Layered Spaghetti Supreme Pie

I know there are a TON of baked

spaghetti casserole recipes out there.

I know because I have made more than

my share of them. Tell me why do they

always look and sound so much better

than they taste? To me they taste over

cooked and dried out. Never fear....

I am happy to tell you that I have

come up with the BEST baked

Spaghetti recipe EVER!!

Layers of goodness to

satisfy your taste buds.

 

Layered Spaghetti Supreme Pie

1/2 lb. Ground Beef

1/2 lb. Ground Sausage

2-3 Cups Spaghetti Sauce

8 oz. Cream Cheese~ softened

1 Cup Sour Cream

2 Cups Cottage Cheese

2 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

2 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 pkg. Spaghetti Noodles

4 TBSP. Olive Oil

 

Preheat oven to 350

* if you want to prepare this in

your Slow Cooker, you will need to set

it on the low setting.

 Boil the spaghetti noodle to

al dente stage, drain and then

toss with the 4 TBSP of olive oil.

Set aside.

In a skillet combine the ground beef

and ground sausage together. You can

add in any of your favorite seasonings

to the meat that you want.

I like to add in powdered garlic and onion,

 cumin and oregano.

Brown until cooked through.

Stir in the spaghetti sauce.

Combine the cream cheese, sour cream,

cottage cheese and seasoning together.

Stir until blended.

Lightly grease a 9x13" pan

or spray your slow cooker.

Place 1/2 spaghetti noodles in the

bottom, spread the cream cheese

mixture over top that evenly.

On top of this, layer the

remaining noodles over top.

Pour sauce and meat mixture

over the noodles and top

(I had extra mozzarella on hand so I used that also)

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

*For slow cookers, cook for 3 hours on low.

 Remove foil and top with the cheddar cheese.

Return to oven to bake for another

5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Let rest for 10 minutes before

cutting. Serve with a green

salad and garlic bread.

Mmmmm,

Lark

 

 

 

Creamy White Mushroom Sauce~ Smothered Chicken and Pasta

This is a basic white gravy with the added

richness of mushrooms and garlic.

You can also serve this over top some

grilled pork chops or a great steak.

Our family loves it served over pasta.

Yet I had some left over sauce that I

saved to use later on in the week,

this time I served it with rice.

It reminded me of mushroom risotto!

 

Creamy White Mushroom Sauce

1 (8oz.) Sliced Button Mushrooms

4 TBSP. All Purpose Flour

3 TBSP Butter

1 tsp. Garlic~ minced

1 C. Chicken Broth

1 C. Whipping Cream

1 TBSP Dijon Mustard

 

In a saucepan sauté  the butter and garlic.

Place the mushrooms and flour

into a plastic bag, toss to coat

the mushrooms.

Add them to the saucepan.

Whisk together the broth, cream

and Dijon mustard. Pour into the

saucepan, stirring until sauce thickens.

Now it's time to smother a grilled

chicken breast atop a bed of pasta.

*OR You choose a new combination

of how  to serve up this  creamy

 comforting mushroom goodness.

Crazy about Mushrooms,

Lark

 



Macaroni and Cheese with Spicy Sausage

If you haven't yet found "the perfect"

recipe for homemade Mac. and Cheese,

you my friend have just found it!

 

Macaroni and Cheese with Spicy Sausage

16-17.5 oz. Cooked Macaroni Pasta

1/2 C. Butter

3 TBSP. Flour

1 3/4 C. Milk

1/4 C. Heavy Cream

4 oz. Cream Cheese-softened

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp. Onion Powder

2 C. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 C. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 lb. Spicy Italian Sausage~ cooked & drained

Start by boiling the water and cooking the pasta.

While that is cooking you can start on the cheeses sauce.

In a sauce pan mix butter, flour cooking for 1 minute.

Then add in the milk, cream and seasoning. Whisk until smooth.

Add in the cream cheese and stir until melted.

The mixture will start to thicken.

Stir in the remaining shredded cheese,

continue to stir until melted and blended.

Drain pasta transfer to a large bowl and pour cheese sauce

over pasta. Finally sprinkle cooked sausage

 pieces in, stir and serve.

 

Dinner at it's finest!

Lark

Pimento Cheese Stuffed Shell's

Yup! I sure DID, I went there!

All I can say it that this is NOT a

dish you want to prepare if you are even

entertaining the idea of going on a diet.

Are currently on a diet, counting points,

or counting calories! ~just sayin'!

Pimento Stuffed Shell's

2 lbs. Sharp Cheddar Cheese~shredded

1/2 C. Mayo

8 oz. Cream Cheese~ softened

1 (4 oz.) Pimento's~ drained

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1/8 tsp. Garlic powder

1 Box Jumbo Pasta Shells

 

Preheat oven to 350 

Start by cooking your pasta shell's

to al dente stage. Rinse and toss in

a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

Place all ingredients into your mixing bowl.

