My Italian Spaghetti recipe with meatballs is not only authentic – it’s much better tasting than traditional spaghetti! I think people forget sometimes how easy it is to make your own sauce and make homemade meatballs to go along with it! Forget about those over processed crappy meatballs in the bag at the store, get the kids involved and have them help you make meatballs for spaghetti from scratch! They will love helping you make them, but more importantly they will love helping your family EAT THEM!

Ingredients needed for Italian Spaghetti Sauce:
Sauce

• 1 large onion
• 1 can tomatoes
• 2 cans tomato paste
• 1 qt. water
• teaspoon sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Fry onion in oil until brown. Mix all other ingredients with onion and cook down until thick.

Ingredients needed for Italian Meatballs from scratch:
Meatballs

• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated italian cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, grated
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 eggs
• fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together adding a bit of water while mixing, which will make the balls light and fluffy. Brown the meat balls; drop into the sauce. Let the sauce cook down slowly until done. Cook spaghetti according to package directions and mix with sauce when done. I hope you like these as much as my family does!

My Chicken Noodle Sausage Soup recipe is so tasty – you may never make Chicken Noodle soup the same way again! Chicken broth is sooooo good anyway, and homemade chicken noodle has been a favorite of mine since I was young and my mom made it for me, or my grandma made it with her signature dumplings! I think if you make this for your family that they will ask for it all the time!

Here’s the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

• About 1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken
• 2 or 3 brat size links of mild sweet turkey italian sausage
• 3-4 carrots cut into round slices about 1/8″ thick
• About 1 lb wide egg noodles
• 4 stalks celery chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic freshly chopped
• 1/2 large onion chopped
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1/2 large green pepper chopped
• 4 tsp Italian Seasonings
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
• 2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

This recipe is pretty easy in my opinion. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet, turn the heat on med-high and add the chicken. Fill 4 quart stockpot 3/4 full with water and place on burner on high heat to boil. I sprinkle some lemon pepper on my chicken while it cooks 5-7 minutes on the first side. Then I start chopping up the veggies and add them to the pot of boiling water, and all the seasonings as well. Then I go back to the skillet and flip my chicken over, and then take my turkey sausage and squeze it out over the chicken. Then I start to chop up the chicken roughly with my spatula – the same as you would chop up ground beef for tacos. Trust me, as the chicke starts to cook it’s not hard to break it up into bite sized pieces with the spatula.

So you’ve got all the veggies and spices in the pot of water and the chicken sausage in the skillet. Once the chicken mixture is about 80% cooked, dump the entire skillet into the water pot, and simmer with the lid off at least an hour (I prefer 90 minutes). When you serve this, liberally sprinkle the freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top and voila! one of the more tasty meals you’ll have!

My Chicken Zucchini Bake Recipe is great for cold winter nights, keeping you warm and full for hours! The leftovers are great too! You might be surprised at how good this recipe will be, and it can be a much healthier replacement for lasagna. You’ll see what I mean after I tell you how to make it.

Ingredients you’ll need:

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 sm zucchini grated like hash browns
• 1/3 Vidalia onion chopped
• 1/2 med green pepper chopped
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb pasta (mostaccioli, penne, elbow mac, etc)
• About 15-16 oz shredded cheese (pack and a half), colby jack, or mozzerella, etc.
• 1 lg container (about 16oz) low fat large curd cottage cheese
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes

Drizzle a large saucepan with extra virgin olive oil and then add the chopped onion, green pepper, and shredded zucchini. Mix well, cook on med-hi heat for 3-5 minutes while stirring – salt and pepper to taste. Add ground chicken to the pan, chop, cook and mix just like you would ground beef. You can find ground chicken in most supermarkets now, we always see it in Wal-Mart.

While this is cooking, fill a 4 quart stockpot half full, and put it on high to boil. Continue to cook the chicken / veggie mixture, season as you go with the minced garlic, maybe some italian seasonings as well. When chicken is no longer pink, add the can of diced tomatoes (undrained), and the jar of spaghetti sauce. When the water in the stockpot boils add the uncooked pasta. When the sauce mixture begins to bubble you can turn off the burner. Cook the pasta until done (about 10-12 minutes), drain, and rinse. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a really big mixing bowl combine the sauce mixture, the cottage cheese, and about a half pack of the shredded cheese. Add the cooked pasta, and mix well. Turn the entire mixture out into a 9×14 glass baking dish. Cover with the remaining (10-12 oz) pack of shredded cheese. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. This is great served with either buttered bread or garlic toast!

This Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe just screams “summertime” doesn’t it? It’s great anytime, but when you’re going to barbecue, cook outside, have a picnic, go to the lake or the park, or have family and friends over – you almost just have to have a big bowl of pasta salad on hand – don’t you? This recipe is just something I developed over time, and it’s a combination of things I loved. We always enjoyed the macaroni salad from the deli because it had nice big chunks of cheese in it. But we also like broccoli and black olives a lot. That combination of kind of the soft and crunch, tart olive and sweet carrot – it all blends together for an awesome pasta salad with ranch dressing that everyone will want you to make every time!

• 1 16 oz. box rotini noodles
• 1 block colby cheese (cubed)
• 1 cup broccoli (chopped)
• 1 can olives (sliced)
• 1 carrot (shaved)
• 1 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook noodles according to package directions and allow to cool. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Can be eaten warm or chilled. Refrigerate leftovers.

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The problem is not washing salad greens, the difficulty lies in drying them. A wet spinach leaf, or a damp piece of Boston lettuce will turn limp in the bowl and dilute the dressing. Since oil and water do not mix, the oil will never cling to wet greens, instead it will pool in the bottom of the bowl, leaving your salad naked, rather than properly dressed. There are many ways to leave your greens high and dry and ready for dressing, but the most efficient technique is to use a salad spinner. The method works because of centrifugal force. As the basket spins the greens and the water are forced from the center to the sides, the greens are trapped against the grid, while the water flies out past the greens. The gears on this salad spinner are well-integrated and there is a brake that brings the spinner to a quick halt (no need to wait until the basket stops spinning). It also has a non-skid base that keeps the basket from sliding around on your work surface. Specifically designed for comfort and function, the soft rounded pump fits in your palm and absorbs pressure while you work. The clear base is dishwasher safe and can double as a serving or storage bowl.

With my “Penne Pasta with Zucchini and Summer Squash Recipe” you can lose weight and go vegetarian all in the same meal!

This healthy recipe will help you do all kinds of things at once. If you want to lose weight you have to learn to eat a big lighter at sometimes, and there’s no better way than to eat a vegetarian meal about once a week for your main dish. This recipe is easy to make, has little prep time, and the leftovers go great in your lunchbox the next day.

Ingredients to get started:

• 1 lb Penne Pasta
• 1 medium fresh Zucchini (about 10″ long and 2″ around)
• 1 fresh yellow summer squash (same size as zucchini)
• About 4-5oz freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• About 1 cup sliced black olives
• 2 freshly chopped garlic cloves
• 1/4 Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and 2 tbsp
• fresh ground pepper
• salt to taste

So, to get started place 2 quarts of hot water in a 4 quart pan on the stove on high heat to boil. Throw a dash of salt in there. While it’s coming to a boil, cut off the ends of your zucchini and squash and cut lengthwise. Then, hold those 2 slice together and slice in 1/4″ slices like a cucumber to both the zucchini and the squash. Chop up your 2 garlic cloves and set aside. In a medium sauce pan place the veggies (except garlic) about about 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat. You’re going to cook and stir them about 6-8 minutes.

When the water boils add the Penne Pasta. Stir every minute or so, it should be done just about the time the zucchini and squash are cooked, or just a minute or two after. Drain the pasta, place back in pan after rinsing and draining, and add the 1/4 cup olive oil, olives, and garlic, and stir. Add the zuchinni and squash and mix well. Add the Parmesan cheese and mix well one last time. This can feed 6+ depending on the size of your serving dishes (and appetites). Once the dish is plated, grind some fresh black pepper on top and serve!

Of course with a dish like this there are countless things that you could add, but I find sometimes simplicity is best. The taste of the pasta with the cheese and sweetness of the squash and tartness of the black olive is the perfect contrast.

This recipe is part of my quest to find the fastest weight loss diet.

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Looking for a great “vegetarian lasagna” recipe? This spinach lasagna is great and quick and easy Italian to make! This recipe is not only bone simple, but ripe for adding all kinds of things to it for your own tasty version! Kieli loves this recipe for its simplicity, but I’ve caught her sneaking in some broccoli or zucchini from time to time!

