Easy Slow Cooker Taco Pasta

I have made this recipe about 5 times since I tested it a few months ago and as I was making it last for last night's dinner, it hit me that I haven't shared it with you!  You can already guess it's a family favorite being that we've made it so many times already, so hopefully it'll be a success with your family as well!

This pin comes from a site called Inspired Dreamer, which is a blog where you can get ideas for things like food, home decor, wedding, and travel.  I'm not quite sure how you can get an account as there is no link to create an account, only if you lost your password.

This is what I call a 3-step slow cooker process.  You cook something before you start the slow cooker, let everything cook in the slow cooker, and you have to cook something after everything is done.  It's really simple though, so don't think that it'll take extra time to prep!  If you have time the night before, you can prep the cooked stuff before you go to bed and then put stuff in the slow cooker the next day!

Here are the ingredients and directions from the site:

Ingredients-Taco Pasta

• 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
• 1 cup Progresso® beef-flavored broth (from 32-oz carton)
• 1 cup water
• 1 package (1 oz) taco seasoning mix
• 1 can (14.5 oz) organic diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 package (8 oz) chile and roasted garlic Mexican cooking sauce
• 4 oz (half of 8-oz package) cream cheese, soften, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 cups cooked medium pasta shells
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

Instructions

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
2. In 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, place cooked beef and remaining Taco Pasta ingredients except pasta shells and Cheddar cheese; stir until well combined.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 4 to 5 hours.
4. About 15 minutes before serving, cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Uncover slow cooker; stir in pasta and shredded Cheddar cheese until well combined.
5. Cook uncovered on High heat setting 10 to 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
6. Serve topped with sour cream, salsa and/or shredded cheese.

Since we've made this a few times already, I can share the changes we've made.  We don't use a store bought taco seasoning, we do a homemade version.  The husband likes how we can alter it to make it spicier if we want or if he wants to taste more a particular spice.  I'll update this post once I blog about the homemade taco seasoning we use.  You can also add the taco seasoning to the beef after you drain it, or just toss it in the pot with the rest of the ingredients; it doesn't change anything. :)  I don't cube up the cream cheese.  The first time I made this, I was pressed for time in between appointments, so I just threw everything in with the beef and it still came out great.  Another note about this dish is we have found that we like more of a "soup" vibe with this dish, so we find that we add more broth when we warm up left overs or sometimes we don't add the shells in the end because it soaks up so much of the broth.  We'll add the shells when we're about to eat it.  Up to you how you'd like to enjoy it!

Beef, tomatoes, onions, broth, water, cream cheese ready to cook!

The finished product right before plating.  The kids love being able to add sour cream and as many tortilla chips as their little hearts desire.  I add more broth here after it's done.  We went ahead and put in the shells like the directions say so you can see what it looks like finished.

Verdict: Of course it's a hit with our family!  It's gone usually by the second day, so leftovers never last long for this dish.  You could also add some peppers if you'd like some kick! :)

Cheers!

Broccoli & Garlic Penne Pasta

I don't know about you, but I am a fan of garlic!  I know it doesn't leave you with kissable breath, but I'm willing to sacrifice that to have a great garlic-y tasting meal.  I saw this pin and thought that it had to be great!  Broccoli too?  I was sold.

The recipe originates from the Schnucks website, which is a grocery chain in the Midwest.  I had to search around for their "about Schnucks" link; I've never heard of them until I tested this recipe.

Here are the ingredients and directions:

What you need:

(click + to add ingredients to your shopping list)

+ 1 c. Swanson® Chicken Broth or Swanson® Chicken Stock
+ 1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves, crushed
+ 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
+ 2 cloves garlic, minced
+ 3 c. broccoli florets
+ 1/2 of a 1-lb. pkg. penne pasta (about 3 c.), cooked and drained
+ 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
+ 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

What to do:

1. Heat the broth, basil, black pepper, garlic and broccoli in a 10-in. skillet over medium heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook until the broccoli is tender-crisp.
2. Add the penne and lemon juice and toss to coat. Sprinkle the penne mixture with the cheese.

Nutritional information:

Calories: 124;   Total Fat: 2g;   Saturated Fat: 1g;   Cholesterol: 4mg;   Total Carbs: 22g;   Fiber: 3g;   Protein: 6g;   Sodium: 281mg;  

It's a really simple and easy recipe!  I used more garlic because 2 cloves didn't seem like it would really be enough to taste, especially in the broccoli.

The verdict?  If you're trying to watch your waistline, this recipe is for you.  The husband told me I should've been tipped off by the "lightness" of the flavors just from the calories alone. ;)  It's definitely light and the flavor barely comes through.  I ended up adding more garlic and lemon juice to get more of a taste to come through.  I won't add this to my recipe box, but if I'm trying to cut back, I may come back to this one.


