Lynn's Kitchen Adventures » Pasta

Fiesta Macaroni

Lynn — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:42:53 +0000

Today for Ground Beef Thursday I have another quick, easy, and inexpensive dinner idea for you. This is one of my family’s favorite quick and easy meals. It is similar to my taco pasta, but has a different flavor. And we love this just as much as we do the taco pasta.

This is one of those ground beef recipes that is truly quick and easy, budget and kid friendly.

Fiesta Macaroni

3 cups macaroni noodles
1 lb ground beef
1 -16 ounce jar salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can -15 ounce chili beans

Cook macaroni noodles according to package directions.
In a skillet cook ground beef, until browned and done. Drain off fat.
Combine cooked beef, cooked noodles, salsa, 1 ½ cups cheese, and chili beans.
Place mixture in a 9×13 pan and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Cook at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
Serve and enjoy!

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Creamy Bacon and Tomato Pasta

Lynn — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:09:26 +0000

If you have read my site for long than you know I love quick and easy meals. Meals that can be prepared in thirty minutes or less are a must most nights in my house.

Pasta is one of our favorite quick and easy meals.

The other thing that you might know if you have read my site for long is that we love bacon. Bacon is the perfect addition to many recipes because it adds so much flavor.

This Creamy Tomato and Bacon Pasta contains not only bacon, but also cream cheese. The cream cheese gives the perfect amount of creaminess that goes so well with the smokiness of the bacon.

And the best thing about this meal is that it can be prepared in thirty minutes or less.

Creamy Tomato and Bacon Pasta

½ lb bacon, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 ounces of cream cheese, cut into pieces and at room temperature
1 lb pasta of your choice
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet cook bacon pieces until crisp and browned. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off all but a few tablespoons of the grease from the pan.
Add onion to the pan and cook until tender. This will take about 5 minutes. Add more bacon grease back to the pan if needed.
Once the onion is tender add tomatoes. Stir well and add bacon pieces back to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low for 10 minutes.
While sauce is cooking, cook pasta according to directions on the package.
After the sauce has cooked 10 minutes, stir in the cream cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
Serve the sauce over the cooked pasta and enjoy!

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Adapted from Paula Deen

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Spicy Pasta and Sausage

Lynn — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:36:10 +0000

We love pasta in our house. It is usually an inexpensive, quick, and easy meal to make that everyone enjoys.

This spicy pasta and sausage is a dish that I came up with recently when I wanted to make something that was a little different than the normal pasta I usually make.

We all loved this. The rotel tomatoes help give it some spice, while the cream and cheese give it a nice texture. And I really loved the fact that it was a one pot meal. You will be seeing this on the menu plan again soon.

Spicy Pasta and Sausage Bake

1 lb sausage
1 onion, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (14 ounce) chicken broth
1 (10 ounce) can rotel tomatoes, or tomatoes with green chilies
½ cup cream
1 lb penne pasta ( I used gluten free)
2 cups shredded, colby jack cheese ( you could use just about any cheese for this)

In a large pan cook sausage and onion until the sausage is browned and the onion is tender. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in broth, tomatoes, cream, and pasta. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and cover pan. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Stir in cheese until melted, and serve.

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Bacon Spaghetti

Lynn — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:33:25 +0000

My kids declared this bacon spaghetti one of the best meals that I have made and I have to agree, this spaghetti was really good.

But, how could it be bad when it contains a pound of bacon? Anything with a pound of bacon in it has to be good, doesn’t it?!

As soon as I saw this recipe in one of my pork cookbooks, I knew I had to try it. We love spaghetti and we love bacon, so I knew combining the two would make a perfect meal.

This is basically a version of a baked spaghetti, but the bacon in it makes it a little different. It also contains very little cheese compared to many baked spaghetti recipes, but the amount of bacon in it, makes up for the lack of cheese.

I think the combination of pasta, sauce, bacon, and cheese is perfect in this.

If you like bacon, you need to try this. Seriously, this is really that good.

Bacon Spaghetti

8 ounce spaghetti noodles ( I used gluten free)
1 lb bacon, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 -14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese ( I use the real stuff, not the stuff from the green can.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta in water until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Drain the pasta and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, fry the bacon until browned and cooked completely.
Drain bacon, reserving a few tablespoons of grease.
Cook onion and pepper in reserved bacon grease until tender and lightly browned.
In a large bowl combine bacon, cooked onion and pepper mixture, tomatoes, and spices. Add cooked spaghetti noodles and mix together well.
Spread into a greased 9×13 pan or other similar casserole dish.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until heated.

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Tomato Tuna Pasta

Lynn — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:18:33 +0000

I am not a fan of basic tuna casseroles. I like tuna, just not the tuna casserole that many of us grew up eating. I like a more updated or modern take on the tuna casserole.

Tuna dishes like my Skillet Tuna Casserole and today’s recipe for Tomato Tuna Pasta are similar to a tuna casserole, but different. They are a little fancier than your basic tuna casserole and I that is what I like about them.

One of the good things about today’s recipe is that it is all done on the stove top, so it is not really casserole like at all. It is really more of a tuna and tomato sauce over pasta.

And because it is done on the stove top it is very quick and easy. Not only that it contains pantry ingredients that I almost always have on hand.

Tomato Tuna Pasta

1 tablespoon of oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
18 ounces or so of canned tuna, drained ( I prefer the kind in the pouches not the canned here)
2- 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
¼ cup cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb penne or other type pasta
Parmesan cheese for serving

Cook pasta according to directions.
Heat oil in a skillet and cook oil until tender.
Add garlic and cook one minute longer.
Stir in red pepper flakes, tuna, and tomatoes. Cook on medium low for 20 minutes.
Add cream and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with cooked and drained pasta.
Enjoy!

