Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups

I took this recipe from Pinterest.  Original can be found HERE.

Ingredients:

8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 cup Ricotta cheese

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup milk

1/8 tsp white pepper

2 cups spaghetti sauce

I baked the chicken the night before and seasoned it with Italian seasoning.  I used kitchen shears to cut it into bite-size pieces. 

In a medium bowl combine chicken, cheese, milk and pepper.  Spread about 1/2 cup of mixture onto each noodle and roll up in jelly-roll fashion.

Spread 1 cup of the pasta sauce in a 13 x 9 greased baking dish.  Place lasagna rolls seam-side down.  Top with remaining pasta sauce.

Cover and bake for about 30-45 minutes at 375 degrees.  I uncovered for the last 10 minutes.

Top with more Parmesan if desired.

The recipe above made about 7 roll-ups for me.  I think I overstuffed them!  The three that are starred in the picture above had extra chicken and only an Italian blend of cheeses from Kraft.  My hubby doesn't like Ricotta!  He said they were still delicious.

Spaghetti Bread Packets

This recipe comes from inspiration from a neighbor who pinned a Braided Spaghetti Bread recipe on Pinterest.  You can find all of that HERE.  So I decided to try it and although it didn't turn out well enough to be braided, it was still yummy.  Here was my version.

Here's what you need:

• 6 oz of spaghetti
• Lean hamburger (or sausage or ground turkey)
• Chopped onion
• Mushrooms
• 1-2 cups spaghetti sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Parley flakes
• Italian seasoning
• Garlic powder
• One egg
• Frozen bread dough - I used Kroger brand; recipe is inspired by Rhodes, but couldn't find it 

The first thing you need to do is plan to allow enough time for the dough to thaw.  I thawed mine in the refrigerator all day.
 

I actually did most of my prep the night before.  I prepared the pasta, cooked the beef with some chopped onions and Italian seasoning and mixed it all up with the spaghetti sauce.  I also sauteed some mushrooms, but kept them separate.  I put all of that in the refrigerator until the next evening.

The first step in putting it all together is to roll out the dough.  This is where it went all wrong for me.  I could not get it to roll out into a large rectangle as instructed.  I apparently was not patient enough! 

So instead, I ended up dividing the dough into 4 sections and creating "packets".  On top of each dough circle I put some of the spaghetti mixture and then added some mozzarella cheese.  Due to this, there was a lot of leftover spaghetti mixture.

Inside two of them I also added the mushrooms and put a couple on top to note the difference.

I spread some egg whites over each one and sprinkled some garlic powder and Parmesan cheese on top.

Then they were baked on 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

They were a bit more doughy than expected since I didn't follow the "braiding" instructions.  However, I just served some more of the pasta mixture on the side (thanks to the leftovers) and everyone enjoyed!

Yes, it's basically spaghetti and bread so why put it all together?  We eat a lot of pasta at our house.  So this changed it up for us a bit and the kids thought it was funny to have spaghetti inside their bread.  Will I do it every week?  Nope.  But it was fun to add some variety to the menu.

Mostaccioli with Veggies

Cook the Mostaccioli - or any other pasta you prefer.

Meanwhile, saute the following in a pan on the stove with some EVOO:
Zucchini
Mushrooms (I used 4 crimini)
Red & Orange Peppers (about 1/2 each)
Garlic Clove
Spinach

Throw together in a pasta bowl and garnish with a bit of cheese - YUMMY!

Penne Pasta Bake

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Serves: 6-8 adults

12 oz. Penne pasta
1 lb. Ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 15-oz. can Italian Style Tomato Sauce
1 14.5-oz can Diced Tomatoes with Italian Herbs
1 6-oz can Italian Paste with Roasted Garlic
Italian seasoning (optional)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

Cook meat and onion in large skillet over medium-high heat, 5 minutes; drain.

Stir in tomato sauce, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste and ½ cup water; cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.

Layer half pasta, half sauce, half cheese in 13 x 9” baking dish; repeat.  OR split into two servings as shown below.

Cover with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven, 20-30 minutes.  Remove foil last 5-10 minutes.

If refrigerated first, bake time may take 45 min – 1 hour until center is hot.

If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before baking.