I posted this recipe on my other blog wonderfullysavedbygrace.blogspot.com last year. I thought I would share it on here since it is SO yummy! My husband and I love the Alfredo Pesto Ravioli from Maggiano's. So, I thought I would try to recreate it. I had a surprise date night for him. I told him that I picked it up from Maggiano's and he totally bought it. I don't know if it is that good but give it a try and let me know what you think. Of course, a few bites in I told him that I made it : ). This would be a great meal to fix for your man as a surprise date night! I made stuffed mushrooms to go along with it.

Pesto Sauce (you can always buy store bought but i don't think the sauce will turn out as good)
In a food processor, blend:
1 cup fresh basil (or you can use cilantro...i prefer basil for this dish)
1/2 cup pecans (or you can use pine nuts but I like pecans much better in pesto)
5 garlic cloves
1/2 cup asiago cheese (or parmesan)
coarse ground black pepper (about one tsp)
salt

Gradually add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup evoo until desired consistency (thick paste). You will want to taste and add salt and pepper as you like. Then, set pesto aside.

Alfredo Sauce
2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1 1/2 sticks of butter (12 tbsps)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice or a couple tsp. of concentrated lemon juice
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup asiago
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. white pepper
salt to taste

In a large skillet, stir together cream and lemon juice. Add the butter and turn on medium heat and stir until the butter is melted. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook on low heat until the sauce thickens. Stir constantly so it does not burn the bottom. Once it has thickened, add the pesto and heat through.

I used store bought ravioli from the refrigerated section. I bought the Buitoni mushroom kind. I really want to make my own ravioli one day. I will let you know when I do!

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

I got this recipe out of the Food Network magazine. I actually haven't eaten it yet since I just made it this morning for us to eat for dinner tonight but I am posting it for those of you that have asked for it. This evening, I will sit down and post a comment about how yummy it is because I can already tell it will be. Let me say one thing about an ingredient in this mac and cheese...PANKO crumbs! I use panko crumbs on just about every casserole that I make. I love them! If you haven't tried them, then this is the time. Don't just settle for regular bread crumbs...go for the panko. You can get them fairly cheap at Wal-mart.

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni (I use cavatappi or conchigilie)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup hot sauce (preferably Frank's)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 pound yellow sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 1/2 cups)
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. It depends on what kind of noodles you are using. I usually cook them 2-3 minutes under what the bag says to cook them for them to be al dente. They will continue to cook in the oven in the sauce. You want them to still have a bite to them. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.

Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top.

Put the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley. Sprinkle over the macaroni and bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Spinach Lasagna

This is a recipe that I adapted from a recipe that I got from my friend, Carlyn. It was passed around her freezer swap group so she passed it on to me. It works great as a freezer meal or as a meal to take to someone. It makes 2 9x13 pans of lasagna or you can split it into 3 8x8 pans. It is absolutely delicious! Now, I haven't actually made it like the original recipe so mine might not be as good as the original : ). If you try it both ways before I do, let me know if it makes any difference. The only differences in mine and the original is that I omitted the cream of mushroom soup (and made my own) and I sauteed the vegetables. The original would be much easier to make and has a lot less steps than the one I made. I just really like the taste of homemade cream of mushroom "soup". However, I will make it like the original next time just to compare.

18 no boil lasagna noodles
EVOO
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed (Squeeze as much liquid out of the spinach as you can using your hand. The rest of the liquid will get cooked off in the skillet)
4 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken (Season 3 split chicken breasts with salt and pepper and cook in the oven for about 40 minutes on 350 degrees. Cover with foil and let cool. Shred or dice the chicken.)
4 cups shredded white cheddar (You can use any other cheese you like. I just love white cheddar.)
1 onion, diced
8-16 oz mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cream
1 cup chicken broth/stock
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
16 oz sour cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat skillet with a few swirls around the pan of EVOO. Saute mushrooms until they start getting a golden color. Add the onions. Sprinkle with a tsp or so of salt to help release the liquid. Let the onions cook 3-4 more minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the spinach. Sprinkle with flour. Stir and let cook for a minute. Whisk in the chicken broth and then the cream. Let it cook for 6-7 minutes or until thickened. Add the chicken. Take off the heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a bowl, mix together sour cream, mayo, soy sauce, pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in the cooled cream chicken mixture.

In a greased 9x13 pan, place a layer of the cream mixture. Lay down 3 no boil lasagna noodles. Top with more cream mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Place 3 more noodles down. Top with cream mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Place the last 3 noodles down and top with more cream mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Top with pecan/Parmesan mixture.