• Half of a 16 oz. box lasagna noodles (about 8 noodles)
• 1 15 oz. tub ricotta cheese
• 1 8 oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 block frozen spinach
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce

Break noodles in half and place in water to boil with 1 tsp salt and 1 tps olive oil until soft. Drain and rinse. Cook spinach according to package directions and pour into a medium bowl, or boil some fresh spinach if you prefer. Mix ricotta cheese, half the package of shredded cheese, and spinach together. Put a layer of noodles in a 1.5 QT casserole dish. Top noodles with half of the spinach mix. Make another layer of noodles on top of the spinach mix and top that with the remainder of the spinach mix. Top with noodles and pour about 1/2 to 3/4 of the jar of alfredo sauce over the noodles. Top with the rest of the shredded cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Items you could add for your own taste would be some chopped garlic, onions and green peppers, or black olives.

Many say I make the best goulash, but today I twisted it a bit when I made my Goulash Con Queso Recipe for the first time.

“Goulash” is one of our favorite meals. It’s easy to make, it’s filling, and it’s just about as popular as macaroni and cheese around here. I usually don’t think of making it – I get “asked” to make it by someone in the house. My goulash recipe varies at times depending on what I have in the fridge – but the basis for the recipe is pretty simple, some kind of pasta, ground beef, spaghetti sauce, and some kind of cheese. The meat can be seasoned with diced onion, green pepper, or garlic, and the cheese can be anything from asiago, to colby jack or velveeta. I’ve used all different kinds of pasta from elbow macaroni, to rotini, manicotti, ziti, and small or medium shells.

Ingredients for my goulash con queso recipe:

• 1lb ground chuck
• 1lb pasta (ziti or elbow macaroni are favorites)
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce (roasted garlic, 5 cheese, Italian sausage – all favorites)
• 1 container Taco Bell Con Queso Cheese sauce
• Italian Seasonings
• Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Minced or Fresh Garlic
• About 1/2 package of shredded Colby Jack Cheese

This is pretty simple to make. Fill a 4 quart pot about half full with hot water and sprinkle with salt. Turn the burner on high and put a skillet on another burner and add the ground chuck to the pan. Chop up the ground beef with a spatula while you wait for the water to boil. When the water does boil add the pasta and one tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Boil the noodles about 8-12 minutes until tender – you’ll know when they’re ready because they’ll begin to float to the surface. When the ground beef is done, rinse it in a colander with hot water to remove the grease and fat, and return it to the skillet. Season with salt, 1 tbsp garlic powder, and cook 2-3 minutes more chopping with the spatula in to find pieces. Then turn off the burner. When the pasta is done rinse with hot water in a colander, drain, and return to the pot. Drizzle the pasta with extra virgin olive oil, salt, ground pepper and Italian seasonings. Mix well. Turn the burner back on about med-high heat. Add the spaghetti sauce and Taco Bell Con Queso sauce to the pasta, mix well, and then add the ground beef and mix again. Last add about 2 tbsp of minced garlic and mix well a last time.

I usually cook this on med-high heat about 3-5 minutes more (while stirring constantly) until the mixture starts to bubble. Then you can turn off the heat and serve! Once I make up the plates, I sprinkle a handful of shredded colby jack cheese over each and it is normally melted just before it hits the table! Everyone of all ages loves this goulash, but new addition of the Taco Bell Chili Con Queso sauce this time gave it that something special that made it all the more better!

If you like this recipe, have a question, or something that makes your goulash special – please comment now below!

Looking a healthy vegetarian way to do lasagna? You would be surprised how much <b>you won’t miss the meat</b> in this recipe and none of the taste is sacrificed. If you’re just trying to eat better a day or two per week, or if you’re on a diet and trying to find recipes to lose more weight – this is a pretty good alternative to that 15 lb grease-bomb lasagna you’ve been making for years.

Keep an open mind, and put those thoughts right out of your head about vegetarian dishes that taste like cardboard. You won’t find any soy products or tofu in this recipe. This is a bit different than your traditional lasagna – but very tasty and cheesy. Your kids will love it, and this may become a favorite you’ll want to make time and time again.

