Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Zach is home from college and I saw this recipe on line.  I read the ingredients to him and he thought it sounded great so I made it yesterday for him.  He loves it and I love making up a big of pot of anything so he can reheat some leftovers for himself here and there when he's hungry. 

I followed the recipe as directed with just a few exceptions.  I used turkey bacon instead of pork bacon and, since the turkey bacon did not render out any fat, I used two tablespoons of butter instead of just one.  Also, I used salted butter instead of unsalted because it was what I had on hand.  With all the salt in the butter, cheese, and Ranch seasoning packet, I did not add any additional salt to this dish (although I did add salt to the pasta water when I cooked the pasta).  Also, just now I looked at the recipe and I realize I accidentally doubled the amount of cheddar cheese called for! No wonder this is so good.

Here is the recipe.

CHICKEN BACON RANCH PASTA

• 1 pound of pasta (I used spaghetti)
• 6 strips of bacon, diced (I used turkey bacon)
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 packet Ranch Seasoning Mix
• 2 cups milk (I used 2 percent milk)
• 1 tbsp butter (I increased to 2 tablespoons of butter since I used turkey bacon)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into pieces)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I accidentally use 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese)

1. Start by cooking your pasta, draining it, and setting it aside.
2. While you are making your noodles; cook your bacon in a skillet, drain the grease but keep 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings in the pan.
3. Add butter to the bacon drippings and toss in your chicken breast pieces (cook until no longer pink/browned).
4. Pour the ranch dressing mix and flour over the chicken then add the 2 cups of milk. Stir until it is bubbly and thick.
5. Add the cheese and half of your diced bacon pieces to the pan; stir until melted.
6. Combine the sauce and pasta noodles together – add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Top off the dish with the extra bacon pieces and ENJOY!

HERE IS THE RECIPE SOURCE:

http://www.craftymorning.com/chicken-bacon-ranch-pasta-recipe/

Zach... going back in for seconds!

Delicious comfort food on a super cold day!

Comfort Food on a Cold Snowy Day: Tuna Noodle Casserole with Mixed Veggies

 

 

Tuna Noodle Casserole with Mixed Veggies

 

I just don't think to make Tuna Noodle Casserole. My family would never eat it so I haven't given it much thought over the years. When I stop and think about it, I THINK the last time I made Tuna Noodle Casserole was probably the late '80s or the very beginning of 1990.  I don't ordinarily keep track of things like that, I just remember I was living in a boarding house as I was finishing up college when I last made Tuna Noodle Casserole.  I am pretty sure I put cream of "something" soup in it and I remember it being so-so.

 

I've mentioned before that I am often inspired to make recipes I see when I am scrolling through Facebook on my phone.  The past two weekends, I've stumbled across recipes for Tuna Noodle Casserole and it was just sounding good given the crazy, crazy snowy weather we've had this past week.

 

 

I love the shadows our pergola is making in the snow in our back yard.

 

This is our back yard this week.  Just a week ago, we had a picnic under the pergola.

I would have sworn this recipe was on the Cooking Light Facebook page, but when I clicked on the recipe, it linked to a recipe on www.myrecipes.com and the recipe is from Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. I guess I felt compelled to make this since it seemed to be a somewhat lightened up version of comfort food and also because it sounded perfect after our snowy walk with the doggies today. 

 

I modified the recipe to use things I had on hand: ditalini tube-shaped pasta instead of egg noodles, frozen mixed veggies instead of peas and carrots, low fat milk instead of skim, and butter instead of olive oil.  I used the last of a tub of cream cheese we had in the fridge from the last time we had bagels a few weeks back and I even used up the diced up onion in the fridge from the last time we had tacos.  We don't often have potato chips in the house, but today we did... so I topped the casserole with crushed up chips. I love that this great big casserole used up so many things I had on hand!

 

Tuna Noodle Casserole with Mixed Veggies

Inspired by the recipe found HERE.

 

Ingredients

 

8 ounces pasta (I used small tube pasta called ditalini)    

2 tablespoons butter    

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion         

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 3/4 cups 1% low fat milk

1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened    

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (next time I might even add more)   

1/4 teaspoon salt (next time I'd add a bit more)   

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, green beans)

1/4  cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 (5-ounce) cans albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked    

about 1/2 cup crushed up potato chips for topping (I used Wavy Lays Potato Chips)

Cooking spray

 

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Cook mixed veggies in the microwave according to package directions; drain and set aside.

3. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and cooked until softened, about 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk; cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk until slightly thick. Stir in cream cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Remove pan from heat. Stir in noodles, Parmesan cheese, mixed veggies and tuna. Spoon mixture into a shallow broiler-safe 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray (I used a glass Pyrex 8"x8"x2" dish; top with crushed up potato chips.

5.   Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until bubbly.  If desired, broil until potato chips begin to brown.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

 

Skinny Taste Blog: One Pot Cheesy Turkey Taco Chili Mac

I don't think to read the blog called "Skinny Taste" that often, but when I do... I sort of kick myself. Everything on that blog looks so good; why don't I read that blog more often!?

When I saw the recipe for One Pot Cheesy Turkey Taco Chili Mac, I knew I had to give it a try. I read of the list of ingredients to my husband and he liked the sounds of it, too. I did not make any big changes to the recipe. I looked for the gluten free pasta recommended in the recipe but couldn't find that particular brand. I opted for Barilla brand mini-bowtie pasta, which is one of our favorites. When we sat down to eat this meal, I grabbed some low fat sour cream and also some good and crunchy corn tortilla chips and put them on the table. We both agreed the addition of these two garnishes added a lot as far as taste and texture. I think shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, pickled jalaneno slices, and sliced black olives would also be good garnishes. If I would have had plain yogurt, I could have saved some calories using that in place of the sour cream.  