Repeat in the other 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

You will just need to guess about how much cream mixture and cheese you put on each layer. Just keep in mind that they will be used for both pans. If you have never worked with "no boil" noodles, you will love them! You don't have to cook them at all. Just lay them down. Make sure that every corner has some of the sauce on them. The layer of sauce doesn't need to be thick for the noodles to soften, it just has to be covered. I think you could use the no boil noodles in the original. I will let you know when I try it.


Original Recipe:
24 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
4 cups diced chicken(i cooked mine first)
4 cups shredded cheddar
2/3 cup finely diced onion
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 cans cream of mushroom
16 oz. sour cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise

Topping:
1 cups grated Parmesan
1 cups chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients in very large bowl. In a large and deep baking dish, layer chicken mixture, noodles, chicken, noodles, chicken. Sprinkle with topping. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Menu Planning Monday (On Saturday)

So, I just spent the last 2 hours planning our meals. We have 12 dinners before we get paid. Since money is a little tight, I decided to try to get all 12 dinners (plus lunches and breakfast stuff) out of our normal amount of money for one week of groceries. My plan is to make 6 meals that can all be eaten twice or that I can used to make another meal. So, for all of the meals that are casseroles, I will make the whole recipe and separate it into 2 or 3 8x8 pans depending on how much it makes. We will eat one that night and save the other for the next week. Hopefully, we will like these recipes enough to eat them twice so close together : ). My estimated cost of all of these meals plus lunch and breakfast stuff for my boys is going to be $100. I will let you know what happens!

Sunday - Pizza (I am trying a new technique this week and new dough recipe that is supposed to make the pizza thin and crispy. It uses semolina flour and slow rising overnight. I will let you know how it turns out and pass on the recipe.)
Monday - Sunny Anderson's Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Tuesday - Chicken Parmigiano
Wednesday - Chicken Parm Subs (made from leftover chicken parm)
Thursday - Giada's Ragu with Mint (It is made with ground lamb but I will more than likely use ground beef unless there is an awesome sale on ground lamb...which I doubt.)
Friday - My mac-n-cheese topped with bacon and onions
Saturday - Pizza
Sunday - Sunny Anderson's Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Monday - Giada's Ragu with Mint
Tuesday - My mac-n-cheese topped with bacon and onions
Wednesday - Pan fried Chicken with gravy and rice (Chicken breasts are on sale at Lowe's foods for $1.99 a pound)

Baked Ravioli

3 packages of frozen cheese ravioli
1 pound ground sirloin or ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
5 cups of Basic Tomato Sauce
1 cup stock (whatever kind you have on hand)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup red wine (if you don't want to use wine, you can just add another cup of whatever stock you have)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. allspice
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cups shredded cheese (you could do a mixture of mozzarella and Parmesan or provolone and Parmesan)
EVOO

Preheat oven to 375. Cook ravioli according to package but take a few minutes off of the cooking time as they will continue to cook in the oven. Lay flat after draining to keep them from sticking together. Set aside.

Brown meat in large (high sided) skillet with a few swirls of EVOO. Brown until the meat has some crispy parts to it. Move the meat over in the pan and add onion and garlic to the pan. Cook until tender...about 6 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the cup of wine or stock making sure to scrape up any bits on the bottom. Cook for 5 minutes. Add allspice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire and stock. Bring to a bubble and then add the tomato sauce. Cook until it thickens a bit (about 15 minutes).

Place a cup of tomato sauce in a greased 9x13 pan. Place a single layer of ravioli on top of sauce making sure to get ravioli into the corners of the pan. Repeat until all the ravioli is used (3-4 layers). The top layer should be sauce. Then top with your cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes after it has baked.

Basic Tomato Sauce

This is the basic tomato sauce that I make. It is extremely simple and tastes great. It will store in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for several months. I would make a double or triple batch of this and freeze it so it is ready to go when you need it. You can also add other spices that you like to change it up. Put it with some ground turkey, beef, or sausage and put it over your favorite pasta. Tip: When buying canned tomatoes, look at the ingredients closely. Good canned tomatoes should only contain tomatoes or maybe tomatoes and water. All of the other ingredients...salt, citric acid, etc. do not make good canned tomatoes. However, if those tomatoes are the best price then it is just fine and your sauce will still be delicious!

1/2 medium onion, chopped very fine (about 1 cup)
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 cans (28 oz) whole tomatoes (deseed by pressing through food mill) or you can use a good quality crushed tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1/4 cup evoo
salt
pepper
6-8 basil leaves
2 tbsp evoo

Heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Then add the oil, followed by the onions. Next, add a pinch of salt and let the onions gently cook until they soften and just begin to turn a slight golden color...not brown.

