Stuffed Cheesy Rigatoni

I was so excited about making this dish I almost blogged about my excitement. This was something completely new, very hands on and I was sure everyone was going to love it. Much to my dismay the prepping of this dish almost had me throwing it all away and having a frozen pizza for dinner. I am however happy to say that I didn't give up on making it. I definitely learned some very valuable cooking lessons. The first one being - the dish was only so hard because I made it difficult with my lack of knowledge in what I was doing.

When you read the recipe it sounds very simple and to the point. Honestly if you have worked with pasta in a hands on way before you will probably have no issue. 

Stuffed Cheese Rigatoni

Serving size: 4 - 5
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 - 20 minutes

Ingredients

- 1lb rigatoni pasta noodles

- 4 to 6 cups of marinara

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 15 ounces of whole milk ricotta cheese

- 8 ounces goat cheese

- 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated

- 4 to 5 fresh basil leaves

Kitchenware

- Measuring cups

- Cast iron skillet or other oven safe skillet/pan

- Large pot

- Medium bowl

- Piping bag or ziplock bag

Directions

- Pre-Heat oven at 350 degrees

- Cook pasta noodles until they are almost done al dente. About 3 minutes before end cook time.

- Combine ricotta cheese, goat cheese, salt and pepper in medium bowl.

- Put room temperature cheese in your piping or ziplock bag (Cheese needs to be room temperature so it will pipe easier into noodles.

- Add 2 to 3 cups of marinara sauce onto bottom of your skillet, then add your basil leaves on top with a hefty sprinkle of your grated cheese.

- Pipe cheese mixture into each rigatoni noodle and layer them side by side into pan. Once filled add your second layer on top.

- When all the noodles are layered add the rest of your marinara sauce on top.

- Cover your sauce with the grated parmesan cheese.

- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. When it turns a golden color your pasta is done. 

Overall this was a very delicious dish. I got the usual 'complaint' that some sort of added meat would have made it better. Which if you are a meat lover I think some crumbled italian sausage or hamburger would go well with it. You could just mix it in with the marinara.

My issue was the piping of the cheese into the noodles. I put all my cheese into a ziplock back. The hole I cut was too big for the noodles so cheese was going everywhere. I got out my real piping bags i used for baking and was having just as many issues finding the correct size. By this time I had a mess and was overly aggravated. I was also working with less cheese and sauce than what I originally thought I needed. When I finally had the right size of everything - everything piped in perfectly. 

This is defiantly a tasty dish that will be made again!

The sauce, basil & cheese before the noodles.

The end delish product! Mmmmm!!

Crock Pot Roasted Bell Pepper Pork Chops

Tonights dinner was one for the books. It was so so so very good! This will definitely be made again soon. This dinner also worked great on the new volleyball schedule I recently blogged about. So it was a win - win for me tonight!

I paired this with homemade garlic mashed potatoes and a corn & sweet pea veggie mix. So good.

Crock Pot Roasted Bell Pepper Pork Chops

Serving size: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 - 4 hours or 5 - 6 hours

Ingredients

- 4 pork chops, about 1/2 thick
- A little oil for browning
- 2 tablespoons of Mrs. Dash Roasted Garlic and Red Bell Pepper seasoning
- 1 10 ounce can cream of mushroom soup

Kitchenware

- Crockpot
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Frying pan

Directions

- Brown the pork chops on both sides over medium high heat in a bit of oil. Be sure to not cook completely. Just a light browning.
- Place seared pork chops in crock pot and sprinkle with the Mrs. Dash seasoning, add more if desired.
- Pour mushroom soup over top of pork chops.
- Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
- Use sauce when finished as a delicious garnish over pork chops

Dearest Diary

Whew - things have gotten crazy busy lately! Last week I was completely down with being sick. It was no fun trying to take care of a household, your family & puppies while you cannot breathe and it feels like someone has punched you between the eyes. That sickness kicked my butt for almost seven days. I am so glad to finally be feeling mostly back to normal!