Cheers!

Spicy Romano Chicken Pasta with Artichoke Hearts and Sun Dried Tomatoes

A description on pins like these is what inspired me to create this blog!  While searching for pins to test after my last final of summer semester on Wednesday (I hope I end up with an A!), I stumbled upon this one!  I pinned it not just for the picture, but for the description of how it's "the best recipes on pinterest!!"  I swear, people need to check grammar more often when using the internet.  :)

Boss Sanders is the blog where you'll find this pasta recipe.  This is a family blog (with the wife as the main contributor) and you can find more recipes, tips like how to save money, and right now you can follow them on their journey through adoption! Definitely check out their blog!

You know the drill by now :) Ingredients and directions as posted on their site:

Ingredients

The Sauce:

• 1 pint heavy cream
• 4 T butter
• 2 tsp  salt
• 1 – 2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup romano cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper  *EDITED*  My husband and I like a lot of KICK to ours.  IF you or your family doesn’t, please read comments first.  If you aren’t sure how much cayenne you will like, add a tiny amt and taste as you add until it’s to your liking!

The Rest:

• 10 ounce package of bowtie pasta cooked and drained according to package directions – al dente.
• 1 1/2 T melted butter
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 small jar artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 7-8 ounce precooked sliced grilled chicken (we also add equal amounts of sausage to ours…although shrimp, beef, and crab would be great too!)
• 1/8 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 oz heavy cream

How To Make It:

Sauce:

• Melt butter in saute pan or skillet. Add cream, salt and pepper, heat to a boil. Remove from heat and fold in cheeses and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

The Rest:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter, then add mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes. Stir for one minute. Next add artichokes and chicken (and cooked sausage or other meat). Stir. Stir in 1 ounce heavy cream and 1/2 of the sauce. Add bowtie pasta followed by rest of the sauce. Stir gently. Serve.

I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU DOUBLE OR TRIPLE THE RECIPE.  IT’S AMAZING!


I love that you can alter this recipe to your preference.  We went with chicken only since we had a lot of it.  Next time we will definitely add some sausage or something else in addition to the chicken.  I went with the suggested amount of cayenne pepper for this trial.  Before I added the artichoke hearts, I made sure to drain it from the marinade it came in.

12" skillet with all ingredients except the pasta!

Instead of a 10oz box of bowtie, I had on hand a 16oz box (I can never pass up 5 for 5 deals at the grocery store!).  I cooked the entire box and there was probably only about 1/2-3/4 cup worth of cooked pasta that I didn't add to the mixture.  If you have a huge family, sure, double or triple the recipe, but man it already yields a lot on its own!  We like sun-dried tomatoes, so next time around we'll add more than 1/8 cup.

Note to self: add more tomatoes next time

The verdict: This is our new favorite pasta dish that we've tried from pinterest!  It used to be the penne pasta with sun-dried tomato cream sauce, but this hands down has taken the title in our family!  The posted amount of cayenne pepper adds the right amount of kick and isn't too spicy for those who can't handle the heat.  If it is, simply cut it down to 1tsp.  :)  Hope this recipe is a success in your household as well!

Cheers!

 

Taco Pasta Bake

Oh my!  I've been MIA from this blog for over a month!  My apologies for those of you that actually read this blog!  March was so hectic with family events that it flew by so quickly for our family.  I'm back though, and have plenty of pins to test out and post.  :)


I bring you a pin that I've been curious about since I saw it last year; the Taco Pasta Bake.  The only time I've really tasted something like this was when the mister brought home a taco type Hamburger Helper meal home because it was on sale.  I don't remember if we liked it or not (it was so long ago and we usually avoid HH so that we cook more from scratch-nothing against it!), we only had it that once.  Yesterday while running errands, I browsed through my food board and cam across the pin and figured it was time to test it out.

The original pin had an incorrect link to "Cole World" blog, which doesn't have any recipes whatsoever!  I Google'd and corrected the link for the pin on my food pin board.  :)
 

You may have seen the pin with the entire recipe listed out in the description.  As you can tell in the photo, I just put the dish name and that it's already been tested by me ;)

Here is the recipe as found on Claudia's Recipes website:

Taco Pasta Bake

Ingredients:
1/2 - 3/4 of a bag of ziti
1lb of ground beef
1 envelope of taco seasoning
1C water
1/2 pkg of cream cheese
1 1/2C shredded cheese (Mexican style or Colby Jack)

Directions:
Boil pasta until just cooked, drain, rinse with cold water.

Brown ground beef, mix together taco season and  water, pour over cooked beef and let simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced.

Add the cream cheese to the beef mixture, stir until melted and combined, remove from heat.

