South-of-the-Border Chicken & Pasta Skillet

This was a nice quick dinner for a weeknight. Instead of melting the cheese in the skillet, I put the pasta into a casserole dish and threw it in the oven for about 10 minutes.


South-of-the-Border Chicken & Pasta Skillet

2 cups medium-size pasta, uncooked
2 Tyson® boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb.), thawed, cut into bite-size pieces
16 oz. salsa (about 2 cups)
10 oz. frozen corn, unthawed (about 2 cups)
4 oz. (½ of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
¼ tsp. ground cumin
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese, divided

COOK pasta as directed on package.

COOK and stir chicken in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 6 min. or until done. Add salsa, corn, cream cheese and cumin; simmer on medium-low 6 min. or until corn is heated through and cream cheese is melted, stirring occasionally.

DRAIN pasta; add to skillet with half the shredded cheese. Simmer 3 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining shredded cheese; cover. Remove from heat; let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Tortellini Primavera

I thought that this recipe was pretty good. I added more milk to make the sauce a little thinner and I think that next time I will only use half of the cream cheese the recipe called for. I also added red pepper flakes.


Tortellini Primavera

Ingredients:
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
½ cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp. margarine
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
8 oz. cream cheese (I will only use 4 oz. next time)
1 tomato, chopped
¼ cup milk (I added more milk to make the sauce a little thinner)
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 t. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste
family size cheese-filled tortellini, cooked and drained (don't cook to tortellini too much or they will be mushy!)

Directions:
Heat margarine in a skillet. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic and sautee. Add all remaining ingredients except tortellini. Heat until all have melted together and are well blended. Cook until the mixture just begins to boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in tortellini.

Cheesy Nacho Bake

Cheesy Nacho Bake





1 package Velveeta Shells and Cheese Dinner

1 lb. ground beef (as always, I substitute this with soy crumles)

1 package Taco Seasoning Mix

3/4 cup Water

3/4 cup Sour Cream

3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

3/4 cup Salsa



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the Velveeta Shells and Cheese as you usually would. When this is done and you are adding the cheese mix also add ALL of the sour cream.Brown meat (or soy) and drain fat if needed. Add water and taco seasoning mix. Simmer for 5 minutes.In an 8 inch square baking dish, add half of the Velveeta mixture. Top with meat, half of the shredded cheese, and the rest of the Velveeta mixture.Cover and bake for about 15 minutes. When it is done, top with salsa and the remain shredded cheese.

Penne with creamy tomato sauce with italian sausage

This pasta was REALLY good! I am a pasta lover and could probably eat it every night so I love finding new sauce recipes. I would definitely make this again!

Penne with creamy tomato sauce with italian sausage
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (I just used a little in the pan)1/2 cup vodka
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 2 cups basic tomato sauce1/2 cup heavy cream1 pound pasta1 cup parm. cheese, grated, plus extra for on top1 package italian sausage

Directions
1. Cook pasta 1 minute less than according to pasta.
2. In large saute pan, brown sausage, then remove and keep warm.
3. Add oil to pan and cook onions until golden brown, about 6 minutes.
4. Add vodka and cook until liquid has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
5. Add tomato sauce and cream and cook until sauce has reduced by a third, about 10 minutes.
6. Add sausage and drained pasta to pan and toss to coat. Stir in cheese and serve hot.

Baked Ziti

I made this recipe for our housewarming party this past weekend. It was really good! It reheats well too.

Baked Ziti

INGREDIENTS
1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.