Once they’re ready, add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute or so, just until softened or until you can begin to smell it. Stir in the tomato paste and let it gently cook for a few minutes until it becomes a shade darker. Then add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt. Now, stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook uncovered for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.

Once the sauce has finished cooking, turn off the heat and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as you like. Add the basil...just tear into pieces by hand and drizzle with a tbsp or 2 of EVOO.

Thrifty Thursday...One of My Favorite Comfort Foods

A friend of mine requested that I post my Macaroni and Cheese recipe. Mac and cheese is one of my absolute favorite things to eat and fun to make. My friend, Brittany, gave me a great idea the other day that she found somewhere. Make the mac-n-cheese in cupcake tins and store them individually in the freezer. This is great if you have kids! Pull them out and pop them in their lunchbox.

I am going to give you my basic macaroni and cheese recipe (it looks long but it is really simple). Then, I am going to give you a list of things you can do to change it up a bit. This is going to be so fun! You can make an entire meal out of mac and cheese...just serve with a green salad along side. So, Jill, here you go : )...

1 lb noodles (I use either Cavatappi or Conchigilie)
1 stick unsalted butter
2-3 tbsp flour
3 cups whole milk (you can use reduced fat but it will not be as rich and creamy)
sea salt (or kosher salt)
4 garlic cloves (smashed but you can leave skins on)
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (optional, but it adds a great flavor)
freshly grated nutmeg (about 1 tsp...this is a key ingredient)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
4 cups sharp WHITE cheddar cheese (you can also do half sharp white cheddar and half Gruyere if you can find a good price on it)
1 cup panko crumbs

Cook the noodles according to the package except cook just short of al dente. So, if the package says to boil for 8 minutes then boil them for about 6. You will really just have to taste test them. You want them to have a pretty good bite to them because they will continue to cook in sauce when you bake it. Be sure to use about 4-5 quarts of water for every pound of pasta and 2-3 tbsp of salt. The salt does not significantly increase the boiling point but it is the ONLY chance you have to season the pasta. Also, do NOT add oil to your pasta water. This does not keep your pasta from sticking AND it prevents whatever sauce you use from coating the pasta. If your pasta is sticking together, then you aren't using enough water which lets the pasta move freely in the pot.

While the pasta is cooking, begin to make your Bechamel sauce. In a medium saucepan heat the milk, garlic and thyme on low-medium heat. Allow it to get warm. Once it is almost warm, melt half of the stick of butter in a skillet. Once melted, sprinkle with the flour. Whisk for a couple of minutes (you don't want it to get dark). Drain the garlic and thyme from the milk. Whisk the milk into the butter/flour mixture (roux). Allow to cook for a few minutes to thicken. Season with salt and nutmeg.

Add 2 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese. Add the pasta to the cheese sauce. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan or other casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cut remaining butter into small 1/4 size cubes and place around on the top. Then, sprinkle with the panko crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Variations:
1. Crisp bacon and saute with onions...put on top after Mac and Cheese comes out of the oven.
2. Replace a 1/2 cup of the milk with beer for Beer Mac-n-Cheese
3. BLT - add crispy bacon and sauteed leeks to the mac-n-cheese before baking. Then, top with diced fresh tomatoes.
4. Add crumbled cooked sausage and sauteed onions and bell peppers
5. Add cooked diced chicken and broccoli
6. Add sauteed spinach and artichokes
7. Add sauteed chopped red peppers and onion (and maybe some jalapenos) and switch out half of the cheddar cheese with Monterrey Jack for spicy mac-n-cheese.
8. Add cooked ground beef, onions, crispy bacon, and a tbsp or two of yellow mustard (to the cheese sauce)
9. Add some sauteed shrimp
10. Rachael Ray has a Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac
11. Add pimentos and switch it to yellow cheddar
12. Added chopped corned beef and sauerkraut (you can use rye bread crumbs for topping instead of panko)
13. Rachael Ray even has a Philly cheese steak mac-n-cheese. Now, what could be wrong with that?1
14. Add some sauteed sun dried tomatoes and spinach
Try your own additions and then let us know what you did!!

