Four Cheese Macaroni with Bacon

This was Heavenly! That could be because I love bacon, but who doesn't?! (I found this recipe in the October 2010 Family Circle Magazine)

Four Cheese Macaroni with Bacon
1 box (1 pound) Cavatappi - I couldn't find this pasta so I just used elbow noodles
6 slices of bacon
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups 2% milk
1/2 tsp. onion flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 pound Sharp Cheeddar Cheese
1 cup shredded colby-Jack Cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
8 slices Kraft Deli Deluxe American Cheese (6 oz)

1. Heat oven to 350. Coat a 3-quart dish with nonstick spray. Bring a large pot of water of lightly salted water to boil.
2. Cook pasta 8 minutes in boiling water, then drain. Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp. Let cool on a paper towel. In a medium sauce pan, put 2 tbsp of bacon drippings in pan and add butter.
3. Whisk in flour until smooth. In a thin stream, whisk in milk. Stir in onion flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. In a large bowl, toss together sharp chedder, colby-Jack and mozzarella.
4. Remove milk mixture from heat; Whisk in American cheese and 1 1/4 cups of the cheddar mixture. Toss bacon pieces with the remaining shredded cheese.
5. In pasta pot, combine cooked pasta and cheese sauce. Pour half into prepared dish. Sprinkle with a generous cup of the bacon-cheese mixture. Add remaining half of pasta on top. Top with remaining bacon-cheese mixture.
6. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil and broil for 3 minutes, until top is lightly browned. Cool before serving.

**I never stick to the recipe, so I didn't add all of the sliced cheese - because I didn't have it although it seemed like way too much cheese, so add your own desired amount. Also, I don't usually like left-over Mac & Cheese, but this was really good left-over which is good because it makes A LOT!

Grilled Chicken with Penne Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

I tried a recipe I found on a friends blog a while back and totally forgot to post it here because it turned out SO good. Bo couldn't stop talking about how good it was, and he doesn't even really like pasta! Anyway, it can originally be found HERE, so check it out - it has better instructions and pictures.

Grilled Chicken with Penne Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Montreal Steak seasoning
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 to 1 tsp salt & pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded*

Rinse chicken breasts in cold water. Layer between sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness. Season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning. Preheat grill for medium high heat, lightly oil grate, and grill chicken breasts on medium high heat for 6-8 mins each side.

OR heat 2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter and olive oil is nice and hot, add chicken breasts and cook 5 mins each side.

Set chicken aside to cool.

In a large pot, boil water with 1 tbsp salt. Add 1/2 lb penne pasta noodles and boil according to package directions.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, but do not let the garlic turn brown (about 3-5 mins).

Add the chicken broth to the pan and allow to reduce by half. Meanwhile, slice chicken.

Once the broth has reduced, stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low.

Chop the parsley and chiffonade the basil, then add to sauce and mix well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Stir well to coat. Serve pasta on plates, top with sliced chicken or mix it in.

*If you're wondering what chiffonaded means, it means to stack the basil leaves on top of one another, roll them up and thinly slice the leaves.

Pasta Chicken Salad

6 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 pkg. Bow tie pasta-cooked and drained
sliced green onions
16 oz. Kraft coleslaw dressing
2 cups mayonnaise (see note)
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. grapes halved
1 cup chopped celery
1 20 oz. Can pineapple tidbit, drained
1-2 medium apples, chopped
slivered almonds

Combine chicken, pasta, green onions, coleslaw dressing, mayonnaise, salt and pepper and chill. Just before serving, add the remaining ingredients. Makes about 20 servings

Note: The last I made this, I didn't have any mayo, so I used only the dressing, just enough to make it wet -- I used about 10-12 oz. I think I like it better without the mayo.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

This is a variation on an old favorite. The original Campbell's recipe is here, we made it and didn't love it so we changed it.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (regular or 25% Lower Sodium)
1 cup milk
1 can cut green beans, drained
2 cans (about 10 oz. each) tuna, drained
4 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles
½ - 1 cup grated cheese
1 cup French's fried onions

1. Stir soup, milk, green beans, tuna, cheese and cooked noodles in a 3-quart casserole dish. (You can even add some of the fried onions into the casserole if desired)

2. Bake at 400°F. for 30 min. or until hot. Stir.

3. Sprinkle fried onions over tuna mixture. Bake for 5 min. more.

TIP: For Chicken Noodle Casserole: Substitute about 2 cups cooked cubed chicken or 1 large can Chunk Chicken, drained, for tuna.

Italian Pasta Salad

Italian Pasta Salad

1 bag Rotini pasta (colored or regular)
1 bottle Italian dressing (I usually use wishbone, but other brands give different flavor, find the one you like the best)
1 can Olives - sliced
1 can baby corns - cut in half
1 can artichoke hearts - Cut into pieces

Cook pasta according to bag. Drain, rinse until cool and put in a large bowl. Add sliced olives, cut baby corns and cut artichoke heart and mix. When mixed good add dressing; depending on the amount of pasta you have varies the amount of dressing you use. The pasta salad should be well coated by the dressing. Serve and enjoy. Keep left-overs refrigerated.