Add pasta to the casserole dish and mix in 1C of the shredded cheese.

Top pasta and cheese with beef mixture, gently mix until the pasta is coated, top with remaining shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 uncovered for approx 30 minutes.  


It is as simple as it reads.  There were only a few things I did differently compared to the original; I didn't use Ziti noodles, but Penne since we usually have a lot in stock in our pantry (I also used the entire box instead of 3/4),  and I used 1 cup total of shredded cheese.

I used a 7 x 11 dish when I made this pasta bake.  It was actually a perfect size IMO.  It was a bit tough mixing, but it all fit!  Here are the cooked noodles (only to al dente) and 1/2 cup shredded cheese, mixed in the pan.

 I melted in the cream cheese with the taco seasoned meat and then combined it with the pasta...

Added1/2 cup shredded cheese on top (we used a fiesta blend), and baked uncovered for 30 minutes.

 The finished Taco Pasta Bake, fresh from the oven!  Also a picture of a serving in a bowl, waiting to be devoured by our oldest kiddo!

 

Another pinterest recipe success!  A definite hit with the kiddos and the mister found it tasty as well!  He did mention that the next time we make it, he wants to experiment with adding another spice or something to it to bring more flavor to the dish.  Gotta love someone who loves to try and improve on things, right?

Hope y'all enjoy this dish!  Cheers!

A Two Timin' Pasta Bake!

Time for another pasta dish, and this one is pretty quick to make!  If your family enjoys penne alla vodka, this dish will be a hit!  On Pinterest you may find the pin labled "Two Timin' Pasta Bake".

The recipe calls for 5 ingredients and about 40 minutes of your time!  Seriously!  It comes from the blog Peals, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour!  Here are the ingredients and directions from the website (sans pictures):

1 box penne pasta

1 (15 oz.) jar Alfredo sauce

1 (24oz.) jar Marinara sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions and drain.  Mix the sauces together in a large bowl.  Add the mozzarella and stir to combine.  Then toss in the penne and toss to coat.  Pour pasta into 9x13 baking dish and cook on 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. 

Seems simple enough, right?  And if you make sure you're following the steps back to back, it literally took  about 40 minutes from start to finish!  Here's a picture of 3 of the 5 products we used:

I couldn't find an alfredo sauce that came in the same size as marinara, so don't freak out if you can't.  The flavor is just fine if you can't. ;)

 Remember when I mentioned that it would take about 40 minutes of your time?  It will as long as you start other steps while the pasta is cooking!  Penne cooks fast, about 7-10 minutes.  Since you'll be putting this dish in the oven, the pasta doesn't need to be completely done, but al dente.

Note: have you ever seen the pinterest tip about putting a wooden spoon over a boiling pot to prevent the contents from boiling over (as pictured on the left)?  It really does work!

Right after you put the pasta in the pot to start cooking, mix the mozzarella, alfredo sauce and marinara sauce together in a bowl.  Should only take you about a minute to complete!  If you haven't already, take out your 9x13 baking dish to get it ready.  You can also turn on your oven to start warming up to 350.  After that, you're just waiting on the pasta to finish cooking! ;)

Once the penne is done and you've drained it well, toss them straight into the bowl and start mixing it with the sauce to get them coated.  Pour the entire contents into your 9x13 baking dish.  Place in the oven and bake at 350 for 25 minutes (the time we went with).

When your time is up, open the oven and pull out the dish so you can sprinkle on the shredded parmesan cheese.  We didn't measure out 1 cup; pretty much sprinkled on as much as we liked (the husband is a parmesan cheese fan).  Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes so that the cheese can completely melt.

Voila!  The finished product!  It was a big hit with the kids!  My husband and I agree that while tasty, it is very, very close to a penne alla vodka flavor.  Let us know what your thoughts are on this dish!

Cheers!

"Million Dollar Spaghetti"

In this post, I bring you the first recipe I found on Pinterest that we tested for the new year! As I mentioned before, I didn't blog about it because the idea of this blog didn't come until we decided to try the enchiladas.  :)  Hopefully the fact that I'm making it again for my family is a clue of how good it is!

I really struggle with the name of this dish because I don't know that I'd pay a million dollars for this dish or think this dish is just oh-so-good that it could be worth a million dollars.  After Googling Million Dollar Spaghetti I did find that there are a few variations for it and the most people have said is that it's "very rich" in flavor, perhaps the reason behind the name?

Source: ashleykaitlin.blogspot.com

The recipe from this pin comes found on the Being Grown Up blog.  Here it is straight from the site (sans pictures):

Ingredients

1 lb. of Ground Beef

1 can of Spaghetti Sauce

8 oz of Cream Cheese

1/4 cup of Sour Cream
1/2 lb. of Cottage Cheese
Whole Stick of Butter
8 oz. of Noodles
Bag of Sharp Chedder Cheese

Directions

First: Go ahead and put your over on 350! Boil those noodles!! While they are boiling go ahead and mix up the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese!!