Blend until smooth, fill shells.

Place in baking dish, cover with foil. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

*I even poured some Alfredo Sauce over top

one pan, to see how it would turn out. I

actually liked that one more. The shells were

not at "dry". Give it a try and see what you think.

I would also like to say I did "pat dry"

the excess grease from the melted cheese.

That is what happens when you melt

a ton of good ole' cheese.

Enjoy... for the Diet starts tomorrow!

Lark

 



Not Your Momma's Frog Eye Salad

 I'm not sure how y'all feel about

Frog-Eye Salad, however I do know what

I thought about it. (Not my favorite) I remember

my Mom making it when she was

expecting a large crowd. Other than that

we never had it. I know it wasn't one of

MY favorite salad's. For me I remember it

being kind of a "dry not to sweet" salad

with way to much coconut in it. (lol)

*Mind you this is in NO way an indication

of My Mothers lack of cooking skill's.

She was just preparing it as the recipe 

stated. My mom is a FABULOUS Cook!

That being said, One day I was trying to

think up what I would be serving for the Ladies

 at Bunco  this month, since it was my turn to host.

For those of you who do not know what Bunco

is~ it is a Dice game you play with 12 players.

SO MUCH FUN!

 You can find the Bunco game in most stores,

 (Walmart,Target) in the board game section.

If you're looking for a great way to spend

a night with friends or family , you NEED this game!

Since it is in the 100 degree's here in Nevada

I wanted to have something cool and refreshing.

So I decided on making a variety of salads.

And being my Mother's Daughter I first thought

of making Frog-Eye Salad because I knew

it would serve a large group. :)

I also knew that I would have to adapt my

Mother's recipe to make it stand out in

a good way. I hope y'all will give

this recipe a try and hopefully it will

meet your taste bud standards as well.

 

Not Your Momma's Frog-Eye Salad

1 (12oz.) Acini de Pepe

1 (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple~ drain/reserve juice

1 (15oz.) Mandarin Oranges

1/2 C. Shredded Coconut

1 (10 oz.) Mini Marshmallow's

2 (8 oz.) Cool Whip Topping ~ Thawed

3 Eggs

3 TBSP. All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 C. Sugar

2 C. Strawberry Lemonade ~*You can use

any type of juice you like- Orange, Pineapple...

 

Start by preparing the Acini de pepe as

directed on the box, drain and rinse.

 Set aside until sauce is ready.

In a sauce pan combine the eggs, flour,

sugar, lemonade,  plus the reserved pineapple juice.

Whisk and continue over medium heat until

sauce thickens. Remove from heat, place in

an ice bath to help cool.

In a large bowl mix together the

pineapple, oranges, coconut, marshmallows,

acini de pepe and cool whip topping.

Finally fold in the cooled sauce.

Cover and let chill for at least an hour

before serving. *I think if you let it chill overnight

it makes a BIG difference in the texture and

intensifies the flavor even more.

Everything needs a second chance,

Lark  

 

 

 



Creamy Italian Macaroni Salad

This salad creation is the combination

of a Pasta and Macaroni Salad.

I love the Italian dressing flavor

of your standard pasta salad.

Yet the mayo/mustard base of

a macaroni salad is just as good.

I guess I had one of those

"light bulb" moments...and put

them together!

(queue the streamers, horns and drums)

 

Creamy Italian Macaroni Salad

 1 lb. Pasta Noodles~ any style
1 C. Mayonnaise
1/2 C. Zesty Italian Salad Dressing
1 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 C. Sharp Cheddar Cheese~ shredded
2 Roma Tomato's ~chopped
2 Hard Boiled Eggs~ chopped
1 (4oz.) Sliced Olives
1/4 C. Green Onion~sliced
1/2 C. Celery~chopped

Prepare pasta noodles according
to package directions. Drain and
place into a large bowl with remaining
chopped ingredients.
In small bowl combine the mayo,
italian dressing, salt and pepper together.
Pour over noodles and veggies.
Stir until well coated.
*If salad is to "dry" for you can double the
dressing to make a more "wet" salad.
Chill for at least 1 hr. before serving.
Hot days, Cool Salads.
Lark



 

Slow Cooker Layered Goulosh

As the Hot Heat of Summer

starts to take over, I use my

slow cooker more and more.

Meals like this are family friendly.

 

Layered Goulosh

1 lb. Ground Spicy Sausage

1/2 lb. Lean Ground Beef

1 (28oz.) Spaghetti Sauce

1 (18.5oz.) Rotel Tomato's with Green Chili

1(15 oz.) Cottage Cheese

1 Egg~ beaten

1 TBSP. Italian Seasoning

2 C. Mozzarella~ shredded

1 lb. Favorite Pasta~ cooked al Dente

 

Brown the sausage/beef together.