The puppies are doing great! They have almost tripled their size since we got them last month. They are doing much better with potty training and they  can last twice as long until they need to go out as they did before. Their chewing has gone up a couple of notches. If they see it they WILL try and chew on it. Doesn't matter what it is. That alone has taught me more than one lesson. I am pretty sure that their energy level has doubled in the past few weeks as well. One good walk used to tire them out. Now we have a couple and they still seem to find energy while I am the one wanting to take a nap.

Volleyball season has officially started in our household. We have either practice or a game every day during the week for the next month and a half. As excited as I am for our daughter to be involved in volleyball - it is surely changing up our schedule for awhile. One of the biggest is dinner time.

To most people it is just dinner time. But to us it is our family time. No phones or other electronic devices are allowed. Unless of course its like pizza/movie night. We stick to this every night during the week unless if at all possible. In saying this - practice unfortunately is cutting into that time for cooking & dinner time. So my new obstacle is to find enough dinners for the next month and a half that I am able to have cooked or cooking while I am gone picking her up from practice and ready to eat shortly after we get home.

I have the easy ones like hamburger, spaghetti, various pastas, breakfast & tacos on my list already. But I am hoping to find other ones that are a little more unique as well. Maybe if I find the time I can list out what we end up putting together to help you and your busy schedules out!

Well... time to go work on dinner for tonight. We are having something very simple that also happens to be a family favorite - hamburgers & potatoes. This week I think I am going to spice it up and add some grilled onions and bacon. Mmmmmm....

Well if you are still reading.. I'll leave ya with some funnies.

Simple Alfredo Sauce

One thing that I am constantly learning is the big difference between jared sauces and homemade sauces. One of the biggest misconceptions I have had is that all homemade sauces take longer to make/cook than using a pre-jared sauce. That is not true.

Don't get me wrong there are some sauces that do take a lot longer than a jared sauce. But there are plenty of delicious sauces that will take the same cooking time.

Take for instance the Alfredo Sauce I have listed below. It would take the same time to make a jared one. The only thing that may take 2 minutes more is actually getting out the extra ingredients and putting them in the pan. Those couple extra minutes are completely worth the homemade taste when your done. Not to mention all the extra crap you are not eating from a jared sauce. Making things from scratch will also highly reduce the added intake of all the funky stuff that are put in canned & jared foods. So in the end it is a win-win.

This sauce below was a perfect 'I dont feel like cooking but want something quick comfort food' dish. It is also fairly cheap and easy to make.

I did double the original recipe that I was working off of when I made it. Maybe we are sauce hogs, but the recipe I was using would have only worked for maybe 2 people in our house. Doubling it made it work for 4 people. We ate it with the most amazing homemade sourdough bread from La Galette Berrichone (again).

Homemade Alfredo Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients
8oz. of cream cheese
1 stick of butter (we use no salt REAL butter)
4 table spoons of garlic powder (next time I will mince my own fresh garlic and add to it)
1.5 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese
Dash of salt
Dash of fresh pepper

Directions
- In this order add your ingredients to a medium sauce pan - cream cheese, butter, garlic, milk, parmesan, salt and pepper
- Turn the stove onto medium heat
- Stir with a whisk as the cream cheese and butter are melting.
- When sauce starts to boil whisk constantly for about 2-3 minutes on medium/low heat
- Let cook for about 5 to 7 more minutes, continue to whisk so sauce does not burn
- When sauce is no longer runny but just under the thickness you would like - turn the heat off, cover and let sit for a few minutes. It will continue to thicken as it sits.
- Add to your favorite pasta (we used fettuccine) and enjoy!

Thank you to Crazy Blessed Life for the original recipe.

Replacing Fake Frozen Fries

My husband and daughter L.O.V.E. meat..... a lot. Me? Not so much. I could make pasta for days and be happy. However, I try and make it as much as possible for them because I know  thats what they like.

Thankfully one of the easiest meals to make is also something they love, love, love, love! I know this because of how they rave about it when they hear I am going to make it, while its cooking and then the "I love meat" comments that are made as they look at the finished product. What is it? Hamburgers. Yep. Plain and simple - no dressing them up or anything fancy. Just a good ole' fashion hamburger. 

