Pinterest Challenge: Pot Roast Noodles

Since it's Father's Day weekend I let Phil go through all my favourite recipes on Pinterest and pick whatever one he wanted for dinner. So he chose these Pot Roast Noodles. A lot of work, but very delicious! For the original recipe click HERE.

What you will need:

1 can of sliced mushrooms (drained)
2 1/2 pound chuck roast
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 each, chopped: carrot, onion, rib celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups beef broth
1 cup red wine
6 ounces tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
8 ounces pappardelle egg noodles

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, Season meat generously with salt and pepper.

2. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown meat, about 2 minutes per side. Lift out; set aside. Add carrot, onion, celery and garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add broth, wine, tomato paste, mushrooms, bay leaves and thyme. Heat to a boil. Return meat to the pot. Liquid should come about two thirds the way up the sides of the roast. Cover.

3. Place in oven; cook, turning roast once and basting occasionally, until very tender when prodded with a fork, 2-2 1/2 hours.

4. Set pot on stovetop. Remove meat from pot. Shred. Discard any fat. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig. Stir shredded meat into sauce; keep warm over low heat.

5. Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook noodles until tender but firm. Drain. Add noodles to meat and sauce. Toss gently.

Enjoy!

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA

Chopped Challenge Round 2 Results From You!

With our last weeks Chopped Challenge, we received a few photos from our Facebook Group members showing us their creativity using the mystery ingredients up front and center! 

Check out these tasty creations!

Pineapple Basil Bread Pudding

By Jennifer P.

"Bread pudding. Break up bread into small pieces. Mix small can of pineapple bits, condensed milk, 3 eggs, cinnamon, a few chopped basil leaves and a little milk! Place chopped bread in a buttered casserole dish. Pour mixture on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes."

Pineapple Basil Lasagna in a Creamy Pineapple Sauce 

Served with Pineapple Basil Baguette

By Debbie S.

"First cook the ground chicken in a pan with some pineapple. Add some bacon. sauce is made with flour butter condensed milk and regular milk. Chop some fresh basil and add to the sauce. To make the pasta I used 2 eggs, 2 cups of flour and 1 tablespoon pineapple juice. Mix until a ball is formed. Cut in four and roll on floured board. Cut in lasagna sized pieces. Cook for approx 5 mins Drain. In a pan add a layer of noodles then meat and sauce, repeat. sprinkle parm and a little more basil on top. bake in oven til heated through. serve with sliced baguette topped with melted butter pineapple juice and some basil"

Sweet and Spicy Balls

By James C.

"to make my meatballs mix all the following
ground beef, about 2 pounds
jalapeno pepper, chopped
bread crumbs made from a fresh baguette (cut it up and threw in the oven)
fresh basil leaves chopped up
crushed pineapple
2 eggs
pepper
Worcestershire
garlic salt
Blair's After Death Sauce

for the sauce mix all the following then cooked to just a boil
condensed milk
corn starch
pineapple juice from the crushed pineapple
white vinegar
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce 
the remaining crushed pineapple
Blair's after death sauce 

Roll the meatballs and place in a casserole dish. Pour the sauce on top and bake for an hour on 350. It would have been better on rice."

Thank you all so much for participating! 

We hope to have even more to share with you with our next round!

What will YOU make with : 

Eggs, Sugar, Bananas, and Coffee!

Join our Facebook Group to keep up to date with us!

Penne Ragu with Turkey Meatballs

While trying to watch what your eating you want to chose meats on the lighter calorie side, however, this tends to come with less flavor- not as juicy as the fats from hamburger may have, But! no fear, these turkey meatballs will definitely satisfy.



Meatballs
What you will need:
1 pkg of ground turkey
1/2 pkg of onion soup mix
2 tbsp. of bread crumbs
1 tsp. of oregano
1 tsp. of Italian seasoning
4 leaves of fresh basil chopped finely
2 minced cloves of garlic

Ragu
What you will need:
1 can of diced tomatoes with herbs
1 jar of Ragu or 1 can of crush tomato
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. of Italian seasoning
1 tsp. of oregano
1 tsp. of basil
1 tsp. red chili flakes
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. of butter

Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium heat. In a bowl mix together all ingredients for your turkey meatballs. Form your turkey into about 2inch balls and put in the pan. Brown the sides of your meatballs cooking about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through, DO NOT cook all the way through. When your meatballs are halfway cooked add in the onion and garlic and sauté for  about 1 minute. Then add in the ingredients for your Ragu- except for the butter, going in order of the list. Simmer for about an hour with the lid on the pan. Stir occasionally.

After an hour put on a pot of water for your penne. While you waiting for the pasta to cook, take out the bay leaves and stir in 1 tsp of butter- this helps to make the sauce stick to the noodles and it makes your sauce pretty :) If you find your sauce is really thick you can take a scoop full of the pasta water to mix into your sauce, if your sauce is perfect don't worry about it! :D

Top with parmesan and enjoy!

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA

Buffalo Mac n Cheese

I had this all typed up a few days ago and then the babies woke up. By the time I got back to it, the whole page was wiped. Note to self: don't blog from the iPad if you aren't 100% sure you can finish it in one sitting.

