October Photo Challenge: Day 15

Dinner

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Anyone who knows my cooking and eating habits prior to 2005 probably won't believe that I made this, never mind enjoyed it!

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Servings: 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Easy
Variations: I prefer ricotta and had it on hand so I used that instead of cottage cheese. I've also heard it's great with cream cheese.
Source: Pioneer Woman

1 1/4 lbs ground beef
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup sliced onions
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.

To assemble*, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until all cheese is melted.

* I choose to combine everything (rather than layer)
 

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

Mine didn't look as pretty as the picture online, but it tasted great! I like using the Slow Cooker when it's super hot outside, so we don't have to heat the house.

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

Servings: 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Throw in the crock pot and let it cook. Easy!
Variations: Change up the pasta, cheese, and pasta sauce
Source: Tablespoon

1 (15 ounce) container part-skim Ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ziti pasta
2 jars of pasta sauce
2 tablespoons fresh finely chopped basil leaves
2/3 cup water

In a medium bowl, combine all three cheeses and the salt. In another bowl, pour the pasta sauce and stir to combine if using different flavours.

Pour ziti into colander and rinse with cold water allowing water to stick to the pasta.

Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray.

Pour half of the pasta in an even layer on the bottom of the crock pot. Pour half of the sauce on top. Evenly distribute half of the cheese mixture on top of the sauce. Repeat again, layering pasta, sauce, and cheese mixture. Sprinkle the chopped basil on top.

Pour water into slow cooker and place lid on top. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or until pasta is tender.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce

Bacon. Cheesy pasta. Spinach. What's not to love? Addison devoured this.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce

Servings: 4-6
Time: 45 minutes
Ease of difficulty: I was pretty worried about doing bacon in a pot, or burning the sauce. It was all easier than I thought, and I had a screaming toddler at my feet.
Variations: The original recipe calls for dry pasta. I used fresh because it's all we carry. It says you can omit the bacon for a vegetarian meal, but who would ever omit bacon?
Source: Our Best Bites

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (find them in the dry pasta aisle)
4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat.  Cook until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain.  Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest.  Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute.  Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth.  Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon.  Then cut lemon in half and remove juice.  Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce.  (Note:  I really love lemon so I added this to my tastes.  If you don’t want as strong of a lemon flavor, I suggest cutting it down to 1 teaspoon zest and 2 teaspoons lemon juice) .  Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture.  Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.  Add sauce and gently stir to combine.  Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Servings: 4
Time: 15 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Easy
Variations: Use pork instead of chicken, or pasta instead of rice
Source: Tina P

• Skinless, boneless chicken cut in cubes

Sauce:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2/3 cup water or pineapple juice/water
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tin pineapple chunks (drained)
• Green pepper, cut into chunks (optional)

Brown chicken, turning frequently. Lower temperature and cook until no longer pink, turning. Mix sauce together, whisk well and pour over cooked chicken. Heat through on medium-low. Add pepper. Serve over cooked rice.