Pasta Party - Double-Post Monday

Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday. Today's double post deals with one of my favorites foods, pasta, for a pasta party. Here are six yummy pasta recipes to try out, including Cheeseburger Stuffed Shells and Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Pasta. Enjoy!

QUICK SKILLET ZITI

This is from Family Time, and begins, “Ground beef and pasta are a winning combination for quick weekday meals that are nostalgic and full of good taste.”

Serves 4 (1 1/4 cups each); Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

Prego® Marinara Italian Sauce or 1 jar (24 ounces) Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce

5 cups tube-shaped pasta (ziti), cooked and drained

Grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet until it's well browned, stirring often to break up the meat. Pour off any fat.

Stir the sauce and pasta in the skillet and heat through. Sprinkle with the cheese.

SLOW COOKER LASAGNA

This is from Lauren Allen, whose site, Tastes Better From Scratch is one that you really, really should check out. Seriously. I’ll wait…

This yummy recipe makes 5 servings, and can be viewed on Lauren’s site here.

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound Italian sausage (I use hot)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 large onion, chopped*

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp parsley

2 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups water

1 (8 oz) package regular lasagna noodles, uncooked

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1-1/2 cups cottage cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef, Italian sausage and onion. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, and water. Stir and simmer 15-20 minutes. (You could make the sauce in advance!)

Spread a fourth of the meat sauce into the bottom of your slow cooker. Arrange a third of the noodles over the sauce (break the noodles to fit, if necessary). Combine the mozzarella, cottage cheese and parmesan cheese; spoon a third of the mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce and sprinkle with extra mozzarella cheese, if desired.

Cover and cook on low for about 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender.

Recipe Notes

*You could substitute 1-2 Tbsp dried minced onion

LIGHT LASAGNA

This is from a long-since-forgotten emailing list (possibly a Weight Watchers email), and starts off, “This is from my new cookbook "Fix it and Forget it Light" Lowfat Crockpot recipes.-Sams' Club.”

Makes 8 servings

4 1/2 C fat free, low sodium meatless spaghetti sauce

1/2 C water

16-oz fat-free ricotta cheese

2 C shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

3/4 C parmesan cheese, divided

1 egg

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

8 oz box no-cook lasagna noodles.

Mix spaghetti sauce and 1/2 c water in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, 1 1/2c mozzarella cheese, 1/2 c parmesan cheese, egg, garlic and seasoning.

Spread 1/4 of the sauce mixture in bottom of slow cooker. Top with 1/3 of the noodles. Breaking to fit if needed.

Spread with 1/3 of the cheese mixture, making sure noodles are covered.

Repeat layers twice more.

Spread with remaining sauce.

Cover. Cook on low 5 hours.

Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Cover. Let stand 10 min to allow cheese to melt.

Per serving: 360 celeries (90 calories from fat = 25% fat) 10 grams fat (4.5g saturated, 0 trans) 40 mg cholesterol, 870 mg sodium, 39g total carbohydrates (6g fiber, 10g sugar) 25g protein, 50% DV calcium, 10% DV iron.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN PARMESAN PASTA

This comes from Chungah Rhee on her wonderful site, Damn Delicious. If you haven’t checked out her site, which I definitely recommend, you should!

For this recipe, Chungah wrote, “Save time/effort and make everyone’s FAVORITE Italian dish in your crockpot. You can also freeze half for another meal!”

Yield: 8 servings; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 4 hours 30 minutes; Total Time: 4 hours 45 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

1 pound penne

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Place chicken into a 6-qt slow cooker.

In a large bowl, combine crushed tomatoes, onion, basil, oregano, parsley and red pepper flakes, if using. Stir into the slow cooker and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours.

Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred, using two forks.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.

Stir pasta and chicken into the slow cooker; top with cheeses. Cover and cook on low heat for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until the cheeses have melted.

Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

CHEESEBURGER STUFFED SHELLS

This is from Machismo on Tbsp., and begins, “Cheeseburgers? Good. Stuffed Shells? Good. Together? Amazing. Cheesy beef and onions are stuffed inside pasta shells and baked to hearty perfection.”

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 50 minutes; Servings: 4

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground beef

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup ketchup

3 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided

18 large pasta shells (from a 16 oz. box)

Extra ketchup, for serving

Fresh oregano, garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, start heating a large pot of water for cooking the pasta.

Add ground beef to the skillet and cook, breaking up the beef as it cooks, until the meat is well browned, another 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in ketchup and 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese at the very end and remove mixture from the heat.

Cook shells according to package until they are al dente. Be careful not to overcook the shells or they will fall apart later. Drain shells and let cool briefly. (For best results, cook more than 18 shells in case any break or tear during cooking.)

Working one at a time, stuff each shell with a generous spoonful of cheeseburger filling and place in a large baking dish. Repeat process until you’ve used all of the cheeseburger mixture.

Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish and cover it tightly in foil. Bake shells for 15 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the top of the shells and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes, until cheese is completely melted.

Remove from oven and garnish shells with a drizzle of ketchup and sprinkle of fresh oregano, if desired. Serve warm.

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

Is it a chicken dish? Spaghetti? Both! This yummy recipes is from Ree Drummond of The Food Network’s The Pioneer Woman, and begins, “With spaghetti and mushroom sauce, and light and dark meat chicken with bell peppers, Ree Drummond's casserole is like two meals in one. Cooking the spaghetti in the same liquid as the chicken infuses it with flavor, and the Cheddar thickens the sauce so it coats each piece of meat.”

Total: 1 hr 40 min; Active: 20 min; Yield: 8 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/chicken-spaghetti-recipe.

Ingredients

1 whole raw chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces

2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar

1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Two 10 3/4-ounce cans cream of mushroom soup

1 medium onion, finely diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chicken pieces to the boiling water and boil for a few minutes, then return the heat to medium-low and simmer, 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken and 2 cups of the chicken cooking broth from the pot. When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and pick out the meat (a mix of dark and white) to make 2 generous cups.

Cook the spaghetti in the same chicken cooking broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When the spaghetti is cooked, combine with the chicken, mushroom soup, 1 1/2 cups cheese, the green peppers, red peppers, onions, seasoned salt, cayenne, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved chicken cooking broth, adding an additional cup if needed.

Place the mixture in a casserole pan and top with the remaining 1 cup cheese. Cover and freeze up to 6 months, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days or bake immediately until bubbly, about 45 minutes. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).