Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells

I made these pasta shells on a night when I had my niece and nephews over and I couldn't put the seconds on their plate fast enough... I started them with two a piece and they kept asking for more. While these are a little messy to make, they are fabulous to eat. I wish that I could have had more but the kids beat me to them! :) At least I got a couple of them...

Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells
(recipe found on pinterest via tipjunkie.com)

1 box of dried jumbo pasta shells, cooked according to package directions, rinsed and drained
1 pound ground beef
1 package (1.25 ounces) taco seasoning mix
1 cup of water
1 can (16 ounces) can refried beans
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 jar chunky salsa, divided
1/4 cup sliced green onions
Sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Spread 1/4 cup salsa over bottom of casserole dish. Cook beef in large skillet until brown; drain. Add seasoning mix and water; cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until thickened. Add beans and 3/4 cup cheese; mix well. Fill pasta shells with beef mixture; place on baking dish, filled side up. Spoon remaining salsa over shells; top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with green onions and remaining cheese. Serve with sour cream.

Penne With Peas and Asparagus

While this wasn't a super favorite of my kids (there was a bit of whining about the peas and asparagus), they all asked for more so it wasn't exactly a flop either! :) The hubs was not home this night and since he isn't a huge fan of peas I decided to treat myself to a meal that I thought would be tasty... It turned out really good and I also enjoyed it as leftovers for the next couple of days.

Penne with Peas and Asparagus
(recipe found on pinterest via recipe.com)

1/2 pound penne
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound thick asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups frozen baby peas, thawed (10 ounces)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and asparagus and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and boil over high heat until reduced by half and the asparagus are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the peas and cream to the skillet and boil over high heat until the sauce has thickened, 3 minutes. Stir in the penne and cook until heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, sage and the 1/2 cup of cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the pasta to bowls and serve right away.

Weekly Line Up - 9/26-10/2

This week I'm going for easy peasy meals that are favorites of the kiddos! I have a lot going on and we are helping my sister and her family move into their new house on top of the 5K we are doing this weekend, I'm bringing the meal for ECFE this week and my first night of being the troop leader for my son's cub scout group is Wednesday night... That means I have some planning to do! :) Have a great week!

Friday - Grilled Cheese and Spaghettios
Saturday - Steaks
Sunday - Eggs and Toast
Monday - *Cheesy Ground Beef Rice Casserole
Tuesday - Land Your Man Beans, Hot Dogs, Cornbread, Strawberry Jello with Bananas, Smores on a Stick (My night to bring for ECFE - Cowboy Theme)
Wednesday - Mac and Cheese with Hot Dogs
Thursday - Lasagna Roll-ups

Extras: granola, brownies, *cracker jacks

Rosemary Garlic Beef Roast

We are to the end of our cow that we had butchered and I have a few roasts and a few steaks left... While I enjoy my normal roast recipe, I'm always game to try something new. The gravy with this recipe was super simple to throw together and we all enjoyed using it with our roast and the rice that I served on the side.

Rosemary Garlic Beef Roast
(recipe found on pillsbury.com)

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
5-6 pound beef boneless sirloin tip roast
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup beef broth
3 tablespoons chili sauce
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

In small bowl, mix oil and worcestershire sauce; brush over beef roast. Rub roast evenly with garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. In 5-6 quart slow cooker, add onion. Pour 1/4 cup of the broth over onion. Place beef roast on onion. Refrigerate remaining broth. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours.
Remove beef from cooker; cover to keep warm. In small bowl, mix remaining 3/4 cup broth, the chili sauce and flour; stir into hot mixture in cooker. Increase heat setting to high. Cook uncovered 5 to 10 minutes or until thickened. Serve gravy with beef.

Blueberry and White Chocolate Scones

I made this recipe as a special breakfast treat while we were camping this summer and it was a huge hit! We enjoyed them for breakfast and were able to have some for snack later in the day. These started out as strawberry scones, but I had blueberries on hand so I changed it up a bit! Love the versatility of this recipe and boy were my guys happy with the white chocolate that was in this recipe!! I will be definitely be making these again...

Blueberry and White Chocolate Scones
(recipe found on pinterest via ifieverownedabakery.blogspot.com)

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons COLD unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup blueberries
3/4 cup chopped white chocolate (plus a few tablespoons chocolate to melt and drizzle on top when baked)
3/4 cup heavy cream (plus 2 tsp to use to melt white chocolate)

Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Then cut the butter in with a pastry cutter, or 2 knives until only pea-sized lumps remain. Fold in blueberries and chocolate until berries are coated in flour. Pour in heavy cream and gently stir to combine. Once the cream has mostly absorbed, use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl GENTLY, to get all of it in a ball. Be sure to not overwork the dough. Pour out onto a well floured surface and sprinkle top with flour. Gently press the dough until it's down to 3/4 inch thickness, and in the shape of a circle. Using a large, floured chef's knife, cut the circle into 8 even wedges. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Once it has cooled, microwave white chocolate and cream until melted. Using a ziploc bag or a drizzling with a spoon decorate the top of the scones.

Crockpot Applesauce BBQ Chicken

I was looking for a few new recipes to make while my brother in law is staying with us... Since he is gluten free I have to be a little more careful about what I am feeding the family when he is around! :) I love applesauce with chicken and pork, but I wasn't too sure about how this was going to go all mixed together. It turned out really tasty! I couldn't find chunky applesauce anywhere that I checked so I went with the regular applesauce and it was pretty good, although I will keep checking because I want to try it with the chunkiness of apples.

Crockpot Applesauce BBQ Chicken
(recipe found on pinterest via whoneedsacape.com)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2/3 cup chunky applesauce
2/3 cup BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts on bottom. Mix all remaining ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook 6-8 hours on low setting. If FREEZING, place all ingredients in gallon-sized freezer bag. Freeze. Thaw overnight in refrigerator prior to placing into slow cooker.

Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Pancakes

My brother in law is staying with us for a while since he is in the process of moving his family from Arizona to Minnesota - YAY!! That means that I get to work on a whole new style of cooking and baking - Gluten Free! We do a lot of "meat" meals in our house anyhow, so that isn't that big of a deal but breakfast for us is usually carb city! :) That means finding something yummy for him to eat at the same time we are eating... I found this gluten free pancake recipe and had to give it a whirl. He thought it was pretty tasty, even though I forgot that he has a slight allergy to bananas. Whoops! Luckily it isn't that bad and it only happens sometimes - whew! Next time we will give it a try with blueberries instead so we don't take the chance of a reaction! He also mentioned that the texture was pretty good also, so all in all this is a repeat recipe!

Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Pancakes
(recipe found on pinterest via runningwithspoons.com)

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 medium banana, sliced
2 egg whites
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1-2 tablespoons almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat a skillet over medium heat and coat it with cooking spray or oil. You want to make sure that it's very hot before you start cooking your pancakes.
Add ingredients to a blender in the order listed and blend until oats are broken down and batter is frothy. Using a ladle or 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop batter onto skillet until desired size of pancakes is reached. Cook until the edges begin to look dry and bubbles start to form on the top of the pancake, about 1 minute. Using a spatula, flip and cook about 2 more minutes on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter, making sure to coat your skillet again with oil between each batch. Remove from heat and serve with your favorite toppings.