Place in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Pour half the can of each spaghetti sauce

and rotel over meat. Then layer your par-cooked

pasta noodles over top of the sauce.

In a bowl mix together the cottage cheese,

egg, seasoning and 1 C. of mozzarella.

Spread over pasta. Top off with the remaining

sauces and remaining mozzarella.

Cover and set your slow cooker

on low for 3 hours.

SLOW COOKING~ FAST CLEAN UP!

Lark



Easy Chicken Broccoli Alfredo



Some day's feel as if the day is

long and your time is short.

On day's like that I try to come up

with a meal that won't take much

prep or cooking time, however taste

like it did. This is a very simple

dish that meets that description.

Easy Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

3 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast's~ cubed

1 (12oz.) Fettuccine Noodles

1 (10.5oz.) Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream

3/4 C. Milk

2 TBSP. Parsley Flakes

2 C. Steamed Broccoli Florets

1 1/2 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook Noodles according to pkg. directions.

In a skillet cook the chicken until no

 longer pink and slightly browned.

In a saucepan combine soup, cream,

milk, parsley and cheese together.

Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly

until cheese has melted. Remove from heat,

and stir in steamed broccoli and chicken.

Once noodles are cooked and drained

mix together with the sauce.

There you have a fabulous meal

in under 20 minutes from start

to finish! Can't complain about that :)

Quick Cooking,

Lark

Homemade Cheesy Chicken Parm.

Makes your mouth water doesn't it?

I have to say, this is AMAZING!!

Lark's Homemade Cheesy Chicken Parm.

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast's

3 Egg White's

1 C. Panko Bread Crumbs

1 TBSP Mystic Blue Spice Santa Fe Seasoning

3 Sticks String Cheese

2 C. Marinara Sauce

Spaghetti~ Cooked

Preheat oven to 375

Start by pounding out each chicken breast flat.

Sprinkle with a third of the Santa Fe seasoning,

top with the string cheese.

Roll up tightly, secure with toothpicks. 

 Dredge into the egg whites.

Next completely coat in the bread crumbs.

Place into a lightly greased pan

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is

no longer pink in the center.

Serve on a bed of cooked spaghetti with marinara sauce.

If you are interested in purchasing some

amazing Spices including the one featured in this

recipe, just visit: The Mystic Blue Spice Company

Tell them Lark Sent Y'all over! 

Homemade Four Cheese Ravioli

Homemade Ravioli

Ravioli Dough:

2 C. All Purpose Flour

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 TBSP. Olive Oil

2 Eggs

1 1/2 TBSP. Water

4-Cheese Filling:

1 (8 oz.) Ricotta

1 (4 oz.) Cream Cheese~ softened

1/2 C. Mozzarella Cheese~ shredded

1/2 C. Provolone Cheese~ shredded

1 Egg

1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

Start the dough by mixing the flour and

salt together and placing in a "mound' on 

your counter. Make a well into the flour

with your finger. Beat together the egg,

oil and water. Pour half of the egg mixture

into the whole of your flour. Mixing with your 

hands fold flour into itself along with the egg mixture.

Knead for a few minutes then add in the remaining

egg mixture. Form into a tight ball.

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, chill for

at least 1 hour or over night.

(This will take some time for the dough to come

together. If dough is to dry you can add in 

another TBSP of Water)

For the cheese filing is is super easy.

Just add all the ingredients together

and blend well. Cover and chill until you are

ready to fill the dough.

Once your dough has chilled, you will

divide the dough into 2 disk's. 

Roll them out as thin as you possibly can. 

(again, this will take some time)

Now you need to take 1 egg and 1 tsp. of water

to make an egg wash. You will brush this on only 

1 side of the dough that has been rolled out.

With a ravioli press or a 1 inch round cookie cutter

you will lightly press (not cutting through the dough)

the dough. You are basically just marking

the dough so you know where to place the filling.

Next you will place about 2 tsp. of filling into

the marked area. Once all the spaces are filled

you will take the second piece of dough, and lay

it over top. Lightly press around each mound 

of filling to help seal the two pieces of dough

together. Now you will take your cutter

and cut out each ravioli. 

 At this stage you can either freeze the ravioli's

or you can boil them for your dinner! :)

Boil them for about 4 minutes and the

ravioli's have floated to the top.

Serve with your favorite sauce.

Bon' Appetit !

Lark

My Minestrone Soup

My Minestrone Soup is packed full of

meat, beans and veggies All  mixed

together make it a party for your mouth.

You can make this in your slow cooker OR

if you want to eat it right away, 

you can make it on your stove top.

