Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Bake

I first sampled this recipe several years ago at a Pampered Chef party that a fellow friend held at her home. It was love at first bite and I begged her for a copy of the recipe! Since that party, I have been making this dish for the past 5 years and it has become a family favorite.  I love this hearty pasta dish because it is extremely easy to make and yet is so elegant. It is the perfect weeknight main dish and can be in and out of the oven and on the table in about 30 minutes. I also love that this pasta bake freezes well. I will usually make the full recipe and freeze half of it for another busy weeknight when my little family is on the go and I don't have time to cook. It is also a favorite of mine to make and take to girl friends whom are sick or have just had babies. It is comfort food at its finest! I Hope you enjoy this recipe and that it becomes a favorite at your home!

Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Bake

Ingredients:

Pasta Mixture

1/2 c. chopped onion ( I use a small onion)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1-2 cloves of garlic cloves, pressed

1 Jar (16 oz). Bertoli Brand White Alfredo Sauce

2 (9 oz) Packages Buitoni Brand refrigerated cheese-filled or spinach tortellini

1 1/2 c. cooked cubed chicken

1 c. milk

1 c. water

1 c. frozen peas

1/4 teas. Pepper

1 teas. Dried Basil Leaves

Crumb Topping

1/4 c. grated fresh parmesan cheese

2 T. Butter/margarine

1 c. Bread Crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For pasta mixture, chop onion using a food chopper. In a saucepan heat oil on medium to high heat; add onion and garlic. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in Pasta sauce, tortellini, chicken, milk, water, peas and black pepper. Heat until mixture comes to a full boil; remove from heat and add basil.

Meanwhile, for crumb topping grate parmesan cheese. Place butter in a small microwavable bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds, or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs and cheese. Mix well.

Spoon pasta mixture into a greased 9X13 baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumb mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or unitl edges are bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Yield 6 servings.

Side Dish suggestions: Garlic Bread and Honey Glazed Carrots.

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Petite Lasagna Cups

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Well Hello There! Happy Friday! Did you all think I had disappeared? I hope those of you that read my blog haven't given up on me. I know I have been MIA for over a week now! In my defense, I have been busy working on some fun projects to share with you all- A Master Bathroom Makeover and a cute craft for my little church youth group whom I teach lessons to every other Sunday. So stayed tuned for these fun projects!

Today, I want to share a super yummy recipe to take you into your weekend. One of my favorite dishes to make is Lasagna. I love all that cheesy goodness layered between noodles, tomatoes, ground turkey and cottage cheese. Simply Delicious. However, making Lasagna can take sometime to make and bake and I usually only make it on the weekends because I have more time. That can change now! I recently came across this yummy recipe for these petite Lasagna cups. I was really excited to try these because not only are they perfect for portion control, but they are mini and everything is more fun to eat when it's petite. Also, as an added bonus I knew my kids would get a kick out of having their own personal baby lasagna. The ingredients in this recipe are the same as other Lasagna recipes but the only difference is using Wonton wrappers in place of lasagna noodles. I love the convenience of this! No more boiling lasagna noodles to make Lasagna! Woohoo!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Scrumptious Sweet Potato Casserole

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I wanted to share one of my favorite Holiday Recipes!! I came across this recipe on allrecipes.com a couple of years ago and it has become a family favorite. This Sweet Potato Casserole is more of a dessert than a side dish because of the pecan, brown sugar, flour and butter topping. I will guarantee that when you serve this scrumptious casserole that your guests will rave and even those NON-SWEET POTATO EATERS will be IMPRESSED!! I have taken this casserole to a couple of holiday potlucks and I never leave without handing out the recipe. This recipe is very easy to make and doesn't require a lot of effort... Don't you just love recipes like that? I know I do!!

Give this Sweet Potato Casserole recipe a try for your Thanksgiving or Christmas Festivities this year, I promise your guests will be impressed!

Scrumptious Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

3 c. cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

2/3 c. white sugar

1/4 c. butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 c. milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven for 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, combine sweet potatoes, white sugar, 1/4 c. margarine, vanilla, milk and beaten eggs. Mix well. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. In a medium mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, chopped pecans, flour, and 1/4 c. butter. Mix well. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

*Note* To save yourself some time and relieve some stress during the Holiday Season, you could make this several days before you are ready to serve this dish by covering the dish with tin foil and placing in the freezer. Take out the day before your are ready to serve it and let thaw in fridge. Make sure that it is completely thawed before cooking it in the oven.

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Pizza Casserole

This casserole is very easy to make and it will appeal to all age groups. Who doesn't enjoy a good slice of pizza? This casserole tastes just like the real thing and what is even better is that it is kid friendly. When I made this casserole last night for the first time for my family, my husband and kiddos gobbled it up. The recipe makes (2) 9X13 pans so you can easily freeze one for another night when you don't feel like cooking. This recipe is also a wonderful one to make if you are feeding a huge crowd or are in charge of bringing something for a potluck dinner. Enjoy!

Pizza Casserole

2 lbs. Ground Beef or Turkey

1 large onion(chopped)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
2 T. Olive oil 2 (26 ounces) Jars of Spaghetti Sauce (I like to use Emeril's "Kicked up Tomato")
16 ounces rotini pasta, cooked and drained
5 cups (20 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. Cheddar Cheese
1 1/4 c. Mini Pepperoni's or 8 oz. of Large Pepperoni's*
(*You can find the mini pepperoni's by the large pepperoni's and Canadian bacon.)

Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet add oil and heat to medium-high heat. Add ground beef or turkey, onion and garlic. Add Italian seasoning. Cook until beef or turkey is browned. Drain off grease.
Step 2: Stir in pasta sauce and 3 cups of mozzarella cheese and mini pepperoni's into the meat mixture. Place mixture into 2 greased 9x13 baking dishes. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese. If you are using the large pepperoni's then place on top of cheese.
*This Dish can be covered and frozen at this point if you are saving it for another night. When you are ready to cook: take pan from freezer, let thaw in refrigerator overnight and then cook according to cooking directions.
Step 3: If you are cooking the casserole now, Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Makes 15 servings.

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen