Greek Pasta Salad

Our sister in-law Suzanne made us dinner the other night and it was terrific. She tried to copy it from a Greek salad she had tried at Costco. I loved the flavors that each of the ingredients brought to the dish. They blended together nicely. I really don't know what else to say besides it was a delicious pasta dish, one I will be making again soon.

Greek Pasta Salad
recipe from Suzanne

Makes a BIG bowl!

2 lb penne or rotini pasta, cooked

1 bottle Greek salad vinaigrette (Wishbone)

1 jar Greek olive blend, drained

1 container grape tomatoes

8 oz. pkg. Feta cheese

1 jar artichoke hearts, drained

1/2 red onion, chopped

cooked, cubed chicken, or rotesserie chicken shredded

First, cook your chicken (unless using a rotisserie chicken). Just season it with a little salt, pepper, and a little of the greek salad dressing. Suzanne also poured in some of the juice from the artichoke hearts to give it more flavor. I liked that idea. When chicken is cooked and cubed, set aside. Next, cook your pasta according to directions and drain. Place pasta in a large bowl. Combine with the rest of the ingredients, olives (drained), tomatoes, feta cheese, artichoke hearts (drained), and red onion. Now pour the vinaigrette on top and combine well. Use a little vinaigrette at a time, you may not want to use all of it, just however much you like. This dish is normally served cold, so refrigerate for a couple hours before serving! Serve with a side of garlic bread. Delish!

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

 Another casserole from The Pioneer Woman that we love! It is creamy, delicious and easy to prepare! Enjoy!

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

3 cups uncooked spaghetti, break into 2 inch pieces

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed*

1 quart chicken broth (low sod), set 1 1/2 cups aside for later

1 green pepper, diced

1 jar pimentos diced

½ onion, diced

1 tsp. Lawry’s season salt

Pepper

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper *optional

*Pioneer Woman cooks her chicken by boiling a whole chicken in a pot and then pulling the meat off the bones and using that water for her noodles. I prefer to just cook my boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or tenderloins, in a little olive oil and season them with salt and pepper and use chicken broth to cook my noodles. It doesn't matter what method you prefer to use, just cook 2 cups of chicken and dice them up! :) 

Preheat oven to 350. Break spaghetti into 2 in. pieces until you have 3 cups! Cook spaghetti in half water/half chicken broth. Dice green pepper, onion and chicken while noodles are cooking. Drain noodles and pour into large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients. Then pour 1 ½ c chicken broth into mixture. It should be creamy and smooth. Pour into a casserole dish and bake for 40 min.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

  

This is from none other than The Pioneer Woman. She doesn't do casserole type things very often, but when she does, they are always amazing. I really enjoyed this one. It is SO super easy and delish! I made a couple changes based on the comments she received, and I loved how it turned out.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 1/4 pound ground beef

1 can 15-ounces tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces, weight egg noodles

1/2 cups sour cream

1 1/4 cup cottage cheese, small curd

1/2 cup green onion, sliced 

1 small can diced black olives

1 cup sharp cheddar, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef in a large skillet. (While browning ground beef, you can begin to boil your water for the egg noodles.) After ground beef is browned, drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/4 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients. Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Now stir in your green onions and diced olives. Add to noodles and stir until noodles are coated evenly.

To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

Tortellini Sausage Soup

  This soup is hearty and delicious. No need to say more! It got great reviews and we will be making it again soon!

Tortellini Sausage Soup
adapted from Our Best Bites


1 lb. italian sausage

4 cloves pressed garlic
1 onion, diced
5 cups chicken broth 
3/4 c. apple cider or apple juice 
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. sliced carrots
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano (originally recipe called for 1 tsp, but I don't like oregano)
1-2 medium zucchini, grated (I only used 1, but if there is room for 2 add 2!)
8-10 oz. package cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen)
2 Tbsp. dried parsley (yes, that's two tablespoons)
Parmesan cheese grated for garnish

Begin cooking sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently. If your sausage is pretty fatty, you'll want to drain it when it's about halfway cooked. Meanwhile, chop onions and garlic and add to the sausage. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, juice, chicken broth, carrots, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour. Add parsley and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Add the tortellini and cook until tender, and then serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.