Make sure that it is mixed up VERY well!

Then.. go ahead and cook that meat!

Make sure its good and brown and drain it!
Then pour your spaghetti sauce over it!

Take a few slices of your butter and put them in the bottom of your casserole dish, then layer HALF of the noodles in the bottom of the dish!

Pour that nicely mixed up creamy mixture on top of the noodles and SPREAAAAAD it all over!

Then add the rest of your noodles and put a few slices of butter on top of those noodles.

Now pour the red sauce and meat on top and once again SPREEAAAAD

Now place that awesome casserole in your oven for 30 minutes!

After those 30 minutes take the dish out and pour some chedder cheese on the top and put it back in the oven for 15 minutes!

Then your DONE!

If you take the time to read through the comments, you'll find a lot of people who've tried it out themselves and have already made substitutions to make it lighter!  This recipe is definitely worth trying out- a change from traditional spaghetti and lasagna.

Here are a few of the photos I snapped while I made dinner last night :)

If you visited the originating post, she apologized for not having and pictures of the final product, so here are ours!

Great with a salad and of course, garlic bread!  Hopefully your family will enjoy it like we did!

Cheers!

Penne Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Before this recipe, I don't think I've ever cooked with sun-dried tomatoes.  Of course my family has had dishes with them at restaurants, but I've never thought to use them at home nor used a recipe that called for them.  Good ol' Pinterest, getting people to try new things (or think about it) one pin at a time. :)

There it is to the right, the picture that convinced me to pin this very recipe over 50 weeks ago.  Now that I'm back to meal planning weekly, besides using trusted family recipes and family favorites we've tried over the years, I also comb through my food board on Pinterest in search of recipes to try out on my family.

This pasta just looks so creaming and tasty, doesn't it?  It must be an amazing recipe with "sun-dried tomato cream sauce" and everything!  That's what I was thinking when I saw this pin!


Being that when we went grocery shopping for the week we chose to go to WinCo, we didn't exactly find sun-dried tomatoes.  I almost gave up hope even attempting this dish until Google came to the rescue of course.  I used a DIY method courtesy of allrecipes.com and viola, sun-oven dried tomatoes!  Word of caution, if you decide to go this route, make sure you either start in the morning or do this the day before.  For you working parents, do this on the weekend because it really does suck up majority of the day.  Again, that's if you're going to make your own sun-dried tomatoes at home (using the oven-I'm not sure how fast a dehydrator is).

My results from making sun-dried tomatoes at home

As you can see, I did slice up some tomatoes as if I were going to put them on a sandwich or burger because I wanted some to dry out quicker.  Note: If you do this, cut the slices thick otherwise if they're too thin, they will dry out too fast and then stick to your cookie sheet and burn!

Now for the main event!  Here is the recipe straight from Very Best Baking site:

Ingredients

• 2 cups (8 oz.) dry penne pasta
• 8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
• 2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded Italian-style four-cheese blend
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

PREPARE pasta according to package directions, adding sun-dried tomatoes to boiling pasta water for last two minutes of cooking time; drain.  

MEANWHILE, COMBINE evaporated milk, cheese, basil, garlic powder and pepper in medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.  

ADD pasta and sun-dried tomatoes to cheese sauce; stir until combined.  

What the directions fail to mention is that you should remove the tomatoes from the pasta pot before you drain.  If you don't, the tomatoes will mix in with the penne and then you won't have any for your sauce!  When I added the tomatoes, I made sure that I stirred it up a bit first (you know, to prevent noodles from sticking to each other) and when the noodles stopped moving around I added the tomatoes.  Then before I was ready to drain the pasta, I used a slotted spoon to fish out the tomatoes and put them straight into the cream sauce.  Yes, the heat was still on as I did this because I wanted the sauce to thin out more.  After the tomatoes were incorporated then I removed it from the heat.

Sauce ingredients just added to the saucepan

Sauce after it's been cooking for a bit

It didn't dawn on me until I started making the sauce that it was a lot of cheese!  Keep in mind that it at first as you're stirring it, the consistency will be thick and it won't exactly become a "cream" sauce.  Once it cools down, it will harden and will have to be warmed up again to make it easier to spoon onto your pasta.

The final product!

Verdict: It was a hit!  The creamy (and I do mean creamy) sauce was oh-so-delicious and tasty and a hit with my kids!  The husband of course enjoyed it and said it was recipe book worthy!  The next time I make this, I think I'll try adding more milk to help thin out the cheese a bit more, but it was great!

Cheers!