SEE NOTE)
1 oz. colby-jack cheese 2 %, shredded


Cook and dice chicken (I cooked mine in water over the stove, then used the same water for pasta), then set aside. Cook spaghetti to al dente, hold back 1 cup of hot pasta water, then drain pasta and set water and pasta aside. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in the sauce pan and saute the red bell pepper and onion until soft. Add pasta water, soup and Velveeta cheese until the cheese melts. Add sour cream then add in the olives, celery seed, chicken and pasta. Stir well then place in a greased 8x8 pan and top with the shredded colby-jack. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.


VERDICT: WE LIKED IT! Although, I made this without the celery seed, I would definitely use it the next time, so I added it to the recipe as optional, because I missed the celery taste. I will probably bounce back and forth between using it and not in this recipe--I like to change it up once in awhile!

I used to hate the idea of dirtying a sauce pan for spaghetti, then putting the pasta in the oven, but after tonight I LOVE IT. I had time to clean up the kitchen area, so there was relatively no time spent cleaning up AFTER supper. I only have to put the leftover chicken bake and peas in the fridge for leftovers tomorrow. :)

Macaroni and Cheese

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

I love macaroni and cheese, but I don't like the one that comes from the box. I've been making mac and cheese like this for years, because it's much healthier for you, and tastes better. I've tried many recipes over the years, but this is the one I came up with after having a failure--most notably the epic fail of Rachael Ray's cheese sauce recipe, because it had too much of a flour taste.

So, if you're like me and hate the boxed mac and cheese, or Rachael Ray's version of mac and cheese, give this one a try!

Ingredients:
6 cups (or so, I don't really measure) cooked macaroni
1/2-1 C cold skim milk
4-8 oz. cubed Velveeta 2%
Black pepper to taste

After cooking your macaroni to al-dente drain the macaroni and put back into the cooking pan. Add cold milk right away and stir so that the macaroni absorbs some of the milk. Use only enough milk so that the pan is 1/2 full. Place back on a warm burner and let sit for about 5 minutes. Add Velveeta (to taste, I think I used about 6 oz, and it was just right. However, I know some people like their mac and cheese more cheesy than others), and stir until all cheese is melted. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 (or so) minutes so that the cheese sauce thickens. Add lots and lots of black pepper. :)


VERDICT: We really like this! It is especially good when you let it get all gooey. :) I wish I could be more specific with the measurements of this recipe, but I often cook without measuring--it's just one of those things I can gauge.

BBQ Beef Pasta Salad

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

I made BBQ beef on Friday and by tonight we were tired of sandwiches. So, I made my other favorite recipe for BBQ beef, a pasta salad. I don't measure the ingredients for this recipe, because it all depends on how much beef I have left.

Leftover BBQ Beef, shredded
1-2 c (or more) tri-colored pasta, cooked and cooled
1/4-1/2 white onion, cut into rings and separated
1/2-1 c shredded 2% cheese
extra BBQ sauce

Mix together and chill for the flavors to meld.

I LOVE this recipe, because I can serve it as a main dish or a side dish, and no matter what, it's always hearty. Plus, I love how the onion has a "bite" to it, that counteracts the sweetness of the BBQ sauce.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

My mom often makes lasagna during lent on Fridays when we are abstaining from meat. Instead of the hamburger in this recipe she substitutes another can of olives and fresh mushrooms. I had heard about making lasagna in the slow cooker and decided to give it a try, so I used my mom's recipe (using hamburger instead of mushrooms since Jeff loves meat) to create tonight's dish. NOTE: You do not pre-cook the lasagna noodles.

1 lb. ground hamburger, browned with ground pepper
1 can black olives, drained and chopped (I just break them apart with my fingers)
1 can spaghetti sauce (I use Hunt's Four Cheese)
About 1/4 cup water, used to "swish" out the spaghetti sauce jar
1 24 oz. container fat free cottage cheese
2 cups 2% cheese, shredded--I used a blend of white mild cheddar, Parmesan and Swiss
1/2 c. Parmesan, shredded--combine with the 2% cheeses.
9 dry lasagna noodles

Spray the bottom and sides of your slow cooker. Mix browned ground beef, black olives and spaghetti sauce together, ladeling about 1-1 1/2 cups of the mix into the bottom of the slow cooker. On top of that layer place 3 dry lasagna noodles, breaking them if you need to in order to make them fit. Over the noodle layer spoon about 1/3 of the cottage cheese over and smooth. Combine the shredded cheeses and sprinkle about 1/3 of the mixture over the cottage cheese. Next, begin again with the meat mixture and continue for 2 more layers (for a total of 3) and end with the meat mixture. Try to keep about 1/2 c. of the shredded cheeses on the side to put on top of the meat mixture.

Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 4-6. Let it sit on warm or shut off the cooker for at least 1/2 an hour before serving.

I was happy with this, because not only does it taste great, but I didn't have to heat up my kitchen in this warm weather! Summers are always an obstacle for cooking, because I HATE hot weather. I'm one of those people who would be happy living in 50 degree temperatures most days. Anyway, when I was growing up we didn't have air conditioning (ok, we did, but my parents own a 130-year-old house and only have window air, which is a major suck-o) so my mom would use the slow cooker a lot when it got hot. I don't know about you, but even standing in front of a grill during 90 degree summer evenings is not fun. Thus, I've been trying to find recipes I can make using the slow cooker year round.

Jeff really likes this recipe and he felt that it turned out well--in other words, I'm allowed to make this again. I did have to turn this to warm for over an hour, though, because he got home from work late.

Stay classy food readers! (Yes, we're watching "Anchorman" right now.)