Pizziti - Pizza & Baked Ziti ~ A new twist!

1 box Penne Pasta

1 small pack of pepperoni

1/2 pound of mild italian sausage

1 pound of ground beef

1 small onion (diced)

1/2 green bell pepper (diced)

1 can of mushrooms or 1/2 cup of fresh baby bellas

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

1 jar of pizza sauce (Very important - do NOT substitute with spaghetti sauce -- it changes everything!!)

16 oz of shredded motzerella cheese

Cook your pasta until its almost tender.

In a pan, saute your pepperoni and take it out after it gets just crisp. Do NOT over cook it. Drain the pepperoni on paper towels and pat dry. (Omitting this step will cause your dish to be too greasy ~ so its very important – don't skip it!!)

In the pepperoni grease, cut the sausage from the casing and break it up with the ground beef and brown them. Drain the grease and add in onion, bell peppers, and mushrooms and saute until the vegetables are just tender.

In a large bowl, add in the drained cooked pasta and the meat mixture and the jars of sauce. Fold in half of your cheese and most of your pepperoni. Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the remaining pepperoni. Bake for 30 minutes at 350! Enjoy!

You can add anything you like to this that you enjoy on pizza (i.e. olives, jalapenos, ham, anything…)

Mexican Chicken Pasta

• 3 cups bow tie pasta, uncooked
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/4 lb.), cut into strips
• 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) Velveeta cheese, cut up
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
• 1/4 cup milk

1. COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package; drain. Return to saucepan.
2. SPRAY large skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until cooked through.
3. ADD to pasta in saucepan along with the remaining ingredients; cook on low heat until VELVEETA is melted, stirring occasionally.
   

Homemade Chicken Alfredo

• 1 (8 ounce) box of fettuccine
• 1 package of non-breaded chicken tenders or boneless skinless breasts
• 1 tbsp of olive oil (used only if cooking chicken in a skillet on the stove)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 + 1/2 cups grated/shredded Parmesan cheese.
• 1 cup of motzerella cheese
• 1 tub of cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper (I would NOT use fresh cracked for this recipe)
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional) - (Garnish with FRESH herbs ONLY. DO NOT garnish with dried. The flavor would be too overbearing to use dried parsley flakes)

1. Cook fettuccine according to directions on the package.
2. Brown chicken (cut into bite-sized pieces) in the olive oil OR grill them on an indoor grill (i.e. George Foreman grill). After they're done, let them rest for a few minutes before you slice them into bite-sized pieces to keep them juicy.
3. While fettuccine is cooking, add in the heavy cream and butter into a sauce pan and stir until its hot and bubbly and the butter has completely melted. Add in the salt & pepper and the cheeses and stir until completely melted. This part may take a while - but be patient, its well worth the wait!
4. Cook pasta until its tender and drain.
5. Pour cooked pasta and chicken into a bowl and drizzle over it the white sauce and fold thoroughly until every tender morsel is coated in this YUMMY sauce!
6. Garnish with parsley if you feel its completely necessary. Usually the only garnish I need is some extra parmesan cheese on top! Enjoy!

Okay okay..... I know this is an incredibly sinful recipe, so I put a less guilty version. Replace the five purple ingredients above with these five purple ingredients below. The method is the same.

1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup evaporated fat-free milk
3/4 cup grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese blend
3/4 cup of reduced fat motz. cheese
1 canister of fat free cream cheese

This is a very versatile recipe. Feel free to add peas or broccoli, substitute the chicken with shrimp or a mixture of both, and you can also switch up the type of pasta you use, from fettuccini to rotini, penne, or whatever you like!   

Cavatini

• 1 lb of ground hamburger meat (browned and drained well)
• 3 mild italian sausage links (either browned in the casing and sliced OR squeezed out of the casing and browned with the hamburger)
• 1 pound of pasta (rigatoni, elbow macaroni, penne, or shells) (cooked al dente - still a little firm)
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 (32 oz) can of tomato sauce (puree)
• 1 onion (chopped to your preference)
• 1 tsp of italian seasoning (oregano & thyme combination) OR 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 4 good four-finger pinches of sugar (using thumb and first three fingers ~ it helps to cut the acidity in the tomato puree)
• 1 small can of mushrooms (drained)
• 2 (8 oz) bags of shredded cheese (1 italian blend & 1 mozzarella)
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Put on a pot of water to boil and put a lid on it (Water boils faster when it has a lid on it)
3. While waiting for the pasta water to boil - In a large skillet, brown the italian sausage and hamburger together with the onion at medium to high heat. Usually about the same time the meat gets brown, the water is usually boiling.
4. When the pot of water comes to a boil add a pinch of salt but no oil. (Adding oil to pasta while its cooking causes the pasta itself to also becoming oily and prevents sauce from sticking to the pasta) - Boil the pasta until JUST BEFORE its done and the pasta is still firm (al dente).
5. Lower the heat. Add in the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, herbs (spices), sugar, and mushrooms. Let them simmer until the pasta is al dente.
6. When the pasta gets done, ladle out 1/2 cup of pasta water into the sauce, and then drain it well.
7. Dump pasta into a big mixing bowl. Fold in the sauce/meat mixture.
8. Fold in 1/2 of each bag of cheese.
9. Grease 9 x 13 pan using 1 tbsp of olive oil and spread around with a paper towel.
10. Pour pasta mixture into the pan and top with the remaining cheese.
11. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 25-30 minutes.
    

*KITCHEN TIP*

Spray the underside of the aluminum foil that will be covering the dish with non-stick cooking spray. It helps to prevent all the cheese from peeling off the top of the dish and stuck to the tin foil after its done baking.

Also, when covering a pan of tomato-based pasta with aluminum foil, make sure it doesn't lay directly on top of it ~ Tent it a tad bit.

BBQ Pork Chops

• 1 package of boneless pork chops
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bottle of "Original" flavor BBQ sauce
• 1/2 of a sweet onion (chopped to your preference)

1. Salt and pepper raw porkchops to taste.
2. Place into crockpot with onions and BBQ sauce.
3. Put on the lid and cook on HIGH setting 1-2 hours and then turn down on LOW setting until ready to eat.

Here is the general rule for crockpots as far as the age-old question:

To preheat or NOT to preheat?

You put COLD food into a COLD crockpot.

You put HOT food into a HOT crockpot.

BBQ Pulled Pork

• 1 Pork Roast
• 1 bottle of "Hickory" flavored BBQ sauce.
• Crockpot

1. Simmer on Low 3-4 hours.
2. Shred with a fork and serve either on a bun as a pulled pork sandwich. Also great on a baked potato with butter, sour cream, cheese, and chives.

Here is the general rule for crockpots as far as the age-old question:

To preheat or NOT to preheat?

You put COLD food into a COLD crockpot.

You put HOT food into a HOT crockpot.

Stuffed Italian Shells

• 1 packages frozen, chopped spinach
• 1 pound browned hamburger meat
• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• Handful of finely chopped Videalla onions
• Grated Parmesan
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 (1-pound) package jumbo pasta shells
• 1 can of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• Extra parmesan and mozzarella cheese

1. Mix everything but the shells and extra cheese and spaghetti sauce together in a bowl.
2. Boil the shells until they're almost done leaving them a bit chewy.
3. Stuff the shells and place them into a 9 x 13 pan.
4. Pour over the spaghetti sauce over the shells and top with the extra cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

***Yields one 9 x 13 Pan FULL of stuffed shells***