We all have our way of eating them. Sometimes I don't eat them, I will mainly eat the side that I make with it. When I am able too I eat them plain dipped in ketchup or topped with sautéed onions (YUM). My husband eats them any way you give them to him with just about anything you can top them with. Our daughter usually eats them plain with cheese and dipped in BBQ. That's whats so great about the simple hamburgers - you can dress them up any way you want!

The tricky part of this dinner is always the side that goes with it. In the summer we almost always have corn on the cob with hamburgers or any meat really. Mainly because a grilled corn on the cob fresh from the husk with lots of butter is my favorite thing to eat in the summer. I really wish there was great nutrition in corn. I would be totally vamped on it!  Anyways - enough drooling over the corn. :)  For other sides that are easier to make... I have done mac & cheese, frozen corn - and then the 'bad stuff' - all sorts of frozen fries. Steak fries, curly fries, string fries, crinkle fries... I better stop Im getting a little Forest Gump here. You get get the point. 

The frozen fries come into play because 1) They are quick to make. 2) No brainer to cook 3)Just adding in a side because I need one. So really none of my reasons are good ones other than they are quick to make. They are filled with nasty things, hardly any real nutritional value to them and honestly have you ever ate a really good frozen fry??

So my next task has been finding something to replace the frozen fry with. Something quick, easy and yet tastes good.

My first find/trial is called Cheese and Bacon Potato Rounds. They honestly fit almost everything described!

I didn't end up doing everything the recipe called for as I ran out of time due to two puppies that were getting into trouble. However they still turned out great and I think they are a great replacement for the frozen fries! I put my notes below the original recipie from www.allrecipes.com.

Cheese and Bacon Potato Rounds

Ingredients

recipe makes 4 servings

• 4 baking potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 8 slices bacon - cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions 
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Brush both side of potato slices with butter; place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. 
3. Bake in the preheated 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides, turning once.
4. When potatoes are ready, top with bacon, cheese, and green onion; continue baking until the cheese has melted.

My original plan was the make the recipe as it was written minus the green onions as I cannot stand them. Unfortunately time ran away from me and I didnt get the bacon made. So about 10 minutes before they were done I added the cheese to all of them and then I added some bacon bits to a handful of them. My daughter loves them. 

They turned out really well and honestly I dont think that they have to have the bacon if you are using them as a side. If you were using them as an appetizer then bacon would work great. 

I also learned that you 1) need to use a pan with sides as it can get watery near the end a little bit and cause LOTS of smoke to build up! 2) I ended up needing to use two pans for the the potatoes. They cooked great at the same time.

All in all I think this was a great go to instead of the fries!

Something smells delicious...

There's nothing like making a pot roast in the crockpot, having it simmer and cook all day. That smell is just so good. The only problem with it is when you are home smelling it all day it makes you want to eat constantly. The good thing is I didn't actually eat all day even though I wanted to.

This new roast is cooking as we speak.  I say new because it is of course a different recipe. Anyways, since it cooks for 8-14hrs I figure I have plenty of time to write about the recipe. I will update this at the end and let you know how it turns out.

This recipe below I found on the blog of When The Dinner Bell Rings. I followed the directions to the "T" (where does that saying come from??) except I got a pork roast instead.

When it is all is said and done it will have cooked for about 8-9hrs. We will also have homemade bread with butter on the side. The amazing bread is made fresh daily from La Galette Berrichone in Fordland, MO. They are an amazing authentic french cruise little cafe'. If you are ever in the area you MUST stop by and try them out!

Update: Dinner turned out amazing! I wouldn't have done anything different. We even had enough left over for another dinner.


Best Danged Beef Pot Roast ~ Crock Pot

INGREDIENTS

• Small to medium size rump roast
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1 envelope brown gravy mix
• 1 individual size serving apple sauce
• 2 cups water
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small bag sliced carrots
• 2 medium to large size potatoes, cut up
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

Sear the roast in frying pan with small amount of oil. Sear it well on all sides.

Put roast, then vegetables in crock pot. Mix envelope mixes with water and applesauce, then pour over all.

