Creamy Chicken Marsala

 I LOVE ordering chicken marsala out...it's one of my favorite Italian dishes despite not like mushrooms. So yes I did make this dish and yes I did NOT eat the mushrooms, but it was pretty darn near perfect of a marsala recipe that I've made.

Creamy Chicken Marsala
1 lb chicken breast, cut into cubes
10-12 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup marsala cooking wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 lb pasta(I used penne)
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese

Melt 1 tbsp butter in pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper, cook until lightly browned. Remove to a plate.

Cook pasta according to directions.

Melt 1 tbsp butter in pan, add in garlic, mushrooms, and onion. Cook for about 5-6 minutes. Add chicken back in. Combine marsala, cream, and chicken broth and add it to the pan, bring to a boil. Simmer until slightly thickened.

Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup cooking water. Add pasta to sauce and stir to combine. Cook until sauce has been  absorbed a bit by pasta. Add cooking water in needed. Sprinkle with paremsan cheese and season with salt and pepper if desired.

**I almost doubled the sauce mixture...but I figured it was the first time I made it so I wanted to keep it the way it was written until I knew what to change next time. I do think next time I'll double the sauce...I think it also needed to be thicker, but the flavor was SPOT on and delicious!! YUM! Even my boys liked it, which surprised me!

Mini Chicken Meatballs with Pasta

I didn't quite read this recipe all the way through to discover I needed chicken broth for the sauce...so I adapted it to something else! I do have to say it tasted WONDERFUL! (oh and please excuse the picture!)

Mini Chicken Meatballs with Pasta-adapted from What Megan's Making
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten*
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp ketchup
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley(I used 2 tbsp dried parsley)
1/2 lb pasta, cooked to pkg directions

*I thought the mix was a bit wet with 2 eggs in it, but they did cook up nicely and were moist.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix together all the ingredients. Form into mini meatballs and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 mins until cook throughly.

Sauce/veggies
1-2 qts grape tomatoes
sliced sweet peppers(optional)
olive oil
salt and pepper
2-3 tbsp tomato and basil seasoning mix(I used tastefully simple)

Place tomatoes and pepper on cookie sheet with sides. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast with meatballs until tomatoes start to pop.

Place drained pasta in large serving dish. Scrape veggies and all the juices over the pasta and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on seasoning and stir to combine. Let sit a few minutes to allow flavors to meld. Add in meatballs.

**This was better than I thought it was going to be! It was perfectly light and flavorful! WE did cut the meatballs in half for the leftovers to help stretch them out more. The meatballs were moist and very flavorful!

Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Peppers, and Kale

I found some natural chicken sausages marked down at the store one day. They were provolone and wine flavored thought they sounded interesting, but once I got home I wasn't sure what to do with them! Then I found this recipe and thought it sounded perfect for them. You can use any kind of sausage of course! I also replaced the escarole with Kale, I never had it before, but I knew I liked Kale.

Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Peppers, and Kale-adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes
1 lb chicken sausage
3 sweet peppers, sliced
1 onion, sliced
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped
1 lb pasta
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Cook sausage until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside. In hot pan, add in peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook for about 5 mins until tender. Add in kale and cover for about 3 mins, stir and continue cooking for another 3 mins until kale is wilted. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water.

Mix together veggies, pasta, and sausage. Add in crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and water. Stir to combine. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top!

**This was tasty and different. The sausage had a unique flavor to it, not sure if will be something I purchase again, but it was still tasty! I loved all the veggies that are in it, of course I had added more! This could easily be adapted to vegetarian. It was an easy dish to prepare and perfect for a light meal!

Steak Sauce Pasta

The original recipe was called Steak Sauce Rigatoni...but I knew I had 3 or 4 boxes of pasta already so I used rotini. You can use any kind of pasta you like in this recipe of course!

Steak Sauce Pasta-Apples and Twinkies
1 lb pasta
1 lb flank steak
2-3 sweet peppers, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 28 oz jar spaghetti sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup red wine(I used merlot)
1 cup beef broth

Cook pasta according to pkg and drain.

