Spaghetti Pie

Crust:
12 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
4 TBS butter
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
4 eggs well beaten

Mix all of the above and press in a 9x13 pan, sprayed with non stick oil.

2 cups cottage cheese- spread over the "crust"

Sauce:
2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup green pepper chopped
2 tsp oregano
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
2 (6 oz each) cans tomato paste
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
pepper

Mix all ingredients and spoon over the cheese and spaghetti crust.
Cove with foil and bake at 350º for 1 hour. Remove foil and sprinkle with

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Bake 5 minutes more.
(Thanks to my sweet mom-in-law for the recipe!)

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti

Boil and cube 6 chicken breasts.
Cook 16 oz of thin spaghetti-using 1 Tbsp olive oil
Chop 1 onion and saute in olive oil
Add 1 large box of Light Velvetta Cheese, 2 cans Rotel Tomatoes, and 1 can of Tomato Bisque Soup to the onion.
Stir frequently - let cheese completely melt.
Add chicken - stir.
Add pasta-stir (it is thick--so fold over and over)

Place in a 13 by 9 (I think you need a bit bigger)
Bake 350 degrees for 30 min.

Yummo.

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

From the Kitchen of Ileana (my wonderful, wonderful mom-in-law)....I don't like Mushrooms so I'll be omitting that and making some changes...but I LOVED the taste of the sauce. Ileana is careful about keeping things healthy and always has great alternatives to recipes...check this one out.

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

3/4 lb lasagna noodles (about 12)
4 cups whole milk ( I used 2 cups skim milk and 2 cups fat free half and half)
12 TBS unsalted butter (1.5 stick -divided)- I use Smart Balance sticks
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground nutmeg ( you don't have to use it if you don't like it)
1 1/2 lbs portobello mushrooms
1 cup parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375º
Bring a large pot of water to boil, add salt ( I did not) and some oil. Cook the lasagna noodles for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 8 TBS ( 1 stick) of butter in a large sauce pan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat stirring constantly. Pour the hot milk into the butter flour mixture all at once. Add 1 TBS salt ( I added much less) the pepper and nutmeg and cook over medium heat stirring with a spoon and then with a whisk for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside of the heat.
Heat 2 TBS olive oil and 2 TBS of butter in a large saute pan. When the butter melts add half of the sliced mushrooms, sprinkle with salt ( you don't have to) and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until tender. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set aside.
To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the white sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then one third of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup parmesan. Repeat two more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms and parmesan. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit a room temperature for 15 minutes before cutting.

If you make it ahead of time, assemble the lasagna and keep refrigerated until the day you are ready to serve. Bake for an additional 10 minutes (55 minutes)

What's For Dinner?

Tonight from the Kitchen of JMBMOMMY:


Shrimp Alfredo
(You can use Chicken!)

I didn't have a recipe or a plan...but this is what I did and it turned out yummy!

Rigatoni -- I used Barilla brand -- boiled for 10 min and rinsed in cold water.

I used Wild Gulf Brown Shrimp Peeled and Deveined - Raw - Ready to cook. 16 oz

Heated a Wok for 3-4 min (until pan begins to smoke) then added 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Stir fried the shrimp for 2-3 min and seasoned with salt and pepper. Okay, I like my shrimp reallllly done --so I continued to cook it longer--I want them to be browned a little-weird I know. I also love a buttery taste--so I add a little country crock lite at the end. Not healthy I know.

Then I added the rigatoni to the wok and 16 oz jar of Alfredo Cream Sauce -- I used Archer Farm brand. Remember, I don't love cooking....so you can of course make your own sauce....but for me this is easy, yummy, and only 80 calories--and NOT heavy like homemade sauces!

Once it was all mixed together and steaming hot...I sprinkled Italian Seasoning VERY generously. Stir again.....

Hubby topped his with fresh Parmesan cheese.

Served with Crescent Rolls.