Pasta Bake- Quick and Easy Meal

One of the most delicious pasta dishes I have ever eaten.  I tried this for the first time when I was a teenager at a friends aunts house and luckily she showed me how to make it. <3

16 ounce box of Rigatoni or Penne Noodles

{boil until they are cooked halfway and drain water}

Add a family sized can of Cream of Mushroom into the pot

15 oz can of diced tomatoes with juices

8 oz can of diced Green Chilies drained

add 16 ounces of finely chopped, cooked, and drained Italian sausage.

{Country will work as well and you can sprinkle in fennel seeds}

 Sprinkle in a good bit of cheese and mix together.

Pour into a casserole dish and cover tightly with foil

Let cook around 30 minutes pull out and pour 2 cups of shredded cheese on top and bake in the oven uncovered until bubbly. 

Pull out and let sit for 15 minutes for the sauce to thicken. Serve.

 What is your favorite quick casserole?

BBQ Pulled Pork Sheperds Pie

Are you ready for this?  Wow, what a great idea my husband came up with.  He wanted me to call it "Hungry Man Pie."  Sounds good huh. BBQ pulled pork and sheperds pie are both really great examples of soul food, the kind you love to warm up with and fill your belly with. I will right to it, so you can make some too.

Boil potatoes, season and mix your potatoes

 When your pork is warm enough to touch, get your fork or use your fingers to get your pork pulled.

 Add your bbq sauce.

 Add around 1 1/2 cup veggies.

 Add the potatoes as the top layer.

 Bake in the oven until slightly crisp with bubbling juices.

Add your cheese and place back into oven.

 Specifics on the How Tos:

Boil 2 1/2 pounds potatoes.
Pull off the amount of skins you want or leave them on.
Mash potatoes up.

Add: 1/2 cup Heavy Cream, Sea Salt, Pepper, 1 cup Sour Cream and blend. You can always add a little more of the Heavy or Sour Cream for a smoother mix, but you want to make sure you don't make it too smooth because you want it to keep its form.

Shred around 2 1/2 pounds pulled pork and mix your favorite BBQ sauce. (I used Kansas City Style Cattlemans BBQ sauce) or enough to coat 1/2 of the bottom of the casserole dish.

Add around 1 1/2 cup of veggies on top of the pulled pork layer.  I used a little corn and a little broccoli. I didn't want to take away from the meat and potatoes with veggies.

Add your layer of potatoes.  Bake at 350 degrees around 30/45 minutes until the top of the potato layer is slightly crusty with bubbling juices from the side.

Sprinkle some cheese and let sit for about 10 minutes. Cut up and serve.

Happy Baking!



1 Meal Turned into 3- Lasagna, Sloppy Joes and Chili

Delicious Lasagna

Dice as much onion as you want & sautee until translucent.

~I was out of bell pepper or else I would have used it too.~

Brown approx. 5 lbs. of hamburger meat & drain.

Add 2 cans of tomato paste & enough water for a nice thick meat sauce.

Let Simmer.

*Take a large serving portion out and set to the side. I used a 5.2 cup container.*

Add Italian seasoning, garlic powder & diced mushrooms to pan.

Boil Oven Ready noodles until 1/2 cooked in garlic seasoned water.

I always cook "Oven Ready" noodles 1/2 way to speed up the process.

Assemble:

V8 Tomato Juice

I only put 3 noodles down for a meatier bottom.

Remember that large portion of hamburger meat that was put to the side?

Add Chili powder & TA DA-- Sloppy Joe mix

 

Have some left, well mix a can of hot dog chili (I used a can of Hungry Man Chili) with it and

TA DA-- Meaty Hot Dog Chili!

I had lots of fun with this meal and saved tons of time by making basically 3 meals in one.

ENJOY!

Quick Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is possibly one of the most yummy of the bad for you foods. The best homey dish you could make your family. Not to mention, what kid doesn't love mac-n-cheese. Baked macaroni is always a winner in my home and as a child, I watched my Maw Maw make homemade mac-n-cheese for every special family gathering. Normally, we go all out and make the old fashioned baked mac-n-cheese, however time was not my friend on a certain day.  I went ahead and created a simpler version that was really delicious as well. This is right up my 4 year olds alley, he would eat macaroni and cheese all day, everyday.

16 oz of your choice of noodles

1 bag of your choice Shredded Cheese- sprinkle some in and the rest on top.
1 Jar of Cheesy Ragu Double Cheese Sauce
1 Pack of Cream Cheese of your choice(room temperature)
I always sprinkle in a little garlic powder in everything
Stir until all mixed evenly and pour into a baking dish. Bake at 350 until nice and bubbly.

Putting it all together

Baked Mac N Cheese

And there you have some really easy cheesy mac. Of course, there are so many ways to make it and this is just my go to quick mac-n-cheese. I hope you enjoyed this quick version and next time you're in a pinch for time, simplify your meal. What are your favorite kinds of fast fix meals?