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Adapted from Martha Stewart

This post linked to Tasty Tuesday and $5 Dinners.

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Pepper Jack Macaroni and Cheese

Lynn — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:19:02 +0000

What is not to like about macaroni and cheese? Noodles covered in cheese is always a good thing in my opinion.

We love macaroni and cheese and eat it often at our house. We eat usually eat it for lunch, but it also makes a great side or main dish for dinner.

Because we eat macaroni and cheese often, I like to change it up and make different versions. One easy way to change up macaroni and cheese is to use different cheeses.

One of my favorite cheeses to use for a different variation is pepper jack. Not only does pepper jack cheese add a little spiciness to the macaroni and cheese, but it gives it a nice creaminess that I don’t think you get with using just cheddar cheese.

What is your favorite version of macaroni and cheese to make?

Pepper Jack Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 lb elbow macaroni ( I used gluten free pasta)
3 eggs
1 can (12 ounce) evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

Cook macaroni according to directions.
In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and cayenne pepper. Stir in cheese.
Add cooked pasta and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.
Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
Serve and enjoy!

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One Pot Spaghetti

Lynn — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:44:05 +0000

If you have read my site for long you know that I love quick and easy recipes. I love to cook and spend all day in the kitchen, but the reality is that my day to day recipes need to be quick and easy.

When Laura at Organizing Junkie had one pot spaghetti on her menu plan a few months ago, I was intrigued with the idea, but I knew it needed to be adapted to fit my family’s likes and tastes.

I took the basic idea, and changed quite a few things. The original recipe had you using tomato paste and water, this would work, but I thought I would get much better flavor from using a jar of spaghetti sauce. I don’t usually like jarred sauces, but in this case it works really well.

I also changed it and used fresh mushrooms instead of canned, you can leave the mushrooms out all together if you don’t like them.

I tweaked a few other things and with all those changes my version is really nothing like the recipe Laura linked to, but we really enjoyed it and it was so easy to make. This is a perfect meal for a busy night.

Thanks for the idea of One Pot Spaghetti Laura.

One Pot Spaghetti

1 lb ground beef or sausage
8 ounce fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 14 ounce can chicken broth ( or homemade)
1 – 26 ounce (or so) jar of spaghetti sauce
½ cup water
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti, broken into pieces
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan cook meat and onion until onion is tender and meat is browned.
Drain any fat off and return to pan.
Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until mushrooms are tender.
Add broth, spaghetti sauce, and water and bring to a boil.
Add noodles and reduce heat.
Cover and cook 17-20 minutes or until noodles are tender. You will need to stir this occasionally and add more water if necessary.
Stir in Parmesan cheese.
Serve and enjoy!

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Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

Lynn — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:02:43 +0000

This creamy pumpkin pasta was so quick and easy and it ended up being a meal that my whole family really enjoyed.

It is also a perfect meal for the fall. Serve this with bread and salad and you will have a quick and easy meal that everyone will enjoy.

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

1 lb pasta ( I used gluten free)
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1- 15 ounce can pumpkin
½ cup cream
1 dash hot sauce ( more if you like it spicy)
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
bacon-cooked (optional, but makes it better)

Cook pasta according to directions.
While pasta is cooking heat oil and cook onion until tender.
Add garlic and cook one minute longer
Stir in chicken broth, pumpkin, cream, and hot sauce. Cook over low until heated through and slightly thickened.
(Add bacon if using)
Stir sauce onto drained pasta and add cheese.
Stir well and serve.

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Simple Pasta Sauce

Lynn — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:24:24 +0000

If your family is anything like mine than spaghetti is probably a meal that is often on the menu plan. There is something very kid and family friendly about pasta.

Today’s recipe for spaghetti is one I recently came up with. I have another quick and easy spaghetti sauce on my site that my family enjoys, but today’s recipe is even easier than my other recipe. Not only that this recipe more closely resembles store bought sauce.

I have never been a huge fan of store bought jarred spaghetti sauces. I do have a few recipes that use them, but in general we prefer homemade sauces. By making my own sauce I can control what goes into it. I can season and adjust it just how I like. When it comes from a jar it is harder to control the seasoning and the sweetness of the sauce.

The trouble with homemade sauces though is that they often take a lot of time to make. My friend Toni posted a great example today of how much time they can take.

I do not usually have a lot of time to spend making a homemade sauce, which is why today’s recipe is perfect. This sauce is so quick and easy, yet it is very good.

Simple Pasta Sauce

4- 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
2 teaspoons oil
1 tablespoon sugar ( or a little less)
¾ teaspoons dried basil
½ teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup of Italian Cheese or a mix of Parmesan and Romano cheese
cooked ground beef or sausage- optional
You can add mushrooms, onions, or anything else you like in your sauce to this.

Combine all ingredients, but cheese in a pan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and add cheese. Stirring until cheese is melted.
Serve with your favorite pasta.

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Pizza Pasta

Lynn — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:32:29 +0000

Any meal with the name pizza in it is sure to be a kid pleaser.

Although this meal is not pizza, it contains many of the same ingredients that pizza does and my kids love it as much as they do my taco pasta.

Pizza Pasta

1 ½ cups uncooked macaroni style pasta ( I used a gf pasta)
2 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese ( the stuff in the green can for this recipe)
½ cup sour cream
1 ½ cups pizza or marinara type sauce
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
30 ( or so) slices of pepperoni ( I degrease my pepperoni)
1 small can (2 ¼ ounce) black olives, sliced

Cook pasta according to directions and drain.
Stir together pasta with remaining ingredients.
Place in a 9×13 pan and bake art 375 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

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