Turkey or Chicken Tetrazzini

I'm really beginning to believe that the Cooking Gene is real. It exists. And both my brother and I have it.

I love any recipe he shares with me, like this one!

Turkey Tetrazzini
Recipe adapted from my brother
Prep time: 15 minutes   Cook time: 50ish minutes

8 oz fettuccine
2-3 cups cooked turkey or chicken, chopped or shredded
1 tbsp minced onion
8 oz sliced fresh cremini mushrooms
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Cook the fettuccine according to package directions, draining it just before it reaches al dente.

2.  While the pasta cooks, in a large bowl combine the turkey, onion, mushrooms, cheddar and Gruyere cheeses, and 2 tbsp of Parmesan.

Meat and mushrooms.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!

Kieran learns how to "stir gently" so as not to decorate Mama's kitchen in sauce & cheese.

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soup, stock, wine, and Italian seasoning.  Pour the sauce over the turkey mixture and stir to coat.

I whisked this in the bottom of my big bowl. Because that works too.

4.  Add the hot, cooked pasta to the turkey mixture and gently toss to combine everything.  Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake for 45 minutes.

Kieran did a good job stirring gently.

A pan for now....

...and a pan for later! I love Get Ahead options.

This recipe is super easy to adapt to any taste. Don't like mushrooms? Leave them out. Or maybe you do but prefer a variety, or just simple button mushrooms. Or consider using a different veg altogether like green beans or broccoli or peas. Feel free to switch up the cheeses, and use all chicken stock if wine isn't your thing. Don't have Italian seasoning? Use a different herb & seasoning blend. Or grab a can of cream of chicken with herbs soup.

The point is: be creative! Make this your own.

Pasta with Bacon, Tomatoes, & Cheese

I heard a few months ago that thanks to the drought we experienced over the summer, that not only will the cost of produce be going up, but also bacon prices.  So the last few weeks I've been doing what any normal bacon-love would do: stocking up every time I get groceries.  I haven't seen the price change yet at my grocery store, but until I do I'm going to keep buying packs and storing them in my freezer.

As a result, I have a nice little Bacon Stash living in my deep freezer.  And since I still have some tomatoes slowly ripening on my china cabinet, I figured that was Fate's way of telling me to make this dish.

You're welcome. ;)

Pasta with Bacon, Tomatoes, & Cheese
Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray
Prep time: 10 minutes   Cook time: 15 minutes

1 lb whole wheat penne
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil OR 1 tsp dried basil
1/2 grated Parmesan

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.  Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water

2.  While the pasta cooks, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chopped bacon and cook, stirring every now and then, until crispy (5-7 minutes).  Because you never remove the bacon, and keep adding liquids that will soften it a little, you want it extra crispy.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

3.  Add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a little salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions start to brown.

By this point you may need a towel to wipe up the drool.

4.  Add the white wine and cook for 1 minutes.  Add the chicken stock, bring up to a bubble and let simmer for 2 minutes.

Ok so not much to look at now but AMAZING to smell!

5.  Add the grape tomatoes and cook for a few minutes, just to start them getting hot and ready to burst.  Add the cooked, drained pasta and toss to coat in the sauce.  If it looks too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.

I also have these pear-shaped heirloom tomatoes that need eating.

6.  Turn off the heat and add the cheeses and basil.  Stir to combine.

Cheese! Glorious cheese!

This is a comforting, carb-alicious dish with BACON and CHEESE.  Anything else I need to say to convince you to try this? ;)  I do like to cut the richness of this by serving it with a tossed salad.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Just another normal seasonal change in Wisconsin.  It appears that we've skipped over spring time and gone right into summer.  Not that I'm complaining mind you.....I love the warmth and the sunshine after a long, long, looooooooong gray winter.  This is the kind of weather where the last thing anyone wants to do is stay inside and fire up their stove.

Unless we're talking pasta salad.

