Tomato Alfredo Tortellini ****

This recipe has long been a favorite of ours.  I normally sub fire-roasted diced tomatoes for the plain, but this time, the store was out.  I have to say, I could really tell the difference.  The sauce wasn't nearly as flavorful as usual.  I've also used the tomatoes with garlic in them, and that comes out great as well.  I subbed half-and-half for the cream this time around, and it still thickened up nicely.  This stays on my favorites list, but I'll have to make certain not to use the plain tomatoes again.

TOMATO ALFREDO TORTELLINI
(Jessica)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or 2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups heavy or light cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, plain
2 small bags Barilla spinach and cheese tortellini (gives 2 more oz than using 1 lrg bag; about 14-16 oz)

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat.
Add 2 cloves garlic and cook until translucent; do not brown the garlic
Add the cream, and bring mixture to a slow simmer.
Do not allow cream to come to a rapid boil
Add parmesan cheese slowly, and stir well.
Add tomatoes with juices, and stir well.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring to a slow boil, stirring frequently so as not to scorch sauce.
Continue to simmer sauce on low for 15-20 minutes or just until thickened to desired consistency.
Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to a boil, salted to taste like the sea.
Cook tortellini per package instructions.
Drain tortellini, then put back into pot and add tomato Alfredo sauce.
Stir gently, until all is coated evenly, then allow to sit for a few minutes for sauce to cool and thicken.
Serve.
* Amy's notes: I prefer the fire-roasted diced tomatoes.  I have also subbed half-and-half for the heavy cream successfully.

Bacon Cheeseburger Rice *

No matter how hard I try, I just can't get into this one. It's too "oniony" for me. I really think you could leave out the onion soup mix and just cook the ground beef with chopped onion. I ended up having to add 1/2 can of water, 2 tablespoons ketchup, and 1 tablespoon mustard just to get it to where it was decent for me. Dh loves it. I don't think I can make it again, though. I'd like to see if there are some changes I could make to make it a little more palatable. They'd have to be some extreme changes, though.

BACON CHEESEBURGER RICE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

5 cups cooked rice
1 lb ground beef
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 (10 ¾ oz) can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
3 tablespoons onion soup mix
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown and drain beef.
While beef is cooking, mix together soup, onion soup mix, bacon pieces and cheese. Add to browned ground beef.
Simmer on low until cheese is just melted.
Add rice and mix well.
Serve immediately or allow to cool and ladle into 1-gallon freezer bag.
Label and freeze.
To serve: allow to thaw overnight in refrigerator and reheat on stovetop or in microwave. You could also freeze this in a reusable casserole dish for easier thawing/cooking.

Penne a la Betsy ****

This is delicious. Somehow, though, when I copied the recipe from the Babycenter website, it was missing the last two paragraphs and went straight to the yields. I managed to bluff my way through the end, though. I've gone back and copied it directly from the PW website for this post. I made just a few changes. I used about a pound and a half of medium shrimp, broth in place of the wine, dried basil, dried minced garlic, dried parsley, freeze-dried onions, and whole wheat penne. It was still fairly soupy at the end, so I added about a half a cup of fresh shredded parmesan to the sauce. It was really good. My 6-year-old actually asked if we could have it again tomorrow night. :)

PENNE A LA BETSY
(Tattoedmomma - The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

¾ pounds Penne Pasta
1 pound Shrimp
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 whole Onion (small)
2 cloves Garlic
½ cups White Wine (or To Taste)
1 can Tomato Sauce (8 Oz)
1 cup Heavy Cream
Fresh Parsley, to taste
Fresh Basil - To Taste
Salt To Taste
Pepper To Taste

Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.
Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.
Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).
Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.
Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil, or if you’re feeling very proper, chiffonaded.
Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.

Husband's Delight **

Okay, I'll admit it. I picked this one almost solely for its name, lol. I wanted to make something dh would enjoy, and it looked like a good pick. I did like it (as did he), but it's just not quite right. The cream cheese/sour cream/cottage cheese layer didn't melt enough. I think it would have been better with less of that cheese layer or maybe with it mixed into the noodles more. I'm thinking I may try cutting out the cream cheese and adding some parmesan cheese in its place. There are possibilities. I'm not giving up on it yet. :) Oh, and I used all low fat stuff and replaced the ground beef with ground turkey.

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar.com

HUSBAND'S DELIGHT
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

24 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles, cooked as directed
1 tablespoon sugar

Brown ground beef, bell peppers, and garlic together and drain.
Cook noodles as directed then drain.
Add noodles, sugar, and tomato sauce to ground beef and stir.
Combine sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and chopped onion.
Put into a 3-quart casserole dish a layer of noodles and meat, then a layer of cheese mixture.
Add the last of meat and noodle mixture.
Last of all add grated cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Chicken Chile Casserole **

This is pretty good. I threw everything in together and cooked in the crockpot on low for 6 hours. I did add about a cup of chicken broth, but I could have probably just added a little extra half-and-half or something. It was good, though. The kids really liked it. Dh and both think there's just a little something missing, though. I'm thinking that next time, I'll either double the chiles in the recipe or switch out the salt for seasoning salt, or something like that. I definitely want to play around with it a bit to enhance the flavor. A good, filling meal with little hassle, though. Gotta love that! :)
See my crockpot version here: Crockpot Chicken Chile Casserole

CHICKEN CHILE CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces half-and-half
1 cup chopped onion
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (2 lb) package frozen cubed hash browns
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken (I use leftover)
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Mix sour cream,half and half, onions, chiles, salt and pepper.
Stir in potatoes, chicken and 2 cups of the cheese.
Pour into greased 13x9 baking dish.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese before serving.

Crockpot Chicken Chile Casserole **

This is pretty good. I threw everything in together and cooked in the crockpot on low for 6 hours. I did add about a cup of chicken broth, but I could have probably just added a little extra half-and-half or something. It was good, though. The kids really liked it. Dh and both think there's just a little something missing, though. I'm thinking that next time, I'll either double the chiles in the recipe or switch out the salt for seasoning salt, or something like that. I definitely want to play around with it a bit to enhance the flavor. A good, filling meal with little hassle, though. Gotta love that! :)
See the original version here: Chicken Chile Casserole

CROCKPOT CHICKEN CHILE CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

8 ounces sour cream
1 cup chicken broth
8 ounces half-and-half
1 cup chopped onion
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (2 lb) package frozen cubed hash browns
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken (I use leftover)
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Mix sour cream, broth, half and half, onions, chilies, salt and pepper.
Stir in potatoes, chicken and 2 cups of the cheese.
Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese before serving.

Easy Taquito Casserole *

This one was not a winner for us at all. I actually didn't mind it. Its flavor is more like tamales than the taquitos, though. With all of that enchilada sauce, it was WAY too spicy for the boys. I really think that if you used one can of the sauce and used sour cream in place of the second can, it might be a little better. I didn't like it enough to try to tweek it for our preferences, though.

EASY TAQUITO CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

1 box shredded beef taquitos
2 (10 ounce) cans red enchilada sauce
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
shredded Mexican blend cheese

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 oven-proof dish with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
Pour a box of frozen taquitoes into the dish.
Sprinkle chopped onion and can of chopped green chilies over taquitoes.
Pour 2 cans of red Enchilada sauce over taquitoes.
Sprinkle chili powder over all.
Top with as much shredded cheese as you like.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes-- until heated thoroughly.