Spaghetti & Meatballs for Dummies ***

This was a recipe I came up with last summer.  I spent hours pouring over the different recipes on the 'Net, but I couldn't find one that worked for us.  I ended up combining aspects of all of them, and the result was a keeper for us.  This is beyond simple.  Dh made it tonight, and even he couldn't mess it up. :)  It was just as good as usual.  It really is like those "Dummies" books, because it's just about impossible to mess it up.  I normally just add browned ground turkey to my spaghetti, so this is not all that different.  The kids just get a lot more excited when there are meatballs in it.  Overall, it's 8 thumbs up for us.  :)

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS FOR DUMMIES
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1-1/2 lbs ground turkey
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
2 jars Ragu Mama's Special Garden Pasta Sauce
1 box (13 oz) whole wheat thin spaghetti

Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, and egg; shape into 32 meatballs. You can freeze half if you don't like too many meatballs in the sauce.
Bring sauce to a boil in saucepan. Stir in uncooked meatballs.
Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sour Cream Sauce ***

Another winner for us.  I just love this sauce.  It's actually very similar in taste to the Beefy Bean Burrito Casserole sauce, which I adore.  This one uses homemade ingredients instead of the cream soup, which is always a bonus.  I think next time, though, I'm going to actually shred the chicken.  I made the mistake of just dicing it, and the pieces were just a little too chewy.  Shredding it would spread it more evenly in the tortillas.  Overall, we were all crazy about the dish.  I served it with the Quick Spanish Rice.  This was really simple for as good as it tasted. 

WHITE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH GREEN CHILE SOUR CREAM SAUCE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via Home Cooking with Sonya)

8-10 soft taco size flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese, divided
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 can chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 7-ounce can diced green chilies
Cilantro for garnish, if desired

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together 1 cup of the cheese and the chicken. Place an equal amount of the mixture into each tortilla, roll up and place seam side down into a 9 x 13-inch pan.
In a skillet or saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in sour cream and green chilies. Pour over the top of the enchiladas; sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired.

Veggie-Tastic Ravioli ***

We all really liked this.  It was inspired by a recipe that someone posted onto BBC from Taste of Home.  I redid it to make it work for us, and because it became something completely different, I gave it a new name.  The kids ate all their veggies, which just blew my mind.  I personally loved the veggies with the spaghetti sauce.  We will be making this very often.

VEGGIE-TASTIC RAVIOLI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ inspired by ToH's Ravioli Primavera)

25 oz frozen cheese or beef ravioli
¼ cup olive oil
1/4 tsp minced garlic
16 oz frozen mixed vegetables (I prefer zucchini, corn, etc.)
¼ cup chicken broth
28 oz spaghetti sauce
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese
Cook ravioli according to package directions.  Drain when fully cooked, and return to pot.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook garlic in oil for 1 minute (if garlic is dried, heat only briefly, so as not to brown).
Add frozen veggies; cook for 4 minutes.  Add chicken broth; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, and spaghetti sauce; cook for 1 minute.  Mix into ravioli and sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese.  Serve while hot for best results.

Chicken Club Pasta Salad ***

Dh and I both loved this one.  The kids were kind of so-so on it.  They liked the noodles, but they didn't care much for the rest of it.  I expected that, though.  They're not fond of any pasta salad that involves anything other than noodles, Ranch dressing, and Parmesan, lol.  The best part of it was that DS2 asked for a bit of avocado as I was cutting them up, and he ended up having me cut up an entire avocado just for him to eat!  Pretty dang cool, if you ask me.  :)
Back to the salad, though.  I used the "real bacon pieces" that are in the salad dressing aisle (by the bacon bits), just because that's what I had on hand.  I love how many veggies are thrown into this thing.  I did end up using quite a bit more dressing that it called for, though.  It was just still too dry after the directed amount.  I used the tri-color pasta, so I don't know if that made a difference.  It was great, though.  It kind of tastes like a pasta made from chicken salad, so it's pretty obvious that I would love it, lol.