Pasta. Veggies. Some kind of protein. Dressing.  YUM!!

I've hit that point where I am beginning to crave cool, lovely summer salads.  Whether they're pasta or chicken salads, using a creamy dressing or vinaigrette, I. Love. Them.

A little extra tomato never hurt anyone, right?

First salad up for this season?  My mom's tuna pasta salad.

Tuna Pasta Salad
Recipe adapted from my mom

1 lb short-cut, whole wheat pasta
1/2 lb frozen green beans, cut into 1" pieces
2/3 - 3/4 cup mayo
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp celery salt
2 can tuna, drained
1 tiny yellow onion, finely chopped [you want about a 1/4 cup of chopped onion]
1 large tomato, chopped [or two medium ones]
1/2 cup sliced black olives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Salt the water and cook pasta to al dente according to package directions.  In the last four minutes of the pasta cooking, add the green beans.  Drain the pasta mixture in a large colander and rinse with cold water to stop everything from cooking.  Set aside.

I could just snack on this actually

2.  While you wait for the pasta water to boil, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar (use your favorite; I like red wine vinegar and it gives this dressing a pretty blush color), and celery salt.  Set aside to let the flavors get to know each other.

Creamy deliciousness

3.  In a large bowl combine the pasta, green beans, tomato, onion, tuna, and black olives.  Drizzle with the dressing.  Toss to combine and make sure everything is well-coated in the dressing.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge at least one hour before serving.  Longer would be better.

Color explosion is a good thing

I like this recipe for a variety of reasons.  First is kind of obvious because I wouldn't make something year after year that didn't TASTE GOOD!  I think this salad has this fabulous saltiness to it between the celery salt in the dressing, tuna, and black olives.

Second, it makes a TON.  When the weather gets hot, I prefer to have the stove working as little as possible so I like cold salads that can feed a small army.  This makes enough to be a main dish for 4-6 people but could also be a side dish for 8-10.

Third, it just looks pretty.  I love all the colors in the salad between the nutty brown pasta, ruby tomatoes, dark dark dark olives, and gorgeous green beans.  It's a beautiful addition to any summer plate.

I do want to make a note about the dressing for this salad.  This is one of the very few times where I'm not subbing in yogurt.  Given the size of this salad, I'm really not making a ton of dressing for it; I'm ok with keeping the mayo in.  That's not to say you couldn't do a healthy swap if you wanted to though!  If you'd like to cut a few corners so you don't feel guilty going back for seconds, I'd recommend about a 1/2-2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt and then 2-3 tbsp mayo so you still get that mayonnaise flavor.

Pesto Pasta Bake

I'm a big fan of recipes.  I like looking over the list of ingredients and imagining how all those flavors will combine and balance each other out.  I like seeing approximately how long it's going to take me to put the dish together.  Recipes are guidelines.  Recipes are safe.

Sometimes .....safe is BORING.

Do you ever just want to open up the fridge, root through the pantry, find a bunch of stuff to throw in a pot and have it magically come out fabulous?  Yeah, me too.  But I know my limitations and I'm not quite at That Level yet.  I'm still baby-stepping my way into making up my own recipes.  I like to keep things simple and use fool-proof ingredients that I already know I L-O-V-E.  Like pesto, pasta, and cheese.  Can't go wrong!

Pesto Pasta Bake

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta
3 cubes of frozen pesto, thawed
1 (16oz) container small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1 tbsp Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle

1.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions.  Reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid before draining pasta.  Set aside.

Every fall I make big batches of pesto to freeze in ice cube trays

2.  While pasta cooks, in a large bowl combine the cottage cheese, pesto, cheddar cheese, and cheese sprinkle.  Add the hot pasta, tossing to combine.  Add some of the hot pasta water if you'd like to thin out the sauce a little bit.