Set crock pot on low and let it cook for at least 8-10 hours. I let mine cook for about 14 hours. The gravy came out really thick and good, meat was falling apart, and all the veggies were super tender. The applesauce adds a certain something that really makes a huge difference!

If you'd rather use this recipe to make stew, simply cut the roast into bite size pieces, then sear in a frying pan the same as the roast. Or you can make the roast for one night, then cut up the leftover meat and mix it back in for stew. 

This would also be delicious as leftovers served over noodles or rice.

Servings:	5-6
Time:	10-15 Minutes Preparation Time 8-14 Hours Cooking Time

How many times in life do we change?

I wonder if there is an actual number to how many times a person is supposed to have drastic 'change' within themselves. Maybe someone should write a book on it so we can all be prepared for those times.  It seems that they have plenty of books for kids and teens to explain what is changing, why and when. Altho most of those are too graphic in my opinion for kids & teens.

But what about the person in their 20s - don't they need to be aware of all the dumb mistakes they might make and why? Or the hormones that will be wild (which can lead to the mistakes)? How about the 30 year old whose metabolism decides to pretty much stop and then their hormones change again in a different way..? What about all the other people hitting their 40, 50, 60...etc milestones? Wouldn't it help for them to know what might lie ahead, how to deal with it and why?

Maybe books wouldn't help. Maybe people would laugh and feel as though the person writing them had no clue what they were talking about. In the grand scheme of things we are all different, change at different paces and experience different things in life at different times. Maybe if we all shared the different experiences we have been through it would help?

Saying all that.. brings me to this... I am changing. I will have to say this is the first time in my life that I actually know and feel that I am. Maybe that means I am becoming wiser too? (ha)

How am I changing? That is a great question actually. See.. I don't really know. I think I am just changing into that next phase of my life, whatever that may be. I just have noticed I care about certain things more than I did before. For instance - Ive never been a messy person, but I have been becoming more 'OCD' in my cleaning. I have started to care more about what kind of food I am cooking for my family to eat and where that food comes from. I have started researching and trying to buy more American made. My views and opinions on certain subjects are completely changing. I am concerning myself with learning more about my opinions and why I feel the way I do. The way I view church, religion and serving.

There are so many ways that I see myself being different. Thankfully I don't think any of them are bad. They are just changes for whatever reason. Unfortunately in that it makes me feel like I am back to being a teenager at times where I am not sure what I feel or why I feel that way. The difference now is that I take the time to realize it and find out why and see what I can do to make it better.

Some people may call of this 'growing up'. But I have to disagree. I have been 'grown up' for a long time now. Overall I believe and live the same way. Just dynamics about me are changing. I am 33 turning 34 in just a few short weeks. I guess it is just time for 'change'... whatever that may be.

Dearest Diary....

I think I am going to lose my mind with these puppies. If it wasn't for their cute furry selves I think I would claim pet owner insanity.

I knew everything about raising puppies, potty training puppies, reprimanding puppies... that is until we got puppies. Now everything is out the door. I am clueless.

I have never had puppies that were not at least almost completely potty trained, if not trained all together. So this getting them at 6 weeks old when they don't understand anything is a whole new adventure for me.

Google is becoming my best friend. Every evening when I am about to lose it, I google how to train/teach a puppy. There is a lot of great advice and I feel as though I am a normal new puppy mom again. I am also reading that usually puppies potty train between 8 & 12 weeks. Well we got them at 6 so I have A LOT of weeks to go.

Don't get me wrong. I love Max and Sophie. They are the best little wiggly happy things to wake up in the morning or come home too. I am enjoying being able to use my 'motherly abilities' again - to which I would like to note: anyone that doesn't think having 2 almost 8 week old puppies isn't a great comparison to a toddler.. hasn't had untrained puppies lately.

I also know the 'problem' is not them (yet).... it is me. I am untrained and I am clueless and I have a soft side that I am going to hate later!

My biggest issue is the potty situation and the next is the chewing. I was debating going into further info on what we do and don't to. But honestly... I think I am doing everything 'right'. They get treats when they potty with lots of praises. They get played with like crazy.

Hmmppfff.... Maybe I just need to learn a little more patience..... and to be trained!