Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

1 lb spiral pasta
1 lb ground beef
6 strips bacon, diced
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
barbecue sauce

Cook pasta according to package directions

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain and set aside.

In the same skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove with slotted spoon to paper towels. Discard drippings.

Drain pasta. Add to skillet. Add soup, beef and bacon. Mix together and heat through. Mix in desired amount of barbecue sauce (I use a whole bottle, we like it saucy). Sprinkle with cheese and cover until cheese melts.

Comments: This is an old favorite of ours. I have had this recipe for years. Its super quick. It reminds me of hamburger helper, but a homemade, slightly healthier version. Sometimes J and I like to reminisce about poor college days and how we ate way too much hamburger helper. One of my favorite things about the dish is there are so few ingredients.You can kind of throw it together super quick.

Chicken with Mustard Marscapone Sauce

From Milk & Honey

3-4 chicken breasts, chopped
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup dry Marsala wine
8 oz marscapone cheese
2 tbsp dijon mustard
parsley

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Ad chicken and cook until just brown. Set aside.

Melt butter in pan and add onion to saute. Add mushrooms and garlic. Saute until juices evaporate. Add wine and simmer until reduced by half. Stir in marscapone and mustard.

Return chicken to skillet and simmer until cooked through and everything is combined well. Stir in parsley.

Serve over orzo (or rice, whatever)

Comments: I was a little concerned about J liking this dish. I knew he would eat it because he basically will eat anything. But I always like to have him enjoy the things I cook. He isn't a fan of mustard, so I was afraid the dijon would be too much for him. He loved it though. C and I were fans also. The sauce was so flavorful. The marscapone made the whole dish. It wasn't super mustard-y. I wasn't a fan of all the time spent standing over a hot skillet, but it was worth it.

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Cassrole

From Bunny's Warm Oven

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup water
1 cup Thick and Chunky Salsa
3/4 cup uncooked long grain, white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 can Mexicorn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 chicken breasts
Mexican blend cheese

stir together soup, water, salsa, rice, onion powder, corn and beans in a casserole dish.

Season the chicken (I used a southwestern rub) and place on top of rice-soup mixture.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until chicken is well cooked

Sprinkle with cheese and allow to melt before serving

Comments: This was SOOOO good. I actually put off making this because I wasn't excited about it. I was afraid it was going to be bland and no fun. But there was great flavor. It was colorful (thats important to C). The best part though: SO SIMPLE. This will definitely be a dish we have in heavy rotation.

Cowboy Spaghetti

From Rachael Ray

1 lb spaghetti (I recommend angel hair for this one)
salt
1 tbsp olive oil
3 slices of bacon
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
pepper
2 tsp hot sauce
1 tbsp worcestshire sauce (I went really heavy on the worcestshire)
1/2 cup beer
14 oz chopped or crushed fire roasted tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
sharp cheddar

Cook spaghetti to al dente.

Heat large skillet with olive oil and bacon. Cook until brown and crisp. Remove and allow to cool. Once cool, crumble the bacon.

Add beef to skillet and brown.

Once brown, add onions and garlic. Allow to soften. Season with salt and pepper. Add hot sauce and worcestshire. Allow to cook for a few minutes.

Add 1/2 cup of beer to de-glaze pan.

Cook 5-6 minutes and stir in tomatoes and sauce. Allow to simmer for flavors to combine.

Add sauce to spaghetti and mix together well.

Grate/Sprinkle with cheese (this is important!)

Comments: I was a little unsure about this at first. I prefer my pasta to be very saucy and J really, really likes his to be saucy. This was not. At all. I was afraid there wouldn't be much flavor. I forgot the cheese at first, and the pasta tasted pretty good. I don't often salt and pepper my food at the table, but I felt like this needed it.

Then I remembered the cheese. That changed everything. I didn't add a lot, just a sprinkle. But it totally added so much flavor.

I'm really looking forward to making this again so I can tweak it exactly to our tastes.

Menu Plan: Week of June 15th

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole

Chicken with Mustard Marscarpone Sauce

Cowboy Spaghetti

Tequila Lime Chicken with TexMex ChicmiChop

From Sweetnicks

marinade:
1/2 cup tequila (USE A GOOD ONE!)
juice of 4 limes
1 tbsp hot sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 lb chicken
salt and pepper

ChimiChop:
Cilantro
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil

In a large bowl combine ingredients for marinade. Add chicken and marinate at least 1 hour in the fridge.

Shake excess marinade off and season chicken with salt and pepper. Grill or roast in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

While cooking, stir together ChimiChop ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on top of cooked chicken.

Comments: This was REALLY flavorful. Definitely make sure you use a tequila you would actually consider drinking, especially if you will be marinating overnight or for several hours. I made a mango salsa couscous to serve this on top of. The sweet of the mango really went well with the spice of the chimichop and the sour of the lime. This was really easy and I didn't even have to do most of the work since I made J throw the chicken on the grill. Next time I might roast it in the oven just to try the difference.

Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake

From ZOE

1 lb ground chicken
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz tomato paste
1 cup water
1 cup milk
4 tbsp chicken broth
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp thyme
8 oz spiral pasta (or whatever you have/like)
2 cups mozzarella
1 tbsp bread crumbs

Heat a pan over medium heat with olive oil. Cook diced onion until softened. Mix in minced garlic.

Place chicken in pan and cook until no longer pink.

Pour in tomato paste, milk, water, and broth, Stir together. Mix in thyme and oregano.

While sauce is simmering boil water and cook pasta until al dente.

Prep dish. Layer half of pasta, half of cheese, and half of sauce mixture. Repeat.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs

Bake at 325 for 25 minutes

Comments: I don't do a lot of measuring when it comes to spices. I can usually judge pretty well and make adjustments according to our (aka: my) tastes. I missed it on this one. I definitely did not put in enough oregano or thyme. Otherwise this dish would have been wonderful. Next time I make it I will definitely adjust my spices. I also will probably use a different cheese, possibly an Italian blend. The leftovers on this have been really great also.

Taco Casserole

From Cully's Kitchen

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
Mexican blend shredded cheese
15 oz refried beans
1 cup salsa
2.5 oz sliced black olives
1 tomato, chopped
corn chips, crushed

Brown beef and drain. Add taco seasoning and cook according to package directions.

Prep casserole dish and layer crushed tortilla chips on the bottom

Heat beans according to directions. Add 1 cup cheese and 1 cup of salsa. Mix well

Pour mixture over chips. Top with beef. Sprinkle with cheese and olives

Bake at 375 until cheese melts. Sprinkle with tomatoes before serving.

Comments: This was pretty good. Very simple and quick. I wasn't overly impressed. I have several different types of Mexican casseroles and this would probably be among my least favorite. It did, however, give me a craving for King Ranch Chicken casserole. I'm sure you will be seeing that recipe in the coming weeks.

Menu Plan: Week of June 7th

Sunday: Grilled steaks and sweet potato fries

Monday: I'm not cooking

Tuesday: Taco Casserole

Wednesday: Chicken Parmesan Bake

Thursday: Tequila Lime Chicken with TexMex ChimiChop and CousCous

Friday: Barbecued Chicken on the grill

Stuffed Pasta Shells

From Blog Chef

1 pkg jumbo pasta shells
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/ cup chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup peeled and chopped cucumbers
1 cup chopped, cooked chicken
3 oz hard salami, chopped
Salad dressing (I used a garlic Caesar dressing)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and allow to cool.

Place all remaining ingredients in a large bowl and combine together.

Stuff each shell with mixture and refrigerate a few hours before serving.

Comments: I'm not really sure what I was expecting this to be when I purchased the ingredients for this meal. Its basically a salad inside a pasta shell, but thats not really what I was expecting. It wasn't until I started cooking that I realized what I was going to have. I got concerned because J doesn't really care for cold pasta.

This turned out so well. It was so quick and so easy. Its a perfect summer dish. It was very refreshing. Its also so simple to make it to your own tastes. Add in or take away whatever ingredients you want. I was quite skeptical, but this has definitely become a summer favorite.

This would also make a great potluck dish as well.

Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls

From Full Bellies, Happy Kids

4 Chicken breasts
4 slices of cheese (I used pepperjack, the original calls for swiss. You can substitute anything)
4 thinly sliced pieces of ham
1 tsp paprika
6 tbsp breadcrumbs
2 tbsp parmesan
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
3 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Pound each chicken breast to a 1/4" thickness (I usually place the breasts into freezer bags for this to cut down on the mess)

Layer the cheese and ham onto each chicken breast. Roll each breast to enclose the filling and secure with a toothpick.

Mix together dry ingredients. Dip the chicken rolls in butter and roll in the crumb mixture.

Place rolls seam down in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.

Comments: This is just a super easy version of chicken cordon bleu, which is a favorite of mine. It got the approval from every member of the family. Remember to remove the toothpicks before serving, or at least warn everyone. J swears I am trying to kill him by hiding toothpicks in things.

Marsala Chicken Casserole

From Living The Road Less Traveled

2 tbsp butter
10 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms
1.5 tbsp flour
1/2 cup Marsala or white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups chopped/shredded chicken
2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large skillet, heat butter over medium high heat until just melted. Saute mushrooms in butter about 5 minutes..

Sprinkle with flour and stir for about a minute

Stir in wine and cream. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. About 3 minutes.

Stir in 2 cups of water, parsley, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

In a casserole dish, spread (uncooked) rice in an even layer. Top with chicken. Pour the mushroom gravy on top. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Sprinkle with parmesan to serve

Comments: I love chicken marsala, so this was any easy way to serve it. I had very high hopes for this dish. I was a little disappointed by it though. It didn't have the flavor I hoped it would. It was good and I will likely serve it again, but it was just slightly bland for my tastes.