Fiesta Pasta Skillet

This is just a recipe that came to mind when I was going through the freezer and saw the amount of ground beef and ground turkey I have left from taking advantage of such amazing shopping deals. You can always add things to this recipe or take away. I'm going to make it for dinner tonight as Abbey loves anything with a "Spanish Flair"!

Ingredients:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (think Ro*Tel)
- 1 box bow tie pasta (you can use less if you don't want a ton of pasta in the mix)
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 can black beans
- 1/2 jar queso - (I'm using Newman's Own because I had a coupon for it)
- 1/2 jar salsa

Directions
- Bring water to a boil for pasta and cook pasta according to package instructions
- While the pasta is cooking brown the ground beef in a large skillet. When the ground beef is done browning, drain the beef and return to the skillet.
- Add the can diced tomatoes with green chiles, 1/2 jar of queso and 1/2 jar salsa to the ground beef and mix.
- Drain the bow tie pasta and add to the skillet. Mix in the pasta until it's well coated.
- Serve right from the skillet.

Creamy Bacon Vegetable Pasta Skillet

What You Need

4 slices OSCAR MAYER Center Cut Bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chicken broth

2 cups Elbow macaroni, uncooked

4 cups assorted vegetables, such as broccoli florets, pepper strips, carrot slices, mushroom slices, peas and/or zucchini slices

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It

COOK bacon in large skillet on medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet; set aside. Add onion to drippings in skillet; cook and stir until tender.

ADD 1 cup water, chicken broth and macaroni to skillet; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 10 minutes or until macaroni is tender.

ADD vegetables and cream cheese. Cook until cream cheese is melted and mixture is heated through, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with bacon and Parmesan cheese.

Chipotle Chicken Sandwich

Tonight I needed to come up with an easy and quick dinner for me and my daughter. We were supposed to go to my parents house for dinner but that didn't work out so well for us.

I decided that I desperately wanted to use the fabulous Chipotle flavored Kraft Sandwich Shop Mayonnaise that was sitting in my fridge. With a quick stop at the grocery store I had our dinner.

Ingredients:
Chipotle flavor Kraft Sandwich Shop Mayo
1 whole avocado
1 whole tomato
1 whole rotisserie chicken
whole grain bread (toasting optional)

Directions:

1. Pick the chicken clean and set aside the picked chicken.

2. Slice the avocado and tomato.

3. Really, I'm not going to walk you through making a sandwich. Just make your sandwich!

Taking Back Sunday

Today I decided that I am going to reclaim my Sundays. Sunday nights to me are always a time for family and a really great meal. Don't get me wrong, I do my best to make sure that all of the meals I serve my family are great, but I'm talking about a Sunday dinner, where you actually have time to really cook.

With this thought in mind, I decided that I was going to also try a new recipe. I received Pillsbury's Annual Recipes 2010 cookbook last week and have been dying to try one of the recipes and as always add my own twist.

I decided to try the Italian-Style Meatloaf recipe. I definitely added my own touch to this recipe. See my changes in orange.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 jar (14 oz) tomato pasta sauce (I used a little more than half a jar of Bertoli Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce)
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs (I used 1 cup crushed pretzel sticks as they maintain moisture better. Also for the Italian flavoring I added a packet of Italian Dressing Mix)
1 large onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning (I omitted this because of the Italian Dressing Mix I added with the pretzels)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I omitted this as well because of the salt from the pretzels)
2 lbs lean (at least 80%) ground beef (I used 93% lean)
1 box (7.2 oz 2 pouches) Betty Crocker roasted garlic mashed potatoes
2 1/2 cups milk (only use 1 cup per the package instructions)
1 1/2 cups hot water (it's actually 3 cups per the package instructions)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9-inch (3 quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat eggs. Stir in pasta sauce, bread crumbs, onion, Italian seasoning, salt and ground beef until well blended. Press mixture in bottom of baking dish.

2. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in center of loaf reads 160 degrees F.

3. Meanwhile, make both pouches of mashed potatoes as directed on box using milk, hot water and butter.

4. Spoon any excess juices from baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes over meat loaf; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until top begins to brown. Let stand at least 5 minutes before cutting.

This was a huge hit with my 18-month-old daughter! Try it out and let me know how you and your family liked it!

Chicken Covered in Creamy Chive Sauce

I love my slow cooker! And this is one of my favorite recipes to make in my slow cooker. Plus it seems to go over really well with guests - they think you spent hours making it when in all actuality it takes 15 minutes to throw it all in the slow cooker and 4 hours later it's ready!

8 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 0.7-ounce package of Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 of an 8-ounce tub cream cheese with chives and onion
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
8 ounces mushrooms
Hot cooked pasta

1. Spray the bottom of a 3.5 - 4-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken in slow cooker.
3. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in dressing mix to make a rue. Stir in mushroom soup, wine and cream cheese until combined. Add mushrooms and mix. Pour sauce over the chicken in cooker
4. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4-5 hours.
5. Shred chicken in slow cooker and mix into the sauce.
6. Cook pasta according to the instructions on the pasta box.
7. Serve the chicken and sauce over the hot cooked pasta and sprinkle with fresh chopped chives.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers in Hot Sauce Gravy with Blue Cheese Dressing

This is a yummy twist on buffalo wings using ground chicken instead of ground beef.

Yields 4 burgers

For Burger:

2 pounds ground chicken
A palmful grill seasoning
A palmful of buffalo wing seasoning
1/4 cup hot sauce
1/4 cup (about a palmful) chives plus extra for garnish, chopped
1/4 cup (about a handful) parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated

For Burger Coating:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup hot sauce

For Dressing:

1 cup mild blue cheese
4 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons sour cream
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, mix the chicken, grill seasoning, buffalo wing seasoning, hot sauce, chives, parsley, garlic, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Form 4 large patties.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with two tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, 2 turns around the pan. Sauté the burgers about 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

In a bowl, break up blue cheese and whisk in buttermilk. Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix to a chunky consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and blend in flour with whisk creating a rue. Add 1/2 cup hot sauce and mix with whisk to thicken. Take cooked burgers and coat them with the hot sauce gravy.

Once burgers are cooked and coated, place bottom of bun on a plate, then put the burger on top of the bun, garnish with extra chives, smother in blue cheese dressing and top burger with bun.

Add carrots and celery on the side if desired.

Spicy Blue Cheese Burgers

I don't know about you, but I love my burgers big! Let's be honest, by the time you grill a 1/4 pound burger it isn't a 1/4 pound anymore. That's why I make all of my burgers 1/2 pounds. If you prefer your burgers small, just halve the recipe.

Yields 4 servings

2 pound lean ground beef
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup minced onion
1 cup hot chicken wing sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
4 hamburger buns, split


1. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, blue cheese and onion. Season with Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and pepper. Mix well, using your hands if necessary. Form into four patties, and place on a plate. When forming patties, try to make the middle of the patty a little thinner than the outer part as the middle tends to take longer to cook. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Remove the hamburger patties from the refrigerator, and pour enough hot wing sauce over them to cover the top surface. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Place hamburgers on the hot grill, and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until no longer pink. The internal temperature should be at 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) if taken with a meat thermometer. For extra spicy burgers, baste with additional wing sauce while cooking. Serve on buns.