Creamy Roasted Tomato Pasta

I love roasted vegetables and I have always wanted to roast tomatoes. I saw this recipe on Cassie Craves and she ranked it as her favorite pasta dish of the whole YEAR! That was enough for me to want to try it out. I have to say, it was really good, like something you would order from Olive Garden. It is a very filling, and a heavy pasta dish, but I thought it was worth it.  Just load up on those veggies, you'll be fine. :)

Creamy Roasted Tomato Pasta
adapted from Cassie Craves and the Hungry Housewife


1 pound penne or rigatoni
2 pints grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup pesto *drain excess oil off top if any
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened and cubed
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chicken stock
*2 cups cooked cubed chicken, if desired
*toasted pine nuts optional, to add some texture to dish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring pasta water to boil, salt liberally, and cook pasta according to package directions. In a medium bowl toss the tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic vinegar salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with foil and pour the tomatoes onto it. Place in preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes (You’ll know the tomatoes are ready when they begin to burst. They should be done just as you’re finishing everything else if you time it right.) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the garlic to the butter and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Pour pesto into skillet and mix well. Add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Stir in parmesan cheese and chicken stock. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and and toss with the pasta, juices and all. Pour into a serving dish.

Garlic Noodles aka Chicken Scampi

I think this recipe started at my mom's house, and got passed along to my sisters. Since I live far from home, I was never around to try this, but boy did I hear about it! This is one of Jamie's family's favorite meal! They call them Garlic noodles, but you may know it as chicken scampi. It definitely lived up to its' expectations. I can't wait to eat this one again!

Garlic Noodles
Jamie Matthews



Chicken tenderloins cubed (I used about 8 tenderloins, whatever fit in my pan. You could use chicken breast)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 red pepper
1 green pepper *I used frozen red, yellow, and green pepper strips
1 can chicken broth *I don't use the whole can, but most of it
1/2 cup cream *I used milk and it was great
2-3 T flour
5-6 T Butter *divided, and you could always use more if desired
2 T olive oil
Salt/Pepper
1/2 lb cooked linguine or spaghetti noodles


Cook your chicken in a little olive oil and butter.  Flavor with salt and pepper or I've used Salad Supreme before and really liked it. Once chicken is cooked, put on a plate with tin foil over it to keep warm.

Prepare noodles by cooking them according to package directions. Drain and set aside. 

In same saute pan as you used to cook the chicken, add a few more TBSP butter and saute 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 onion and 1 each of red and green peppers. Let saute until soft. If needed added another 2 Tbsp of butter, if no butter left in pan. Then sprinkle the 2-3 T flour on top of the veggies. Stir in flour, then add slowly the chicken broth, while heat is on HIGH. You don't need the whole can of chicken broth. Add about 1/2 cup of milk or cream. Let it thicken. 
Place cooked noodles in the pot you cooked them, pour in thickened garlic sauce. Throw the cooked, cubed chicken in and mix well. Then enjoy!!! 

Sausage Tortellini

I LOVE this meal. It is so incredibly easy and quick to prepare. I'm talking 10 minutes and it is ready to eat at the table. It is very filling as well, such a hearty dish. Oh yeah, and it tastes fabulous too. :) Don't be scared of the sausage, it really isn't overpowering. This will be a family favorite I promise!

Brown the sausage and drain if necessary.


Cook the tortellini for a couple minutes is all. I was always told that once they start popping to the top, then that means they are done!


Mix meat, noodles, and marinara sauce.





Enjoy this yummy and hearty dish!

Sausage Tortellini
adapted from Or So She Says

1 pkg. cheese tortellini, fresh or frozen

1 pkg. Jimmy Dean sausage, regular

1 jar of marinara sauce or spaghetti, *I use Ragu Garden Combo because I LOVE it and it counts as a full serving of veggies!

Brown the sausage. Drain excess grease if you have some. While sausage is browning, cook the tortellini. It should only take a couple minutes. Drain tortellini and throw in with the sausage. Pour the pasta sauce in and mix all together. Heat through and serve!!!