Thrifty Thursday: Two for One

Today, I am posting TWO Thrifty Thursday recipes! I am very excited about both of these. The first one, I am going to just give you the link to it. It is what I am making for dinner tonight so I can't tell you (yet) what I think about it. However, it looks so yummy! I got a great deal on some white fish at Aldi this week. I got a bag of about 6 filets for $3.99. They were out of tilapia but I think these will work great. I will let you know what I think about Bobby Flay's Grilled Tilapia with Lemon Butter, Capers and Orzo (for dairy free, just substitue the butter for smart balance light and omit the cream). If you can find a similar deal on a white fish or tilapia, then you can make this meal for a family of four for around $7.00.
Here is a pic of Bobby Flay's meal that I made last night. It got rave reviews from my husband! Now, if you read the reviews from Foodnetwork.com they say that the written recipe is not the same as how Bobby does it on his show. I did it like the reviews said to do it (make a butter sauce). However, my guess is that he changed it up a bit since making a butter sauce is kind of finicky. The trick is to remove the pot from the heat and whisk in room temperature butter...one cube at a time so that it doesn't separate. Do not re-heat in the microwave. If you need to warm it up put it in a bowl over hot water.

This next idea I got from Rachael Ray's Neapolitan Baked Ziti. I had planned on just making regular spaghetti but then I saw this on her show and thought it looked really good and figured I could do something similar with baked spaghetti. You can make this for around $6.10!! AND, it makes two dinners for a family of four!!

Jazzed Up Baked Spaghetti
1 pound spaghetti (Cooked a couple minutes short of what the package says...noodles will continue to cook when you bake it.)
1/2 lb ground turkey or beef, cooked
2 tbsp EVOO
1 onion, finely chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped or use a microplane zester
seasonings (Use whatever seasonings you like in your spaghetti. I used about a tbsp of Italian seasoning and some extra basil because I LOVE basil.)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes
S&P to taste
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 bay leaf
nutmeg, freshly grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 -1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Heat EVOO in a medium to large saucepan. Add the onions and sweat on low heat until they are translucent (do not brown). Add garlic and cook another minute. Add your seasonings (do not add the S&P yet). Let cook for another minute and then add the tomato paste. Stir and let cook for another minute. Then, add your tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

While the sauce is simmering, melt the butter in a small to medium saucepan. Once melted, add the flour and whisk until combined. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly add the milk while whisking (you can also heat the milk before adding it so you don't have to worry about adding it as slowly). Add the bay leaf, nutmeg and season with S&P. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low and simmer until thick, stirring often. Remove the bay leaf.

Combine the pasta, beef and red sauce and place in a greased 9x13 casserole dish (I split mine into 2 8x8 so I could freeze one of them). Pour the white sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and then the parmesan cheese. Bake on 400 for 25 minutes. Then, place the oven on broil and broil for a couple of minutes until the top of the cheese is golden brown.

Meal Planning Monday

Monday- Roast Chicken (brined with compound butter under skin...recipe to come) with potatoes and corn
Tuesday- Pork Won tons (that I made a while back and froze) with fried rice and stir fry veggies
Wednesday- Pasta with sausage cream sauce and Carlyn's garlic bread (follow recipe for cream sauce but add half an onion to melted butter until browned and then add a half pound or pound of sausage until no longer pink. Then, add the cream, salt, and garlic and follow the remaining instructions).
Thursday- Rachael Ray's Breaded Pork and Mozzarella Stacks with garlic broccoli
Friday- Chicken Spinach Lasagna (recipe to come)
Saturday- Rachael Ray's Steakhouse Chili (love trying new chili recipes...especially when it is so chilly outside!)
Sunday- leftover lasagna

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie to see other meal plans or to join in on the planning!

Menu Planning Monday

Sunday - Domino's pizza (large one topping with extra cheese for 5.99!)
Monday - Easy Lasagna (This was the first lasagna that I made for Chris and I after we got married)
Tuesday - Chicken with BLT Gravy (Rachael Ray 15 minute meal)
Wednesday - leftover lasagna
Thursday - Tomato Chicken Pasta (We were supposed to have this on Saturday, but I forgot we had a Christmas party with Chris' work.)
Friday - Croque Monsieur and Tomato soup with a cake for Jesus' birthday. We are having an easy low key Christmas lunch/dinner. I want to be hanging with my boys instead of in the kitchen all day. Plus, soup and sandwiches in this cold weather will be super yummy!
Saturday - We will be on the road going to my family's house in Greenville, SC for a few days and then up to Asheville to see Chris' family.

Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more menu plans or to join in!

Thrifty Thursday

...meals for $10 or less for a family of four. If you would like to participate in Thrifty Thursday on your blog just write a post and link back to my blog in your post. Then, go to the bottom of this post and enter your information and link to your post so that we can read about your yummy, thrifty recipe!