Anyways, I came up with a new variation on my standard Mac n Cheese recipe when my husband came home with ground chicken instead of ground beef, and I was kinda like "what the heck do I do with ground chicken?". Buffalo Mac n Cheese. Cheesy, creamy, a little spicy... So good. Because I'm like, the worst food blogger ever, I forgot to take a picture. Hopefully next time I make some, I'll remember to snap a quick photo and add it here. But for now, here's the recipe!

Buffalo Mac n Cheese

1lb ground chicken

4 cups macaroni noodles (or small shells)

1/2 onion, diced

2 tbsp oil

6 tbsp butter

6 tbsp flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Buffalo wing sauce

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until done. Add in your diced onion and continue cooking until translucent. Toss mixture with as much (or as little) wing sauce as you'd like and pour into a casserole dish. Set aside.

2. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.

3. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, whisking constantly for a few minutes, until the roux has slightly darkened. Pour in chicken broth and milk, whisking occasionally until it begins to thicken. Little by little, add in 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, whisking well until fully melted and incorporated. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

4. After pasta has been drained, pour into casserole dish with the chicken mixture. Pour cheese sauce over top, mix it up real well so that everything is fully coated in cheesy goodness. 

5. Top with remaining cheese and stick it under the broiler for a few minutes until its all melty and gooey and wonderful.

6. Enjoy!

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Here at home we like to eat spaghetti squash quite often. It took me awhile for James to talk me into trying it for the first time. How can a squash taste like pasta? Surprisingly, it does! Here are a few ways to cook it. I usually do mine in the microwave but I've done it in the oven as well. 

Microwave 
Pierce the squash all over then nuke it for around 10-15 minutes. 
Then leave it in the microwave for another 5. 
Take it out the cut it in half, width wise, not top to bottom you will get longer strands this way.
Scrape out the seeds and guts. 
Use a fork to scrape all the "noodles" out. 
Serve with sauce or what ever you like.

Oven  
Preheat to 375f. 
Cut squash in half. I cut it length wise as it sits in a pan better this way. 
Scrape out the seeds and guts.
Lay cut side down on bake dish.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. 
Let it rest about 5 minutes then scrape the strings out with a fork. 
Serve with what ever you like.

By Mommy Melissa

Monthly Feature: Mexican Stuff Shells By Sarah

 

What you will need:

1 lb. ground beef
1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese
14-16 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce ( I forgot to get taco sauce so I just used more salsa)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
3 green onions
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°. In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely. While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.
Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed. Top with any condiments you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

Thank you Sarah for this recipe, it looks delicious!!! 

POST BY SARAH

 

Monthly Feature: Greek Pasta Salad, by Sarah

 

What you will need:
- Pasta noodles of your choice
- Cucumbers
- Cherry tomatoes 

- Feta cheese
- Italian dressing
- Black Olives

Directions:
Cook noodles according to directions and drain then put into a large bowl, cut up the cucumbers and tomatoes; add them in, mix in feta cheese and olives, add Italian dressing and mix everything together.(how much you use of what is totally up to you) Chill in fridge & enjoy!

POST BY SARAH

Individual Lasagna's

 

What you will need:

- 12 wont ton wrappers

- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

- 2 cups of meat sauce (my recipe below)

 

Heat oven to 375. Spray muffin-tin with Pam. Place 1 won ton in each hole. Add a tbsp of meat sauce with a tsp of mozzarella cheese, then repeat. Cook for 18-20 mins.

Variations:

You can try adding ricotta cheese, or any of your favorite lasagna toppings! Hope you enjoy- Noah sure did :)

Meat sauce

I make this sauce all the time for my picky 1 year old who will only eat pasta... so what do I do? Hide the veggies!

What you will need:

- 1 large carrot

- 1 onion

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 can of herb diced tomatoes

- palm-full of oregano

- 1 tsp of salt and pepper

- 1 handful of fresh spinach

- 1tbsp fresh basil

Throw everything in a medium pot except the spinach and basil, let it come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour (or until the carrot is cooked). Once sauce is done and slightly cooled transfer everything to a food processor add in spinach and fresh basil, puree. Cook the ground chicken in the pot then add your sauce back to the pot- let the flavors marry for about 10 mins on medium heat. Then, Presto! delicious!

Bolognese Sauce

This is a full proof meat sauce, and it's so easy! I originally saw a basic recipe on Rachael Ray, but I've altered it slightly.

What you will need:
- 1 small pkg of beef or sausage (or whatever kind of meat you like)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes with herbs
- 1 can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste
- 3 cloves of garlic- minced
- 1 large onion
- 1 celery stalk - cut into 2 pieces
- 1 large carrot- peeled and chopped into 3 pieces
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp of basil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp of sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp butter

In a large skillet or pot brown your meat, I usually use turkey sausage (take it out of the casing and break it up) but today I used ground beef- make sure you drain the fat. Once browned and drained add in everything else- except the butter, stir. Mix everything together, bring to a boil , cover and let simmer for 1 hour. Once finished take the carrot, onion, celery and bay leaves out of the pot add in 1 tbsp of butter (this is what make it looks delicious and sticks to the noodles) then, serve over whatever pasta you desire!

There are a lot of variations to this sauce, if you want a little spice try adding chilies, or cayenne pepper. Or if you are a vegetarian add in tofu instead of the meat. Give it a try, I'd love to hear your variations!

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