Pasta Recipes

Italian food is a favorite in our household. So, I thought I would share a couple of recipes with you. This first one is Lasagna Roll ups, which I have made several times, and it is always a hit. I made this for dinner one night last week

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup A-1 Steak Sauce

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup (8 oz) ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese)

1/2 grated Parmesan cheese

9 lasagna noodles

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown meat in skillet, drain. Add 1/2 spaghetti sauce and A-1 sauce to the meat. Mix egg, cottage cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spread each noodle with 2 heaping tablespoons of the cottage cheese mixture
Top with 1/4 cup meat mixture

and then add about 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese

Roll up each noodle and place in greased baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. I always make a couple extra for a picky little girl who wants no meat, and no cottage cheese in her roll ups - just spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy :)

This next recipe, Bow Tie Fiesta, is a new recipe I made for the first time yesterday, and it was a HUGE hit, so I am sure it will make its way into our menu rotation.

Ingredients:

8 ounces bow tie pasta
1 pound ground beef
½ onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
Salt to taste
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
½ cup sliced black olives
¼ cup sliced jalapenos (optional)
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Cook the pasta using package directions and cooking for 7 minutes; drain. Brown the beef in a skillet, stirring until crumbly; drain. Add the onion and green pepper and mix well. Cook until the onion is tender, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt. Combine the pasta, ground beef mixture, sour cream, salsa, black olives, jalapenos, and tomato in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a 9×11-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Yield: 8 servings

I failed to get a picture of the dish after I took it out of the oven. I did add the jalapenos to my recipe, and it really wasn't too hot - but my family likes spicy!

I made some chocolate cupcakes for dessert

It is such a pretty day outside today!! Rod and Michael moving Courtney's basketball goal. This is the last week of games for her, and then golf begins.

Court and the dogs

Notice my patio furniture in the middle of the backyard. We have absolutely no back porch at all. Rod promises me he is going to build a deck and and a nice pergola this spring. I hope so!