Here’s what you are going to need:

• a 1lb box of elbow macaroni
• 1 container low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 container of low-fat large curd cottage cheese
• about 5oz frozen broccoli pieces (about 1/2 a normal bag)
• 1 medium green pepper
• 1 medium sized yellow or white onion
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• about 4 tbsp minced garlic
• salt and pepper
• garlic powder
• italian seasonings
• shredded mozzerella and romano cheese
• Low-fat mozzerella cheese, shredded
• extra virgin olive oil

Preparation is a lot simpler than you may think. Start a 4 quart pot to boil on the stove 1/2 full with hot tap water. Throw in a dash a salt and 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil. Then finely chop your onion and green pepper and set aside. Put your frozen broccoli in a medium sized bowl, put 1/2 inch of water in the bottom and microwave for 2 minutes. Take out the bowl, stir, and microwave for 2 more minutes. Your water should be boiling by now – place the macaroni in the boiling water, stir after 30 seconds to keep from clumping, and turn heat down to med-high. Stir every 3-5 minutes while you prepare everything else, and at this point pre-heat your oven at 375 degrees.

Next, in a large mixing bowl mix up cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, about 1/2 cup of mixed shredded parmesan/ricotta cheese mix, 2 tbsp of minced garlic, and about 2 tbsp italian seasonings. Oh – and some salt and pepper to taste. About now your elbow macaroni should be done. Drain in the sink in a colander and rinse, drain again. Place the macaroni back in the pan, toss with salt, fresh ground pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder, and 2 tbsp Italian seasonings.

Now, put a saucepan on the stove and drizzle the bottom with extra virgin olive oil. Place the onion and green pepper mix in the pan, mix the veggies with the olive oil and turn up to med-high heat. Stir up every few minutes, if too dry add just a little more olive oil or a few dollops or margarine. While this is cooking drain the broccoli and finely chop it up. Add to the pan with the onion and green pepper, along with the remaining 2 tbsp of minced garlic, cook about 2 minutes more add the jar of spaghetti sauce. Four cheese seems best for this. Just cook long enough for the mix to bubble while stirring every few minutes.

Time to assemble the lasagna! Just grease up a 9×13 baking pan with extra virgin olive oil and place a thin layer (1/3 of what you have) of elbow macaroni in the bottom. Top with 1/2 the spaghetti and veggie sauce mixture. Then another 1/3 of the noodles. Top with the entire cheese mixture and spread evenly. Add the remaining 1/3 of elbow macaroni and then top with the rest of the sauce mixture. Top with about 4 oz of shredded mozzerella cheese (1/2 a bag) and a few handfuls of shredded parmesan and ricotta cheese. Then bake for 30 minutes and bubbling and it’s ready to serve! The entire pan should server 8-10 people depending on serving size.

Do you have any questions or suggestions for this vegetarian lasagna? Please comment now!

So the other day I was trying to think of something quick and easy to make and one person in the house wanted spaghetti and the other wanted chicken patties. In addition – one was a vegetarian. What can you do? Make two meals with the same ingredients, and one vegetarian and one not.

This is what you need:

• 1 box or 1lb spaghetti noodles
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce of your choice
• 2-4 frozen chicken patties (1 per meat-eating person you’re serving)
• 1 cup or so shredded Italian cheeses (blended or mozzerella)

This is a quick and easy meal, and something you can easily be eating in 20-25 minutes. Put your oven on 425 to pre-heat, turn on your hot water and let run. Grab a large 4 quart saucepan and fill with the hot water, put on the stove with a dash of salt and 2 tsp of olive oil. Leave it go until it boils. While you are waiting on that get your chicken patties and put on an ungreased baking sheet and stick in the oven for about 20 minutes. If you have a vegetarian person in the house, they do make fake breaded chicken patties (by Boca?) you can put in the oven with these as well. Get a 2 quart saucepan and add the jar of spaghetti sauce, cover and leave on medium heat. Add a tbsp of minced garlic to the sauce if you like (we do!).

Once the water boils, add the spaghetti (I usually break them in half), stir after 30 seconds, and then about every 2-3 minutes on high boiling (but not over). Once the sauce starts to bubble turn on med-low. Put a colander in the sink and when the noodles start to rise to the top of the water they are usually done (10-12 minutes) – taste one to be sure, don’t over cook. When you put the noodles in the colander rinse with hot water first, then dash about 1/8 cup olive oil on top and fold into the noodles. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper (or Italian seasonings if you prefer) and fold in again. I find the seasonings or salt and pepper make for a much better tasting end results, and the oil is to keep them from sticking while you get everything plated. Take out the chicken patties when done, when they come out of the oven immediantly turn them over and sprinkle a handful of shredded Italian cheese on each one. The vegetarian person of course either gets noodles and sauce, or the fake veggie chix patty.

