Ooey, Gooey Pasta Shells

Ooey, Gooey Pasta Shells

Meals like this make me never want to waste money at Olive Garden again...well maybe just for their bread sticks, but once I figure out how to replicate those, I'll never go back lol. This is definitely a cheese lovers meal...the blend of mozzarella, Parmesan, ricotta and feta is perfect! Making this dish was a little timely, buuuuuuuut definitely worth it...and you can freeze the left overs if ya want! The original recipe can be found here, but you know they never tell you to season your meat on the original recipes...smh season your meat!

Ingredients:

1 package jumbo pasta shells (12 ounces)
1- 1/2lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2tbs olive oil, divided
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 carton (15oz) ricotta cheese
3- 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup feta cheese (optional....feta made this taste awesome tho)
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
3/4tsp salt
1/2tsp pepper
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups heavy whipping cream


Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown chicken in 1 tablespoon oil. Season chicken to taste while cooking, I often use garlic salt and pepper! In a small bowl, combine the egg, ricotta, 1-1/2 cups Parmesan, mozzarella, feta and seasonings.

3. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water; stuff each shell with about 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture. Place in a greased  13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with chicken.

4. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute, Add cream; cook 5 minutes longer. Add 1-1/2 cups Parmesan cheese; cook and stir until thickened. 

5. Pour sauce over the casserole. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly.

6. Serve with a salad and bread sticks....the sauce is EXCELLENT for dipping! 

Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I've made this soup soooooo many times, and I don't know why I'm just now posting it! Sorry I suck! This is by far one of my FAVORITE crock pots recipes...and serving it up in a bread bowl definitely makes this an "itis" meal. I like to start it before I go to work, so I have a nice hearty meal waiting for me when I get home. The original recipe is found here!

Ingredients:

6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup half & half
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

**green onions, bacon bits (I use the soft bacon bits from Hormel), sour cream and additional cheese for toppings!**


Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except for half & half and cheese.

2. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. The potatoes should be tender.

3. Mash the potatoes until coarsely chopped and the soup is slightly thickened.

4. Stir in half & half and cheese, cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. Garnish with toppings (bacon bits, green onions, sour cream, cheese) and serve! Highly recommend serving in a sourdough bread bowl!!

Italian Tortellini and Shrimp Bake

Italian Shrimp and Tortellini Bake

Bored and looking for something new to cook for my friend Joyia and I on our weekly ladies night, I found this super easy...and super tasty recipe! This also includes some of my favorite things...shrimp, bacon and cream cheese! The original recipe is here, but I tweaked it...duh lol. My recipe is smaller than the original...and only makes for about 4 servings! 

Ingredients:

3/4 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined. 

1 9 oz package of cheese tortellini

1.5 cups vodka sauce (in the spaghetti sauce aisle)

1/2  cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 oz softened cream cheese

1.5 tbs parmesan cheese

2 tbs exrtra virgin olive oil
bacon pieces....I used bacon bits by Hormel! They're super soft and very good. 

salt and pepper to taste

fresh chopped parsley for garnish (I didn't use it...but it would make it prettier!)

Directions:

1. Turn on broiler  

2. Cook the tortellini according to package directions, drain and stir in cream cheese; then set aside. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and then toss with olive oil. Saute in an oven-safe skillet on medium heat for 3-5 minute per side or until pink. Remove from the skillet and set aside....all done with the stove. 

3. Toss the cooked tortellini with  the vodka sauce and then place in the skillet. Top with the shrimp and then sprinkle with parmesean cheese and then the mozzarella cheese, lastly the bacon pieces! 

4. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

Shrimp & Crab Nachos

Shrimp & Crab Nachos

Wanted seafood...without the messiness and lingering smell. These nachos did just the trick and hit the spot! The original recipe calls for a pound of crab lump meat...but I couldn't bring myself to eat crab from a can or jar. I purchased a pound of Snow crab legs from the store and cracked them myself; I feel like it was fresher that way! Also you can bake the  mix with the chips, which is how it's shown in this photo, however next time I think I'm going to bake the mix by itself, and serve on top of chips separately! 

Ingredients:


1tsp olive oil
1lb peeled and deveined shrimp (mine were precooked from the grocery stores fish area)
2-3tsp ground cumin
1tsp minced garlic (jarred)
1lb crab meat (again,I picked it myself!)
3/4 cup sour cream
4-6oz softened cream cheese
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 bag tortilla chips (I used a bag of that had red, yellow, and black chips...great for presentation lol)
3 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup sliced jalapeno (jarred)


Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp, cumin and garlic; saute 3 minutes...just to warm up if your shrimp are precooked. Do NOT overcook your shrimp!

2. Combine cooked shrimp, crab, sour cream, cream cheese and green onions in a large bowl.

3. Spread tortilla chips on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Top with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with cheese, and top with jalepeno. 

                              ******ALTERNATE WAY: Put shrimp and crab mixture in a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese and top with jalepenos. Leave chips OUT of the mix if you want to serve it separately!

4. Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve immediately! 

I'm personally addicted to sour cream sooooo of course I topped it with more sour cream, when I made my plate!! 

Uh Pho?

Uh Pho? (Chicken & Shrimp Soup)

Long story short, I LOVE PHO, (pronounced fuh) a Vietnamese rice noodle soup. My friend MeMe said we should make some...we tried...it wasn't quiiiiiite Pho, but it still tasted AWESOME. Found the original recipe on Pinterest, but had to make changes (like always). Anyway, I was pretty happy with our results!