In the meantime, slice steak thin and cook until done. Remove from pan. Add in peppers, onions, and garlic. Cook for about 5-8 mins. Add in wine and cook for another 1-2 mins. Add in spaghetti sauce and broth simmer for about 10 mins. Stir pasta into steak sauce and serve.

**I was afraid that the wine would over power this dish, but it did not! I'm not a wine fan but I like the flavor it adds to dishes. It was a sweet and savory dish(do to using Francesco Rinaldi sauce) K and I both really liked it!

Cal-260/cup

Olive Garden's Chicken (Homemade) Gnocci Soup

I was out to lunch one day and tried this soup...it was AMAZING! Later that week this recipe popped up so I knew I had to try it!

This does include a recipe also for homemade gnocci, but you can buy your favorite brand!

Chicken Gnocci Soup-shared from Brenda's Canadian Kitchen
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp flour
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, finely diced
1 cup carrots, shredded
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 qt half and half
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chicken, chopped
1 lb gnocci*
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
pamesan cheese

Place butter and oil in large kettle and allow to melt and get warm. Add in veggie and saute for about 5 mins or until onions are translucent. Stir in flour and let cook for one min. Add in half and half, stir to combine. Add in chicken. Stir.Once mixture becomes thick add in chicken broth, once thickened again add the cooked gnocci and seasonings, continue cooking until heated through. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Cook gnocci according the package or recipe directions.

**This soup was REALLY good! K went back for seconds, but I honestly can't remember how it compares to OG's but it is still very tasty!

Homemade Gnocci(via Foodnetwork)

This might sound hard, but they actually are not! The most time consuming part is "shaping" them, which I attempted, but then I figured they are going in the soup so I didn't really care about the shape. It also would have helped if I had the right kind of fork clean!

I did have to add some water to get my dough to form, although the recipe DID not call for water. I was mixing it and basically just had crumbs, so if this happens add just enough water to form a soft dough. I baked my potatoes so that may have been where I had trouble, less moisture was in them.

4 potaoes, cooked(recipes said to boil them)

1 1/4 cups flour plus 2 tbsp

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp fine salt

dash or two of nutmeg

pepper

water if needed

Run potatoes through a ricer. Or grate on the finest tooth on a box grater. Add in rest of the ingredients and lightly stir to form a soft dough. DO NOT over mix as this will make them tough.

Divide dough into six pieces. Roll dough into 3/4" width snake. Cut into pieces about 3/4" big. *Leave as is...or place a large salad fork at a 45 degree angel. Holding the dough with the finger and thumb gently push the dough over the back of the fork and down. This should cause the dough to have lines and a little divot on the other side.

Place on cookie sheet and continue until all dough is complete. Place in fridge and allow to rest for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.

When ready to cook, bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt water.  Place gnocci in boiling water and let cook 1-2 mins or until they rise to the top. Remove and drain excess water. Do not over cook gnocci as it will cause them to get tough.

**Considering this was the first time I've made them they were pretty good! The salted water is a plus and the nutmeg made them delicious!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I've seen this recipe floating around different places and I think K has even tried it at one of the restaurants (but I'm not sure which). I've been wanting to make it just haven't yet and the other day this recipe was brought up on my message board and it was all I could think about as it sounded delicious!

I used a combination of 2 recipes, one a friend of mine posted Jessi, and Pioneer Woman's.

Cajun Chicken Pasta
1 lb spaghetti(or any pasta)
1/2-1 lb chicken breast, cubed
3 sweet peppers, sliced(I used green, red, and yellow)
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp butter
cajun seasoning
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups half and half
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp lemon pepper

Cook pasta according to pkg directions.
Melt butter in pan. Sprinkle chicken with cajun seasoning with as much as you like. Place chicken in pan and cook until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add veggies and garlic into pan and sprinkle with more seasoning. Cook for about 5-8 mins until crisp tender. Remove from the pan. Add cream, broth, and lemon seasoning(more cajun if desired). Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer until sauce thickens. Add in chicken and veggies to coat.

