Spaghetti Pie

Ever have one of those weeks where nothing goes right, you come home at the end of the day, and the last thing you want to do is make dinner? Well, it's been one of those weeks:/ However, this dish can easily solve that problem, as it is a cinch to whip up and it can be frozen ahead of time, all ready for you at the end of one of those long, draining days. Also, since we only ate 2 pieces, I was able to wrap up each leftover piece to freeze for future lunches and/or dinners!

Instead of baking this in a 9x13 pan, I used a 10 inch springform pan and it worked great! I used a jarred Arriabiata sauce from Trader Joe's and it added a nice kick to the dish. I also used a whole box of spaghetti because really, the box is 13oz, the recipe calls for 10oz, what do I want 3 leftover ounces for? The results were tasty, comforting and filling-all I was asking for tonight:)

The recipe below is freezer friendly, so obviously skip that step and bake it right away if that's your plan!

Spaghetti Pie
Source: Things That Make You Go Mmmmm, adapted from Freezer Friendz

1.5 lb. ground turkey (or beef)
10 oz. spaghetti (cooked al dente)
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs (well beaten)
2 c. cottage cheese (I use low-fat)
1 24-28 oz. jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
8 oz. grated mozzarella cheese (needed on serving day)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spray a 9x13" pan with non-stick spray.

2. Cook spaghetti and drain. To the cooked spaghetti mix in the butter, Parmesan cheese, and eggs and form into a crust that covers the bottom of your 9x13 pan.

3. Spread the cottage cheese over your noodles.

4. Brown the turkey/beef and add to your favorite sauce then spread over the cottage cheese.

5. FREEZE (I covered with aluminum foil, then the pan lid.)

To SERVE:

Bake at 350 for 30 min. Add mozzarella cheese and put back in oven till it melts. Enjoy!

Cheesy Potatoes

Cheesy potatoes seem to be one of those things where everyone has a different recipe, but they all taste the same. Some use hashbrowns, some cubes; some cheddar cheese, some american etc. To me, this is one of my ultimate comfort foods that I usually only eat at holiday celebrations, but wish I had more often!

This Christmas was the first time that I was asked to make the infamous cheesy potatoes (well, actually just potatoes, but there was really only one option in my mind). I got out the trusty "church cookbook" to peruse the multiple cheesy potato recipes at hand. I could not find anything that truly tickled my fancy, so I mixed and matched a few and came up with my own version.

One thing that I would change next time is adding 2 cans of cream of chicken soup (noted below) because I was being critical of myself and thought they were dry, but all the Nelson's loved them! (not naming any names, but one of them even ate a plate before they were cooked and said they were good!)

Cheesy Potatoes
Source: Kitchen Escapes

Ingredients:
2 lbs frozen hash browns (used 2 bags of simply potatoes hash browns)
8-12 oz. sour cream
1/4-1/2 cup melted butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup (healthy request or low-sodium)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 3oz. can french fried onions
salt and pepper

Grease crockpot with cooking spray or butter. Combine all ingredients, saving half of the onions, in crockpot and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low 7 hours (give or take a few). Sprinkle remaining onions on top before serving.

Cheddar-Bacon-Ranch Chicken & Rice Bake

(photo courtesy of Vintage Victuals)

I don't really like to use someone else's picture, but the only picture I could get of this dinner looked like dog food! And since it actually tasted pretty good, I did not want to frighten anyone away by my lack of photography skills.

This dinner was so easy to whip up and I really liked the infusion of flavor the peppers gave to the rice. However, I am not sure if it was the rice I used or what, but this took closer to 1 1/2 hours to bake before the rice was tender, so I ended up having to take the chicken out and continue to bake the rice mixture in order for the chicken to not get overcooked. Not a huge issue because you can throw it together so quickly, but just something to note in case dinner needs to be done by a certain time. I used brown rice(not instant) and instead of bacon we just sprinkled some bacon bits on top, but I am positive real bacon would have been much better!

Cheddar-Bacon-Ranch Chicken & Rice Bake

Source: Vintage Victuals

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice (white or brown)
1 10.5-ounce can of condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can of water
1 can of milk
1 1-ounce packet of ranch seasoning mix
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
4 medium-sized chicken breasts
2 cups cheddar cheese
6-8 slices of bacon, cut into 1″ pieces

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine the rice, the soup, the water, the milk, the ranch seasoning, and the diced peppers. Stir until well combined. Place the chicken breasts on top of the rice mixture. Cover the dish with tin foil and wrap tightly.

Bake for 45 minutes. In the meantime, lightly brown the bacon pieces over medium heat in a small frying pan. When you remove the chicken and rice from the oven, check the chicken to make sure it is cooked through (I like to use a meat thermometer for this). Then, sprinkle with the shredded cheese and the browned bacon pieces. Return to the oven for about 5-7 minutes so that the cheese melts and bubbles. Serve hot. Yield 4-6 servings