Ingredients:

8 cups chicken broth

3 cloves garlic, crushed

4 green onions, chopped rough

1 TBS minced fresh ginger

     ****peel ginger root with a spoon, then chop VERY fine or toss in a food processor if                        possible!

1 tbs sugar

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

A few dashes of hot sauce (I used Crystal's)

4-8 ounces rice noodles (I used the 6.75oz package of DYNASTY Maifun Rice Sticks)

2 heaping cups of shredded chicken (chicken breast tenders are SUPER EASY to work with)
1 lb medium-large pre cooked shrimp

2 TBS fresh lime juice

1 cup cilantro leaves

A dash of salt & pepper 

Can be served with sprouts and jalapenos for toppings. Also Siracha sauce and Hoisin sauce are the ideal sauces to use with this soup!

Directions:

1. In large stockpot over high heat add chicken broth, garlic, scallions, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, hot sauce, sesame oil, and chicken...the chicken is shredded AFTER it is cooked in the stock.   

2. Bring your stock to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low.  Allow the flavors to develop by simmering for 20 minutes.   

3. After the chicken is completely done cooking, remove it, shred it and re add it to the stock. For easier shredding, I used a food processor...but you have to be careful not to over do it in the processor...you don't want the pieces TOO small.

4. While the soup is simmering, in a large bowl soak the noodles in cool water until they are softened. This particular brand of noodles, do not require boiling water to become done, HOWEVER I think that it's best to slightly boil the noodles in a separate pot to get them to the right texture. You don't want to OVER boil the noodles tho, because you will be serving them with a hot soup, I just personally feel like the cold water alone does not make the noodles soft enough for me. I also cut the noodles in half after they are soft, because they are SUPER long.

5. Toss in shrimp 5 minutes before turning the soup off so that they don't become overcooked and rubbery.

6. Add lime juice and turn off heat.

7..  Fill your bowl(s) with the amount of noodles you would like (about ¾ full of noodles) then ladle in the soup.  Top each bowl with cilantro leaves and serve.

DON'T FORGET YOUR SAUCES, AND EXTRA TOPPINGS!!! The sprouts aren't necessary, but the jalapenos give the soup a nice kick!

Santa Fe Enchilada Stew

Santa Fe Enchilada Stew

Chicken is pretty much the only meat that I cook with...sooo I'm CONSTANTLY searching for new recipes that contain chicken. I don't know how I managed to stumble on this particular recipe, but it asked for chicken and other ingredients that I keep in my kitchen on the regular, so I figured I'd give it a shot. This was by far one of the EASIEST, CHEAPEST, TASTIEST soups I ever made...even my daughter tore it up, and she doesn't appreciate my cooking at all. Again, I PRE-SEASONED my chicken with Goya Adobo seasoning, a little pepper and a little garlic salt! The original recipe can be found here, of course I had to make changes to it lol.

Ingredients:

4 medium flour tortillas 
1 tsp oil
1 8oz tub cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup PLUS 2 tbs milk, divided
1/2 package of 1oz taco seasoning
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
           ***(I use chicken tenders, because they're easier to work with than full breasts)
1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed
1 can (11oz) corn with red and green bell peppers, drained
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
**limes for squeezing onto the soup, and garnish!


Directions:

TORTILLAS

1. Cut tortillas into strips

2. Add tsp oil (or margarine/ butter for more flavor)  to medium saucepan and cook the strips on medium-high until lightly browned. The strips will be used when soup is completely finished.

STEW

1. Mix cream cheese spread, 2 Tbsp. milk and taco seasoning until blended

2. Cook chicken in large saucepan sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 8 to 10 min. or until done, stirring frequently. (BE SURE TO SEASON)

3.Stir in cream cheese mixture, remaining milk, beans, corn and tomatoes; simmer on medium-low heat 6 to 8 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently.

4. Toss in pepper jack cheese and stir until melted. 

5. This is optional, but I cooked the soup with the 1/4 cup of cilantro for extra flavor; however, it can be used strictly  as garnish. If you decide to cook with the cilantro, be sure to cut up extra so that you can top the soup off with the tortilla strips and cilantro when serving!

6. Lastly, serve the soup with your tortilla strips and cilantro on top, finished off with a few squirts of fresh lime juice!

Crock Pot Taco Pasta

Taco Pasta

I originally got this crock pot recipe from Betty Crocker, but it was a little too bland for my taste. Make sure you SEASON your ground beef BEFORE adding it to the crock pot. I seasoned with Goya Adobo seasoning, pepper and garlic salt.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ( I used 80%) ground beef
1 cup beef broth
1 cup water
1 package (1oz) taco seaosoning
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes, undrained. (I used a roasted garlic mix.)
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion (chopped frozen onions work great!)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (jarred garlic works perfectly)
4-6 oz ( half or a little more of 8-oz package) cream cheese, soften, cut into 1-inch pieces. I LOVE cream cheese, so I used 6oz!
3 cups cooked medium pasta shells
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

Sour cream and extra shredded cheese for toppings! I topped mine off with Pepper Jack cheese, for a little spice!


Directions:

1. Cook ground beef thoroughly...and SEASON!

2. Place cooked beef and remaining ingredients EXCEPT the pasta shells and cheddar cheese. Stir well.

3.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

4. About 15 minutes before serving, cook and drain pasta. Uncover slow cooker; stir in pasta and shredded cheese until well combined.

5. Cook uncovered on high 10-15 minutes, or longer until cheese is melted.

6. Serve with sour cream or other additional toppings of your choice!