**This should be a fairly quick and simple meal to get together, but for whatever reason it TOOK forever! Part of this is due to my pans that I cook with and my sheer impatience for sauce to thicken, but it finally did! This could have used more cajun seasoning as it wasn't spicy hot, but it definitely had a lot of flavor! It was even better the next day! I think if I make it again I want to try Ree's version with the actual wine and tomatoes! This one was creamy but not over the top rich!

4 Cheese Rosa Baked Pasta

In my quest to please K...and still have a meatless dinner, pasta and cheese usually fits the bill! I had a feeling he would love this, so I picked up the Rosa sauce to try it out. Although I think by the time I was done, it was actually a 6 cheese pasta...but that was because I used a 6 cheese blend on top!

4 Cheese Rosa Baked Pasta-Sidewalk Shoes
1 lb pasta(I used penne)
16-24 oz container reduced fat ricotta or cottage cheese
1 jar Bertolli 4 Cheese Rosa Sauce
1-2 cups shredded Italian Cheese
*I now realize that I left out some of the ingredients when making this, so you can use the original or how I did it.

Preheat oven to 350.
Cook pasta until al dente. Drain well. Mix pasta with rosa sauce and ricotta cheese. Place in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake covered for 25 mins, remove cover and bake for another 5 mins until hot and bubbly.

**This was really good! If you've never had a rosa sauce, it is a cross between a tomato sauce and alfredo sauce. It was creamy and delicious! K said it was the best vegetarian meal I've ever made...but it had cheese so of course he loved it!

Creamy Taco Mac

Well by popular demand, here is the recipe! I posted on Facebook about making this and 3 or 4 people requested it, so here it is! It was a pretty quick meal to come together!

Creamy Taco Mac-Shared from Jenn's Food Journey

8 oz elbow pasta

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, slightly drained

3 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 lb ground meat(I used chicken)

Taco Seasoning

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Brown mean and drain. Add in onion and cook for 3 mins and then add in garlic and cook for another 3 mins. Add in tomatoes and taco seasoning and bring to a boil, simmer for 5 mins. Add in sour cream and cream cheese, stir to melt. Simmer for another 2 mins. Coat pasta with sauce and enjoy!

**I did double this recipe. We both found it VERY spicy, which is odd for K to say! So next time I will only use half of the taco seasoning I made, but if you like spicy go ahead and use it. It was creamy and delicious! I think the addition of some corn would be fantastic in it too!

Sausage Pumpkin Penne

I know it sounds a bit...different. But I was excited to try it as I was intrigued by it. We are always up for trying new things and since I'm still on my pumpkin kick and was craving sausage we gave it a go! I did not tell K what was in it first nor did I tell A. I called it orange pasta!

Sausage Pumpkin Penne-shared from Newlyweds
1 lb sausage, casings removed
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 lb penne,cooked
1 onion, chopped
3-4 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup half and half
1 1/2 cup broth
1/2 cup sour cream(I used cottage cheese)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Parmesan Cheese for topping

Brown sausage and drain. Add in onion and garlic and saute for 5 mins or until tender. Whisk in broth, pumpkin, half and half, and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 mins. Add in sour cream and cook for another 4 mins uncovered.

Toss pasta with sauce and serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

**Q loved the sausage as he begged for it...I didn't give it to the boys at first as I didn't expect them to eat it. Just served them plain penne with cheese. A wouldn't try it but apparently Q would have. We both decided it was quite different and something definitely out of the ordinary, but it was very tasty!

I did use cottage cheese instead of sour cream as I didn't have any. When I looked up a sub for it they said to mix milk and cottage cheese together and puree it. I just skipped that part. You couldn't really taste or see the cheese. I thought the sauce was a bit thin at first, but attributed that to not use the sour cream to thicken it. But once it sat on the the pasta it was no longer thin.

Creamy Vegetable Pasta Toss

Again this is another recipe not intentionally made for this week....but I had all these veggies I needed to use asap so I went with it! This was also in an effort to go meatless at least once a week.

You may have to bare with me...as I might not get many recipes posted until my laptop is fixed, well the cord anyway. It had a little run in with a certain 3.5 yr old and he won, so I am currently on my husband's desktop and I only last so long with it because of my carpal tunnel, plus its not very convenient!