Easy, YUMMY, and cheap chicken pasta with cream sauce:

3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 garlic clove crushed (Take the clove and whack it with a knife then remove the skin. Don't chop the garlic...just through it in the pot.)
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (Freshly grated tastes so different from ground. I am a little obsessed with freshly grated. You can find it at most specialty grocers...Fresh Market, Whole Foods, etc. Click here to read more about it.)
2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 pound pasta (linguine or capellini)
1-2 pounds split chicken breast (roasted, meat pulled from the bones, then chopped...see Menu Planning Monday for directions)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (for the pasta). In a small skillet or saucepan, combine heavy cream, butter, salt, and garlic over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 4 minutes). While the cream sauce is thickening, drop the pasta and cook according to package directions for al dente pasta. After the cream sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, remove the garlic clove and add the nutmeg. Stir in the Italian parsley and remove from heat. Add the parmesan cheese while tossing with pasta. Top with chopped chicken breasts and serve.

This cream sauce is so yummy and so easy! It is also a very inexpensive meal. This meal costs around $7.67 for a family of four!

The Best Baked Ziti

Here is the amazing baked ziti I keep raving about! This is Giada de Laurentiis' (from Food Network) recipe. I add some garlic and use crushed tomatoes if they are on sale. Also, she has you completely cook the meatballs in a saucepan on the stove. I finish them off in the oven so I can begin preparing the other stuff for the ziti. I made this the other night and doubled the recipe. I was sending some to our college student's dinner for our church. It made one 9x13 and 3 8x8 pans. That is a lot! So, if you are looking for a freezer meal, you can double this and get five meals out of it by putting it in 5 8x8 pans. I hope you enjoy!


Giada's Baked Ziti with Meatballs1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup grated Romano
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground beef
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1 pound ziti
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 cups tomato sauce (I have also used crushed tomatoes if they are on sale. I like the texture that they give the dish.)
2 cloves garlic (grated or very finely minced...you don't want to bite into a huge chunk since you aren't cooking it first.)
3 cups whole milk ricotta
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, eggs, milk, 1/2 cup of the Romano and the parsley, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Add beef and gently combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Shape into bite-size meatballs. Roll each meatball in flour to coat, shaking off excess.

In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. You definitely do NOT want to overcook the pasta as it will continue to cook in the sauce when you put it in the oven. Drain pasta in a colander and set aside. If not using immediately, cover top with plastic wrap so that pasta does not dry out. Do not rinse pasta with water since you want to retain the pasta's natural starches so that the sauce will cling to the ziti.

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. When almost smoking, add meatballs in batches and without moving or turning the meat, allow it to brown for about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer meatballs to a cookie sheet and allow them to finish cooking in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the tomato sauce, garlic and ricotta and mix well. Add the cooked ziti and meatballs and toss gently.

In a large greased baking dish, pour in pasta mixture. Sprinkle the mozzarella, Parmesan, and remaining Romano all over the top. Dot with the butter. Place baking dish on top of baking sheet covered with aluminum foil to collect any drippings from the dish. Bake until top is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 to 40 minutes

Baked Ravioli with Chicken

This was a recipe that was submitted by someone to the first freezer swap that I participated in. So, I made it for the first freezer swap with the ladies from our church. I think it is yummy! I made my own pesto and added some homemade Alfredo sauce (about 2 cups).

2 lb. of cheese-filled frozen ravioli (I used fresh because they were on sale but frozen is usually cheaper.)
1 lb. of cooked chicken breasts in ½ inch slices
2/3 cup of chicken broth
½ cup store-bought basil pesto sauce
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup of Parmesan cheese

Place all ingredients into a large bowl and combine. Transfer to a freezer bag.

Thaw. Preheat oven to 350F. Place contains of bag into baking dish (a 9×13 dish sprayed with cooking spray). Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour or until bubbly.

Freezer Meal Swap

I got introduced to freezer meal swaps by someone that lives near us. She and I went to the same school for undergrad. Thanks, Terra! I absolutely love freezer swaps now. So much that I started one with some ladies at our church. Now, I get to go to two freezer swaps...yay! We had our first meal swap a few weeks ago. Here is the first recipe for Baked Spaghetti (thanks, tori). I will hopefully be posting the rest of the recipes today.

1 small box of spaghetti
1 Jar of Spaghetti sauce of your choosing (or more depending on how saucy you like your spaghetti)
1/2 to 1 pound of ground turkey
Shredded Mild Cheddar cheese, Mozzorella cheese, parmesean cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package.
Cook Ground Turkey in a frying pan until well done.
Mix spaghetti, ground turkey and sauce together in a large pan.
Pour spaghetti into a baking dish.
Sprinkle cheddar and mozzerella cheese generously over the spaghetti.
Add as much parmesan cheese as you like.
Freeze if desired.
Remove from freezer and 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and fully cooked.