Make-Ahead Unstuffed Shells

Recipe was found in Kraft's What's Cooking Magazine (Festive 2011).

Not as pretty on my plate as in the magazine:


Make-Ahead Unstuffed Shells

4 cups medium pasta shells, uncooked
1 lb (450g) extra lean ground beef
1 jar pasta sauce
1/4 cup cup Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese Spread
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup Parmesan Shredded Cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 cups Park Skim Mozzarella Shredded Cheese

Cook pasta as directed on package (no salt).

Brown beef in a skillet. Stir in the pasta sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring.

Drain pasta. Wish cream cheese, milk and parmesan in large bowl, add pasta and basil and stir until evenly coated.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan, spread half the meat sauce o the bottom, cover with pasta mixture, then top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover with foil.

Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees... bake casserole covered for 40-45 minutes (uncovered for the last 10-15 minutes)

You can also bake immediately after making for 30 minutes (uncovering for 20 minutes)

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This was pretty good... nice creamy cheese, good flavour. It was super easy to make, and everyone ate their plate fulls. Probably not 5 stars, but definitely 4. Will be on the meal plan again, most likely. I don't even have any suggestions on this one for improvement. It was good... just not spectacular!

Broccoli-Cheese and Chicken Pasta

This recipe was good.. but incredibly colourless. I had to add some carrot shavings just to add some colour. We did serve it with a salad though, but usually I don't plate salad with dinner.

This recipe is from 200 Slow Cooker Creations.



Broccoli-Cheese and Chicken Pasta


6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans broccoli cheese soup, condensed
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup dried minced onion
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
cooked angel hair pasta

Place chicken in a greased 4.5 - 6 quart slow cooker. Combine all the remaining ingredients, except pasta and pour over the chicken. COver and cook on high heat for 1 hour and then reduce to low heat and cook for 5-6 hours. Serve over hot cooked pasta.



Now I admit.... I was a little preoccupied that day, and ended up doing the entire meal over stovetop... so I didn't actually use this crockpot recipe. I baked the chicken in the oven (I actually halved the recipe as well). Cut the chicken into cubes, and heated up the sauce (used fresh minced onions instead) and chicken together, and poured over the pasta. The recipe was good.. but so colourless. Colourless meals bother me.... Next time I would cook up some broccoli chunks into the sauce as well, for sure.

Spinach Lasagna

This recipe is my mom's. The lasagna I grew up on. I never knew about meat lasagna til I had it at Bible Camp one year. So yummy!



Spinach Lasagna

10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1 lb lasagna noodles
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
3 Tbsp oil
6 oz. can tomato paste
2 (1lb) cans of tomatoes
1 Tbsp oregano flakes
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp dry)
500 mL container cottage cheese
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg

Cook spinach as per package directions; drain. Cooke lasagna noodles as per package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water. Saute onion and pepper in oil for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and tomatoes to onions; break up larger tomato pieces. Add seasonings and simmer 30 minutes. Add cheese and egg to chopped spinach; mix well.

Cover bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish with 1/3 of tomato sauce. Cover with 1/3 of noodles, half of spinach mixture and half of mozzarella. Spread 1/3 more tomato sauce and repeat layers as before. Top with noodles and remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes.

It's a very tasty dish. I love it. I did encounter a problem with the cheeses, since it said to mix them in with the spinach.. but then says to sprinkle between layers and on top, and none was reserved for that. I solved that by just adding more cheese, but it's good to note that beforehand, so you can reserve a little, although the extra cheese was yummy, and didn't seem to add too much cheesiness.

I think this was the first time I've made this recipe myself, but enjoyed it lots at home as a kid. I think some tweaks I might do next time, is instead of tomatoes, I'd use the spicy red pepper diced tomatoes I buy for a couple other recipes. I think they would add just a touch of spice to the recipe, making it even extra yummy. The recipe doesn't need tweaks, but that's something I might try next time.

Supreme Green Spaghetti

This is one of our favourite vegetarian recipes. I don't make it very often, but every once in a while we make it up. It's a quick and easy recipe, great for the end of a busy day... only about 15 min from start to finish.



Supreme Green Spaghetti

16 oz uncooked spaghetti
1 pound frozen chopped spinach
1/2 cup skim milk
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
salt to taste
pine nuts
grated parmesan cheese

Prepare the pasta according to the package directions; drain. Meanwhile, microwave the frozen spinach to thaw and cook, about 4 minutes on high power. Transfer to a blender and add the milk, garlic, butter, and salt. Puree. Pour the sauce over the hot pasta. Toss and sprinkle with pine nuts and cheese.


This recipe was passed on to me by my cousin. She's a vegetarian and served it for us one time when we visited. It's delicious....

So good some elect to not to use a fork....


Finger lickin' good.....