CHICKEN CLUB PASTA SALAD
Sandy~Bettyinthekitchen

8 oz corkscrew or spiral pasta
¼ cup mayonnaise
¾ cup Italian dressing
2 cups chopped cooked rotisserie chicken
1 cup cubed Muenster or Monterey Jack cheese
12 strips crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
1 avocado, cubed
1 cup each chopped celery and green bell pepper
8 oz cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Cook and drain the pasta according to the package directions and rinse it with cold water. In a large bowl, pour a small a mount of the Italian dressing into the mayonnaise and whisk to incorporate, then whisk in the remaining dressing. Stir in the pasta and the remaining ingredients.

Mexican Chicken Casserole ****

I really don't even need to write another review for this one.  As always, one of our favorite meals - especially for how easy and idiot-proof it is.  :)

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar

MEXICAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1 (10 ¾-oz) can Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup
1 (10 ¾-oz) can Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can fat-free evaporated milk
1 (4-oz) can diced green chiles
1 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken
1 package plain Doritos
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (4-oz) can sliced black olives
Mix first four ingredients in order. Crush the bag of Doritos into little pieces; add to mixture. Stir in chicken.
Pour mixture into 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with olives, and then cover with cheese. Bake at 350° for about 30-45 minutes.

Apple French Toast Casserole ***

We loved this!  I've been trying to find a good overnight french toast-type casserole.  Since we all love apples and cinnamon, this seemed an obvious choice.  It was so yummy!  Not to mention that it looks so pretty when you invert it onto a cake plate.  The bread firms up nicely, and you can hardly taste the egg mixture at all.  My favorite parts were actually the crusts of the bread, since they had a chewier texture to them.  The butter/brown sugar doesn't carmelize as strongly as many of the other recipes have, which was a nice change.  It kept the sugary flavor from being too overpowering.  I used Granny Smith apples, and they worked perfectly.

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar

APPLE FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

4 tablespoons butter
3 large apples, peeled and sliced thinly 
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 slices Italian bread, 1 inch thick
4 large eggs
1-1/4 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add apples.
Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
Add brown sugar, water, and cinnamon and continue to cook and stir for 10 minutes until apples are tender.
Spoon mixture into 13x9 baking dish.
Cover apples with bread slices, making sure to cover the entire surface.
Trim the bread to fit if you must.
Beat eggs until foamy, then beat in milk and vanilla.
Pour egg mixture over the bread slices.
Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let it stand while oven is preheated to 375 F.
Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, or until bread is golden and firm.
Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
To serve on a platter, run a knife around the edges of the casserole, place platter on top of casserole, and carefully flip.
To serve individually, use a spatula to remove serving, place serving plate on top of serving and carefully flip so apple side is up.

Easy Skillet Casserole ***

I spent all evening in the kitchen, getting our breakfast and lunch made for tomorrow (Memorial Day), so this was the perfect meal to throw together in the process.  The kids had a "picnic" on the floor and watched Goonies with dh while I cooked, and this made a nice, easy meal (cooking and clean-up) for them to eat in front of the TV.  I said it last time, and I'll say it again.  The Worcestershire definitely makes the dish, as far as I'm concerned.  Otherwise, it would just be mac-n-cheese with hamburger meat.  As usual, I subbed ground beef for ground turkey.

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar

EASY SKILLET CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt
pepper
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 (12 ounce) package macaroni & cheese dinner mix

Brown beef in a large, deep pot with onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper and Worchestershire sauce.
Cook macaroni separately according to package directions.
When beef is cooked add tomato paste and prepared macaroni.
Mix thoroughly.
Cook over low heat until thickened. Add grated cheese on top, if desired. Cover and set aside for 5 mins before serving.

PREVIOUS REVIEWS
2/24/10: No question. This one was a hit. The boys all loved it. All 3 of them, lol. I liked it. It's nothing special, but it's easy enough and has a nice flavor to it. I really like the Worcestershire cooked with the meat. That adds an extra little flavor dimension to it. I used ground turkey with no problems. Definitely a keeper for us.