Bowtie Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound farfalle pasta
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
salt
pepper

Directions:

Brown the hamburger meat

Cook pasta

Add sauce, seasonings, and cheese to meat

Add meat to pasta

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Creamy Herbed Pasta with Broccoli and Ham

Ingridients:

• 4 cups dried pasta (10 oz)
• 1/4 cup snipped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 of an 8 iz package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup 4% milkfat cottage cheese
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 head of broccoli
• 3/4 cup chopped cooked ham

1. Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in 425 degree oven for 25 minutes.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, cook basil and garlic in hot oil about 30 seconds. Reduce heat. Add cream cheese, cottage cheese, and parmesan. Cook and stir until nearly smooth

4. Stir in milk and salt until combined. Bring to a gentle boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.

5. Stir broccoli, ham, and pasta into thickened sauce.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 14th ed 

Lemon- Mustard Chicken

Ingridients:

• 2 1/2- 3 pounds chicken breasts, thighs, or drumsticks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or basil, crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat broiler. Place chicken, bone sides up, on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown

Meanwhile, in a bowl stir together oil, mustard, lemon juice, pepper , oregano, and cayenne pepper. Brush mustard mixture on chicken. Turn chicken; brush with remaining mixture.

Broil 5-10minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink. (170 degrees for breasts, 180 degrees for thighs and drumsticks)

Source: Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook; 14th ed

Crash Hot Potatoes

Ingredients:

• whole new potatoes or russet
• olive oil
• kosher salt/sea salt
• McCormack® Peppercorn Medley
• rosemary 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.


Directions:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher or a glass, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Generously sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Source:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Cashew Pork and Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean boneless pork
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups fresh pea pods
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 3 medium carrots, biased sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion (2)
• 2 cups hot cooked rice
• 1/2 cup cashews

 Directions

Thinly slice pork across the grain into bite size strips.

For sauce, stir together orange juice, hoisin sauce, and ginger. Set aside.

Remove strings and tips from peas; cut into smaller pieces if desired. Set aside

Pour oil into a large skillet. (Add more as necessary during cooking.) Preheat oil over medium high heat. Stir in carrot. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add pea pods and green onion. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender. Remove vegetables from skillet.

Add half the pork to hot skillet. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until no pink remains; remove from skillet. Repeat with remaining pork. Return all meat and vegetables to skillet. Stir sauce, add to skillet. Stir in rice until coated. Top with cashews.

Marie's Note: There is no salt in this. I would recommend adding a teaspoon  of salt to the sauce if you hoisin is not already salty. Also, if this is for a freezer meal then leave the cashews off until after you heat it to serve.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook; 14th ed

Ko (Or, the only good thing about being sick)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

 Directions

Mix together all ingredients. Pour into a hot skillet or pan. Cook and stir until chunks are lightly browned and cooked through. (This will take much, much longer than you expect. Do something else in between stirs.)

Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

Yield: Technically 2, but only 1 to me

Source: Susan Holowach (aka, mom)

Cream Sauced Pasta with Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces dried pasta
• 1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 medium yellow summer squash
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 4 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to hot pan to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook onion and garlic in hot oil over medium heat about 3 minutes or until nearly tender, stirring occasionally. Add asparagus, squash, salt, and pepper to skillet. Cook for 3-5 minutes more or until vegetables are crisp tender, stirring occasionaly. Add vegetables to pasta in pan.

Add whipping cream to skillet; bring to boiling. Boil gently for 5 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 cup. Pour cream over pasta mixture; stir gently to coat. Stir in tomato.

Yield: 4 servings

Marie's Note: This is one of our absolute favorites. I recommend leaving the tomatoes out though unless you can get truly good, seasonal tomatoes.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook; 14th ed