Creamy Vegetable Pasta Toss-shared by Taste of Home
1 lb pasta(I used penne)
1 sweet pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
4 summer/zucchini squash
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup sour cream
2/3 cup broth
1/2 cup parm cheese

Cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile saute veggies for 5 mins and add in broth. Cover and cook until veggies are tender. Add in ranch and sour cream heat until warm. Drain pasta and add to veggie mix. Stir throughly and serve.

*At first I thought this was water...aka too much broth. Or it could have been that I used ranch dressing and not dip, which may have been thicker. K ate it....and really liked it. I had a run in with chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter frosting so I wasn't hungry at dinner time. I did try some as I put away the leftovers and the sauce thickened nicely around the noodles and gave a great flavor. It was also pretty easy and used up the tasty summer veggies. I did mean to put some grape tomatoes in the mix as well. You can also add in carrots but I didn't have any. *Picture coming soon...

3 Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta

I stumbled upon this recipe while reading menu plans a couple weeks ago. It sounds delicous and something I know K and I will enjoy...A might like it because it is similar to mac and cheese and Q well for some reason doesn't like pasta, so I'll leave some chicken and cheese aside for him.

3 Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta- from Heavenly Homemakers
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
3 oz cream cheese
3 cups milk
3 tbsp butter(omitted)
1/4-1/2 grated parmesan cheese
1/2-1 cup shredded cheese
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta

Saute chicken and garlic in olive oil. Reduce heat to keep warm. Add milk and pasta to pot and bring to a boil, stir constantly while pasta is tender and milk is thickened. Add in cream cheese, cheddar, and parm cheese. Stir until melted. Add in chicken and garlic, stir to combine.

**Yes I added broccoli...and green beans. I added more milk and more macaroni, but the measurements had to have been off because it was still very saucy so in went the veggies. K really liked it...It was probably the best mac and cheese I've ever been able to make and no roux was needed! For some reason with 2 cloves of garlic we had NO garlic flavor...so I will definitely bump up the amount next time. It could have been the garlic I had....

Creamy Sausage Rigatoni and first garden harvest!

I originally saw this recipe in the Taste of Home Cooking School book. K LOVES this combination of food and I thought this was an interesting twist...I do have to say that we will probably never make it another way again!*Picture coming soon!

Creamy Sausage Rigatoni
1 lb rigatoni(or any pasta)
1 lb sausage(sweet or hot),sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 sweet pepper, sliced
1/2 pkg chopped baby carrots
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce

Bring water to a boil and add in rigatoni. Brown sausage, drain. Remove from pan, add in carrots, onions, and peppers. Cook for 5-10 mins until soft. Add sausage back in along with sauce and cheese. Stir and cook to combine sauce until heated through. Drain pasta, mix in with sauce and enjoy!

*The cream cheese adds a delicious creaminess and take on this dish! Next time I'll remember to add in more garlic. I added in the carrots to help boost the veggies as we did not have any peppers. I loved the sweetness they added!

First Garden Harvest
I was able to have my first good size garden harvest after coming back from vacation. The loot included:
-2 jalapeno peppers that for some reason turned red....not sure why, anyone know?
-4 of the funniest shaped cucumbers
-1 zucchini
-4 grape tomatoes that never even saw the inside of the house
-lettuce...that was very bitter. I wasn't expecting it to grow as much as it did while I was gone and should have told K to harvest it...it is HUGE probably 2-3 ft tall now. I have a feeling it may be gone by b/c of how bitter it was, but it is still out there.
-I sadly pulled all my broccoli plants and my cauliflower...well 1 of those only to discover that 2 now have something going on in them so we will see if i actually get cauliflower!

This post has been linked to Finding Joy in my Kitchen

Fruity Curry Chicken Pasta Salad

It has still been quite warm here...after all it is June, but its so different than last June where I think it rained for 20 something days that month. Anyway, I've been craving pasta salad even though I think I've made 2 or 3 different kinds in the past couple of weeks and had some at a grad party. So tonight I had on the menu enchiladas, but I didn't feel like eating them...so I started searching for a recipe for what I wanted, I finally gave up and made up my own!

Fruity Curry Chicken Pasta Salad
1/2 lb pasta, cooked, drained(I used rotinit)
1/2 cup mayo(enough to keep it moist)
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup chopped grapes
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
curry powder to taste

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy! I don't have exact measurements as sometimes I have a habit of not measuring especially if I'm making it up. I had a pretty big pinch of curry powder, and I think it could have used more!

**This was quite tasty and hit the spot perfectly! Next time I'll add more curry! YUM!

Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese

I can't remember where I found this recipe, but its the second time I've made it and been successful with it! So apparently if we want mac and cheese this will be the way its made, until I get brave enough to try a white sauce again...its just as easy to make as the "blue box" even K could handle it.

Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese
2 cups macaroni
2 cups broth
1/4-1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheese
pepper to taste
dash of dry mustard

Place macaroni and broth in rice cooker. Turn cooker on. Check after 15 mins to make sure you have enough liquid(esp if using whole wheat pasta). Check doneness of mac after 20 mins. Once done, stir in cheese and allow to melt. Turn to warm. slowly add milk, careful not to add to much. Season with pepper and dry mustard.

BLT Pasta

For anyone who lives in New England knows how hot it was yesterday...we peaked at 92 and it was very humid. Today was still humid and gross out so I knew I didn't want to eat anything heavy. I decided at the last moment to make this as K was actually going to be home for dinner. I saw this originally on a blog...sorry I can't remember whose it was, but its a Rachael Ray recipe so I followed that one.

BLT Pasta- adapted from Rachael Ray
1/2 lb angel hair
1/2 lb bacon, cooked/drained/crumbed
1 pt cherry or grape tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmasan cheese, grated
1 tbsp basil, dried
1 pinch of crushed red pepper
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and shredded
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Start water to boil for pasta.

Save about 2 tbsp of bacon grease after draining bacon and add in bread crumbs. Stir them around so they are nicely coated. Toast until golden brown. Turn off and remove from heat. Add in parm cheese and stir.

Place onion in 1 tbsp olive oil and cook until soft. Add in garlic, red pepper, and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Cover pan and allow to cook until tomatoes start to burst(about 3-4 mins). Lightly smash tomatoes, add in basil, and stir. Once you add the pasta to the water, add lettuce to the tomatoes and allow to wilt.

Drain pasta and add tomato mixture. Stir in bacon. I added a little olive oil here to to keep it loose.(1-2 tbsp) Stir. Place on plate and top with breadcrumb mixture.

**This was the perfect hot weather dish. It was light and tasted wonderful! We both really liked it. We ate all of it...this could easily be doubled or tripled and brought to a bbq or potluck. You may want to keep the lettuce to the side. The original recipe did call for arugula so you can go ahead and use that if you use.

Taco Pasta Salad

I love taco salad, but I generally use catalina dressing on it and well that has high fructose corn syrup, which is something we are trying to stay away from. I found this recipe at the Taste of Home and wanted to try it! It did not disappoint!

Taco Pasta Salad
3-4 cups rotini pasta, uncooked*
1 lb ground beef
taco seasoning
1 1/4 cup mayo
2-3 tbsp milk(which I completely forgot about)
1 tbsp+3/4 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp+3/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp ground mustard
1-2 tomatoes, diced
7 cups(or 1 bag) romaine lettuce, chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 cups crushed nacho tortilla chips(I used cheddar sun chips)

Cook pasta according to the pkg and drain. Brown beef and drain. Sprinkle taco seasoning on top, stir, and heat through. Mix together mayo, vinegar, sugar, milk, and mustard. Set aside. Mix together pasta, beef, tomatoes and mayo mixture. If you are going to eat it all in one sitting go ahead and stir in the lettuce. I knew we were going to finish it, so we topped each serving of lettuce with the pasta mixture. Then top with cheese and crushed chips.

*I used 3 cups of pasta, so I then added 1 cup of plain yogurt to add more "sauce". I don't like dry pasta. If I was smart and thinking I would have used half mayo half yogurt to begin with.