At this point I usually turn off the sauce, grab some plates and forks, put noodles on each plate, then go back to the patties (and the cheese is usually melted by now) – and then I cut each patty into 4-5 slices and put one chicken patty on each plate of noodles. Put one ladle (like 1 cup) of sauce over each patty on plated noodles (more if you like), and then a little bit more cheese on top. By the time you serve the plates that cheese should be melted too.

The nice thing about this recipe is if you like garlic bread, you can stick some in the oven when the chicken patties are about half done, and when they come out put some shredded Italian cheese on that as well! But a lot of the time the breaded chicken patty is just enough to make this a nice full meal!

Do you have a variation of this recipe that would make it even better? Comment now!

It seems like everytime there is going to be a get together or people coming over it’s inevitable that pasta salad is made. Pasta salad is also one of those dishes that you can make a big batch of and then put in the fridge for a few days and each as a snack or with lunch. My version of pasta salad definitely has an Italian slant on it, but like most of my recipes you can customize this any way that you like. Learning to cook on the fly and use the ingredients you have on hand is something you learn over time – and my pasta salad recipe is no exception. I’m going to give you the recipe for a single batch which is usually adequate for 6-8 people. Just double it if you are going to need to feed 8-12 or more.

What you need:

• A 1lb box of pasta. It could be elbow macaroni, rotini, small shells, etc.
• About 1 cup of slice black olives (if you like them)
• Veggies (again – choose as many as you like or have on hand)
  • 1 cup dice roma tomatoes
  • 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
  • 1 cup grated carrots
  • 1/2 bunch chopped green onion or 1/2 medium diced red onion
  • 1 cucumber cut lengthwise like pickles and then sliced shortwise (making little wedges)
• Meat (same here, but choose one)
  • 1 Cup Pepperoni sliced or diced
  • 1 Cup Ham diced
  • 1 Cup Tuna drained
  • 1 Cup Turkey chopped
  • 1 Cup Summer Sausage Chopped
• 1 cup light Mayo or Miracle Whip
• 2 tsp mustard
• 1/4 cup Ranch dressing
• 1/4 Italian dressing
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (jar) or 2 cloves fresh garlic chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped oregano or parsley (if you have it on hand)
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste
• 2 cups cubed cheese (10-12 oz, co-jack, marble or Mozzerella)
• handful if parmesan cheese grated (if you have it)

Ok, now I’m just going off the top of my head for the ingredients for how I usually make this. Here’s how it goes down. Turn on the hot water and let it run while you get all the ingredients out on the counter. By the time you have them all out the water is as hot as it will get and fill a 4 quart sauce pan and fill 3/4 with hot water and put on high on the stove. Add a few tbsp of olive or cooking oil and a dash of salt and leave until it boils. While it gets hot start chopping up the veggies you like and add to a large bowl. Once you get the veggies in there add the Italian dressing in there and mix it up and let it set. Add a little more dressing if it doesn’t coat all the veggies, but don’t use more than 1/3 – 1/2 cup. If your water is boiling add the pasta, and stir after 30 seconds and turn down to med-high heat. Cut your meat, and stir the pasta every 2-3 minutes while you do. If you have time cut the cheese in to cubes too.

When your pasta is done, drain it in a colander in your sink, rinse with hot water, then I like to squirt a tsp or two of extra virgin olive oil on it, sprinkle some salt (like a tsp) and some pepper, fresh ground if you have it. then mix it up good (in the colander). Now – add the pasta in the large bowl with the veggie mix and stir up real good. Add the mayo and mix up, then the mustard and ranch, stir and mix well again. Last add your meat and your cheese cubes with your garlic, and mix up one last time. Taste it and see how you did. If you still need some salt and pepper and garlic powder, add a little to taste. Then I usually put it in my serving bowl and top with a handful of fresh grated parmesan cheese. Now you’re done!

You can see the different variations of this you can make, from Tuna to Turkey to Ham! I prefer pepperoni or summer sausage myself. Either way it goes over well every time we serve it! A lot of people ask me why I use the Italian and Ranch dressing. The Italian dressing softens the veggies a bit while you work with everything else. The Ranch dressing keeps it from getting to dry and makes it not taste completely like Mayo – it gives it that little “buttermilk” taste. The mustard takes the edge off both and makes a good mix that’s not too Ranchy either. I have made variations on this that were all Italian dressing, Vinegar and Oil as well. Again – experiment and use this as a great base to most any pasta salad! Have a special way you like it that I missed? Comment now!