This dish reminds me of Hamburger Helper... but much healthier. I definitely need to keep an eye on the Skinny Taste blog for more great recipes like this.  Oh, by the way... do you like the looks of my NEW red dishes?! I really like them!

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE RECIPE (Click HERE).

Turkey Taco Nacho Casserole

 Photo from www.jeanetteshealthyliving.com

 

Turkey Taco Nacho Casserole

 

We had this for dinner last night and it was delicious. We made a few small changes to the recipe.  I saw the recipe on a blog called "Jeannette's Healthy Living", which is a blog I really enjoy.  I have tried a number of her recipes and I also get a lot of inspiration for healthier eating from what I see on Jeanette's blog. The recipe is posted HERE and is gluten-free if you make it to Jeanette's specifications. We were not worried about gluten so I made a few changes. We will definitely have this again! I encourage you to check out Jeanette's blog, too!

 

 

Turkey Taco Nacho Casserole adapted from www.jeanetteshealthyliving.com

Cook Time: 40 minutes

 

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, chopped (I used an orange pepper)
• 1 pound ground turkey (I used Jenni-O Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey)
• 1 packet Old El Paso Hot & Spicy Taco Seasoning
• 2 (15 1/2 ounce cans) black beans (rinse and drain)
• 1 (15 1/2 ounce can) tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
Toppings
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• finely diced red or yellow onion
• non-fat Greek yogurt, plain low fat yogurt, or sour cream
• Baked Tostitos Scoops (corn tortilla chips)
• finely shredded romaine lettuce 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

 

In a large skillet, cook and crumble the ground turkey. When nearly cooked through, add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute until onions are soft, about 3-4 minutes.  Add taco seasoning, beans and tomato sauce. Stir well to combine. Cook until heated through.

 

Transfer to a casserole dish (I used a 9 x 13 x 2 pan). Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly, about 15 minutes.

 

Serve with desired toppings.

 

Queso-Taco Pasta Bake

Queso-Taco Pasta Bake

Betty Crocker and Old El Paso Brands team up in this dish:

I have been getting emails from www.bettycrocker.com

So many tempting and great looking recipes I'd like to try.

Two recipes caught my eye this past week.  This dish, Queso-Taco Pasta Bake, was dinner for me and my husband tonight.  It will also be my work week lunches. This dish is delicious.  I am really glad I tried this recipe.  This recipe calls for a pouch of Old El Paso Roasted Tomato Mexican Cooking Sauce.  I had never noticed this product on the store shelves before. I was not sure if my store would carry it or not so I decided to try this recipe if I could find the product.  I found it a City Market (Kroger). 

Here's the LINK for this recipe:  http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/queso-taco-pasta-bake/aba62f48-59bb-44d9-af75-1e16a9b9103f

I followed the recipe almost exactly. Crazy, right?.  The only change I made was that I used 8 ounces of grated extra sharp cheddar cheese in the cheese sauce instead of just 6 ounces as called for.  For the salsa, I used "medium" salsa.  The recipe is basically a fancy macaroni and cheese recipe. You start with butter and flour to make a roux and then add in chicken broth. Then you melt in some cheddar cheese and the simmering sauce.  The pasta is cooked separately.  Then ground beef, onion, cumin, and salsa are cooked separately. You combine all these ingredients and then bake it in the oven with a little more cheese on top.  This recipe calls for cumin, which is one of my all time favorite flavors.  Good stuff!

  

Make Ahead Pizza Casserole

Make Ahead Pizza Casserole

I don't make a lot of make-ahead casserole dishes but this one looked good. I am so glad I tried it.  It was so simple to throw together on Saturday and so nice to have dinner nearly on the table when I got home from work on Sunday.  I just asked my husband to preheat the oven, stir the casserole, and pop it in the oven about an hour before I got home from work.  This dish is VERY similar to the Skillet Lasagna I've made dozens of times, but of course the casserole is baked in the oven.  As we had this for dinner, I was thinking of ways this might be made a little more healthful.  Whole grain pasta and turkey Italian sausage perhaps.  One could also add diced bell peppers when cooking up the sausage.  Just like pizza, you can add or subtract ingredients based upon your preferences.  I would have loved olives in this casserole but family doesn't like them.  Bummer!



I found this recipe on the Better Crocker Website:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/make-ahead-pizza-casserole



Ingredients



1 lb mild Italian pork sausage (I used 1.25 lb. Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage)
2 cups water (I added an extra 1/8 cup water since my pizza sauce jar was only 14 ounces)
1 can (15 oz) pizza sauce (I used Di Napoli Classico Traditional Pizza Sauce, 14 oz.)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with sweet onion, undrained (I used fire roasted diced tomatoes)
4 cups uncooked rotini pasta (10 oz)
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained (I left this out but it would be great in this dish!)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese blend (6 oz)
(I added a bit of garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and dried Italian herbs, too!)

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until no longer pink; drain.

2. In ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, mix water, pizza sauce and tomatoes. Stir in cooked sausage, uncooked pasta and olives (pasta should be completely covered with sauce). Cover tightly with foil; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

3. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350°F. Stir casserole; cover with foil and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until bubbly.

4. Uncover baking dish; stir mixture. Sprinkle with cheese; bake uncovered 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 servings (1 1/3 cups each)

This sauce was a good choice.  Good stuff!

Leftovers for work.  Love that!