**This was very very good. I may never make taco salad any other way! I even forgot to add the milk. The boys didn't eat it, b/c it was too spicy for them. I keep meaning to alter the seasoning, so if you don't like spicy cut back on the chili powder, red pepper, and black pepper. This would taste good with sour cream too. This would also work great for a potluck, just leave the lettuce separate or put pasta on top.

This recipe has been linked Mommy's Kitchen

Angel Hair with Chicken and Artichokes

While at the Taste of Home Cooking show, they raffle off the dishes they make at the end of the night. Well this is the one I won!! YAY! Then I had to pray that it would make the over hour long ride home without wreaking havoc all over our cars! But it survived! It was really good too! It was one that I was hoping to make! Enjoy!

Angel Hair with Chicken and Artichokes-from Taste of Home Cooking School
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 oz prosciutto ham, thinly sliced and chopped
3/4 stick butter, cubed, divided
1 tbsp garlic, minced
small jar(6.5 oz) marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
1 cup chardonnay
1 1/4 cup cooked, diced chicken
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb angel hair pasta, cooked
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Add 1 tbsp oil over medium heat and add in ham cook until lightly browned. Add in remaining oil, 1 tbsp butter, garlic, capers, and artichokes and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 3 mins.

Scrap up brown bits from pan, and deglaze with wine. Stir, add in lemon slices and simmer sauce over heat until reduced by half. Add remaining butter stirring over low heat until incorporated, remove lemon slices.

Place cooked chicken in the sauce to warm through adding salt and pepper to taste. Pour chicken and sauce over pasta, sprinkle with cheese.

**I have not made this yet, but it was really good!

Pasta...NOT for me!

So I tried my hand at homemade pasta last night...boy was it a site to see! My mom sat at the table with Q and was having a very good laugh. I think I got a little over zealous and made WAY to much. I figured if I was doing it once I'd make some extra and freeze it. Well I barely got through enough for dinner so I stopped and frozen the rest of the dough.  Not sure how that will work out, but I just did NOT have the patience for it anymore.

The verdict: my mom said they looked like octopus tentacles...and wanted to know if it was something I'd eat as a kid. Then she proceeded to ask if I'd eat it if my dad gave it to me. My answer to that would have been no because knowing him it would have been octopus. A on the other hand ate the whole bowl I gave him. We liked it, but I did not roll the dough as thin as it needed to be and it plumbed up a lot...they also were NOT uniform or even thin like spaghetti.

I also lost 2 eggs after the egg box decided to jump off the table...I had egg everywhere. Oh the mess I made and it was very time consuming to me. I also used half whole wheat and half regular flour and that may have been where I went wrong too. I am sad to report that until I have the money to purchase an attachment to the kitchen aid or buy a pasta maker, this will be one thing I still eat from a box. It was a good experience though, but not one I have the patience for!

If you would like to try it yourself there are great resources for you to try...so check out my fellow bloggers on how to make your own noodles.

Pioneer Woman

Finding Joy In My Kitchen

Mexican Stuffed Shells

I found this recipe for Black Bean and Spinach Egg Rolls while searching for vegetarian recipes. I watch a little boy 2 days a week and have to provide lunch for him. I wanted to be creative so when I stumbled upon this I immediately put them on our menu. The egg rolls themselves are one of the best things I have ever had and one of my favorite dishes. I have been wanting to make them again, but I keep forgetting the wrappers so I decided to try this recipe.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

26 shells, cooked according to pkg
1 can black beans, rinsed, drained(or 1 2/3 cup cooked dry beans)
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 cups reduced fat Mexican cheese, divided
1 pkg chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2-3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 jar salsa
1 pt roasted cherry tomatoes

Mix together beans, spinach, 1 cup cheese, corn, and spices. Place tomatoes and salsa in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.  Spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan.  Spoon mixture into shells. Place sauce over shells and cover with 1 cup cheese.  Place in 350 degree oven for 30-35 mins.

**if you are not a fan of spicy food I would tone down the cayenne and chili powder. My spice tolerance must be getting better as they border lined spicy for me, but it didn't last long. The tomatoes aren't really needed, but I needed to use them up. You can also use a can of diced or more salsa.

Kid's Help: count out shells, measure spices, wash tomatoes