Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al forno

Anyone who knows me, knows that I would choose pasta over anything else to eat. I just love a good pasta dish.This one was a treasure to find. Not only is it delicious, but so easy and quick. I can't wait to make it again.

Tomato and mozzarella Pasta al forno


2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-14 oz. cans diced Italian plum tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 lb. pasta (tubes)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed
2/3 c. parmesan

Directions:Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook over medium high heat, 1 min. Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened, 15 min. Add S&P.Meanwhile, cook pasta. Toss pasta with sauce. Place half of pasta in an oiled 9×13” dish.Cover with half parmesan and half mozzarella. Top with remaining pasta, then parmesan and mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.


*Found on Annies Eats

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole

This was another breakfast casserole I had to make for a crowd a few weeks ago. I've since made it twice more, and it never disappoints. This one is my absolute favorite. I'm a big sausage fan, and the ingredients combine to make such a delightful experience. I could have this for breakfast every day of my life and not get tired of it. It's good stuff!


Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole


3/4 pound ground pork sausage

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 10 eggs, beaten
• 1 (16 ounce) container low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chile peppers, drained
•  1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside. Melt butter in skillet, and cook and stir the green onions and mushrooms until tender.
2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and chiles. Stir in the sausage, green onions, and mushrooms. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the melted butter. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
5. Bake 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I really wish I could take a decent picture of food... it's on my long list of things to do... learn to take good food pictures. But until then, just imagine that the picture is succulent, decadent, absolutely mouthwatering because this dish was all that and more. I just can't even begin to describe the deliciousness of this dish. I am a true pasta lover, and I have had some magnificent pasta in my time, but this dish was so amazing. I was so happy that it was easy and I could make it at home with not a lot of real effort. Sometimes, it's the little things.
You are going to need to double this recipe. Just trust me on this.

Found on Pinterest from Blog Chef

Cajun Chicken Pasta
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small strips)
4 ounces linguini (cooked all dente)
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 green onion (thinly sliced)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup parmesan cheese


Step 1: Place chicken strips and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, toss the chicken with the seasoning until the chicken strips evenly coated with the seasoning.
Step 2: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add chicken and sauté the chicken for 5 to 7 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked (the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees).
Step 3: Reduce heat to low. Add green onions, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Cook until heated through. Pour over hot linguini and toss with parmesan cheese.

Twix Caramel Popcorn

For Christmas I got an air popcorn popper and I use it all the time. The freshly popped corn is so much better than the microwave junk. My kids love watching which is an added bonus. I have come across quite a few outrageous popcorn recipes and have had so much fun trying them out. This twix popcorn was divine! I have to admit that I skipped the last steps of baking it in the oven. We just couldn't wait that long! Instead I just drizzled the caramel, then stirred in the twix bars and then drizzled with melted chocolate.

Twix Caramel Popcorn

5 quarts plain air popped popcorn
1 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
20 "fun size" Twix candy bars, chopped
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted-to drizzle over popcorn

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place popcorn in a large bowl and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla extract. Pour caramel in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. Gently stir until all of the popcorn is covered.

3. Place popcorn on two large shallow baking sheets and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for about an hour. Remove popcorn from oven and let cool completely.

4. Break popcorn into pieces and mix in chopped Twix candy bars. Drizzle popcorn with melted chocolate. Let the popcorn sit until chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

*From Two Peas and Their Pod

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

I have tried a few Asian crock pot recipes and they turned out pretty bleh, so I was trying not to have high hopes. BUT this one was finally a good one! This one was a fantastic one!! My husband rated it a million and a half stars. He liked it so much that he ate it for dinner, a midnight snack, and breakfast the next morning. It was so easy too!

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)
4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

*From Six Sisters Stuff

Sunday Brunch Casserole

Recently, I helped with a brunch and brought two different breakfast casseroles. I had both in my recipe file, but couldn't remember the last time I had made these... I just knew they were good enough to be in my recipe file. I was so happy I decided to stick with these recipes and not try anything new. They both turned out delicious!

This Sunday Brunch Casserole was a different spin than your traditional breakfast casserole with sausage. I loved that it had bacon, eggs, cheese, and potatoes. Yum, yum! You can easily make it the night before and stick it in the fridge until morning. I will definitely be making this one again soon.

Sunday Brunch Bacon Casserole

• 1/2 pound sliced bacon
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 12 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. In same skillet, saute onion and green pepper in drippings until tender; remove with a slotted spoon.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk. Stir in hash browns, cheese, salt, pepper, onion mixture and reserved bacon.
3. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Magical Layered Brownies

Any recipe that comes from Mel's Kitchen, I know is going to be fabulous. These brownies were so good. I had to get them out of my house before I ate every last one. That browned butter layer is killer. My kids loved having them in their lunches for a week. It's a great brownie to cut into squares and freeze individually.

Magical Layered Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
Brownies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Browned Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze:
3 tablespoons butter
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch aluminum pan with nonstick cooking spray and cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Lightly grease the parchment paper. Set the pan aside.

For the brownies, in a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and salt. Mix with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture has lightened in color and is very thick. Fold in the warm (not hot!) chocolate/butter mixture. Stir in the flour and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing evenly.

Bake the brownies for 25-30 minutes until the sides pull away from the pan just slightly. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 1/2 hours).

For the browned butter frosting, place the stick of butter in a small saucepan and set it over low heat. It is best to not use a non-stick or dark coated pan in this step because it will be difficult to tell when the butter has turned brown. Let the butter melt over low heat and turn a caramel brown color, about 15 minutes. Watch carefully so the butter doesn’t burn. Once it has turned a nice medium-brown color, remove it from the heat. Pour the butter into a medium bowl. Immediately add the powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla. Mix well with an electric mixer uantil the frosting is smooth and thick.

Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies.

For the glaze, melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave or on the stovetop until it is smooth. Pour the warm glaze over the frosted brownies. Tip the pan from side to side to even out the glaze over the frosting (or carefully spread with a knife or offset spatula). Chill the brownies until the glaze is set and the brownies are chilled through, about 1-2 hours. The brownies taste best cold.