Lark's Minestrone Soup

1 lb. Lean ground Beef or Ground Turkey

1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp. Onion Powder

1/4 tsp. Pepper

1 White Onion~diced

2 Celery Rib's~ diced

2 Carrots~ peeled/shredded

1 tsp. Garlic~ minced

1 (14oz.) Fat Free Chicken Broth

2 (14oz.) Fat Free Beef Broth

2 C. Marinara Sauce

2(15oz.) Great Northern Beans~ drained

1 TBSP. Italian Seasoning

2 Bay leaves

1(12oz.) Pasta~cooked to al dente

In a large skillet brown the meat along with

 the seasoning until no longer pink.

Drain off any grease, then place into

 your slow cooker or stock pot.

Saute your onion, garlic, celery and carrot's 

together until fork tender.

Add those to the meat in your pot.

Add all the remaining ingredients* 

into your slow cooker/stock pot.

Stir to blend. If you are cooking it on the

stove top, you will simmer it for 20 minutes.

*If you choose to use your slow cooker,

leave out the pasta until the last 20 minutes of cooking time.

Place on Low heat for 2 hours.

Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

*( You can also substitute shredded chicken/turkey

instead of the ground beef/turkey. This is a great way to

use up some of that left over turkey from Thanksgiving) 

Slurping Soup Good!

Lark

Pasta with Sausage and Fresh Tomato's

This is one of those meals that you

think, why didn't I think of making this

years ago? It's simple, quick and

everyone likes it. A Win - Win kind of meal!

I will say I am not a huge fan of store

bought Alfredo sauce, yet when you add

in the fresh garden tomato's it really

does seem to add a TON more flavor.

Pasta w/ Sausage and Fresh Tomato's

1 lb. Italian Sausage~ cut into pieces

1 (16 oz.) Radiatore Pasta

2 (15oz.) Bertolli Garlic Alfredo w/ Parmesan Cheese

4 Lg. Fresh Garden Tomato's~ diced

1 C. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

In skillet Cook sausage until no longer pink.

Drain on paper towel, set aside.

Cook pasta according to box directions.

Pour sauce into skillet that you cooked

the sausage in to warm. Add the sausage

into the sauce, along with the diced tomato's.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained.

 Add the  hot pasta to the sauce.

Stir to coat well. Last stir in the shredded

mozzarella cheese until melted.

Serve warm.

Zesty Spaghetti Salad

This is a great way to feed a crowd

a "pasta" salad. My Mom use to make this

while I was growing up. Usually it was 

served for a family reunion lunch in.

You can make this into a HUGE amount

or enough to serve your family.

Zesty Spaghetti Salad

12 oz. Pkg. Spaghetti~cooked/drained

1(16oz.) Kraft Tuscan Italian Dressing

1 C. Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1(4oz.) Sliced Black Olives

1 Green Pepper~ diced

1 C. Red Onion ~diced

2 Roma Tomato's ~diced

1 tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper

In large bowl combine the drained pasta

and Parmesan cheese, tossing until coated.

Add in olives, green pepper, onion

and tomato. Pour 3/4 of the dressing over

Mix well. Season with black Pepper.

Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Stir in the remaining dressing right

before you serve.

Keeping it simple,

Lark

*I have submitted this to 
The Search for the Ultimate Weeknight Meal Contest

Simply Potato's Breakfast Lasagna

Who says you can only have Lasagna

for Dinner?

Probably the same person who

says you cant have Breakfast for Dinner...

Believe me when I tell you~

You CAN serve this dish forth BOTH!

Simply Potato's Breakfast Lasagna

1 (16 oz.) Cottage Cheese 

1/4 C.  Green Onion

 1/4 C. White Onion 

1 C. Frozen Spinach~drained

 9 Egglands Best Eggs

1/4 cup Milk

 1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

 8 oz. Cooked Lasagna Noodles 

1/2 lb Spicy Sausage 

1/2 lb Bacon~cooked crisp

 1 C. Kraft Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

 1 (20 ounce) Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns

 4 slices Muenster Cheese

  Mix together the cottage cheese and shredded cheese.

  In a small pan saute the onions,until tender.

  Drain and then add to the cooked sausage and bacon.

  In a separate bowl beat together the eggs,

 milk, salt and pepper. 

 Then cook to a soft scramble, set aside.

 Next lightly spray a 9x9 baking dish.

First layer 3 noodles in the bottom of pan.

  Cover with half of the hash browns, 

1/2 of the scramble eggs,.

  1/2 of the sausage/onion mixture,

 1/2 cheese mixture and  1/2 Spinach.

 Repeat with remaining ingredients a second time.

 Finish off with the 4 slices Muenster Cheese. 

 Cover and chill for 8 hrs or overnight.

  Let lasagna set at room temperature 30 minutes before Cooking.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

 Uncover and bake for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.

 *Let set for 5 minutes before cutting *.

BEST BREAKFAST EVER!,

Lark