Cheesy, pesto-y goodness

3.  Pour the cheesed pesto pasta into a baking dish, spreading it out into an even layer.  Sprinkle on a little more cheese sprinkle if you like, or Parmasan would be fantastic if you happen to have some lying around (I did not the other day or you'd totally see Parm listed above).

4.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the top is browned a bit and the cheese is bubbly.

Some notes...

• I think pesto adds Ah-Mazing flavor to just about anything so I love having it on-hand to use however I like.  I prefer to make my own though because it can be REALLY OILY normally.  Don't worry, you'll see my pesto recipe later on this summer...
• I always feel better about the amount of cheese I'm using if I'm combining it with whole wheat pasta instead of regular.  Plus, whole wheat adds this really great, subtle nutty flavor.
• I have a personal preference for cottage cheese over riccota.  If you're a ricotta fan though, totally use that instead.  And toss in some mozzarella too if you have that around!
• Do you have Carnivores watching over your shoulder?  Cook up a chicken breast to shred and add to the mix.  You might need more cheese and/or pasta water though to stretch the cheesiness.
• FYI, I measured NOTHING in this so my measurements above are approximations.

Macaroni and Cheese

Believe it or not, I inadvertently spent years coming up with our perfect little family mac & cheese recipe.  No, you read that right...years.  The great Mac & Cheese debate started when Rob and I got married.

You see, I grew up with The Blue Box (didn't everyone grow up with The Blue Box?).  After we got married and I picked up a few of the Blue Boxes to have in the pantry, Rob shared with me the shocking news: there was more than just the one kind of Blue Box.  What??  I grew up with elbow macaroni, he grew with spirals.  And so the battle was on.  Which one of us was going to win this one?

Being the nice person that I am (don't laugh Rob), I thought I'd just do away with the Blue Box altogether and try making my own.  I mean, women have been making mac & cheese for centuries right?  How hard can it be?  After trying a few different kinds, Rob gently told me that it wasn't personal, but he just preferred his Blue Box to homemade.  Ouch.

Well with that blow I laid off the experiments for a long time.  Then one night out with friends, someone ordered this mac & cheese at a restaurant, which is now sadly out of business, and let me try a bite.  Oh. My.  GOODNESS GRACIOUSNESS!!  I knew then and there I had to try and duplicate that recipe.  It took a couple years to do and I'm not totally sure it's an exact copy.  However we love it and it's become a great compromise for us with my love of The Homemade Mac & Cheese and Rob's love for The Spiral Mac.

Macaroni & Cheese
No adaptation; 100% from Jeanna's head.

NOTE: all of these measurements below are approximations.  I have never measured the ingredients for this recipe.

Mmmmm...goat cheese...

1 lb whole wheat rotini
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Nutmeg
Paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
4 oz goat cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Salt and pour in pasta.  Cook according to package directions; drain and set aside.

2.  While the pasta cooks, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Whisk in flour and add seasonings (to taste).  Let this cook a minute or two.

When mixture is thickened, you should be able to do this

3.  Slowly whisk milk into the flour mixture.  Bring the heat up slightly and stir frequently until milk has
thickened (do NOT let the milk boil; I know it's hard when you're hungry and in a hurry but if you rush this step, you'll end up with grainy cheese sauce.  Trust me).  Slowly add 2 cups of shredded cheddar, stirring until it's melted.

Yes, we like cheese.

4.  Pour cheese sauce over the rotini and stir to combine.  Pour this into a greased 8x8 pan.  Top with remaining cheddar.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until top layer of cheese and melted and browned in spots and the dish is bubbly.

5.  Top hot mac & cheese with crumbled goat cheese and serve.

TIP: Want to make this a one-dish meal?  Add some cooked shredded chicken and broccoli florets to the pasta before you bake it.  I'd suggest making some extra cheese sauce though to make sure everything is well coated.

 BONUS TIP: Make this a smidge healthier by adding a #2-sized baby food container of an orange vegetable when you add the cheese to the thickened milk.  I promise you will not taste it.

Yup, we like our mac & cheese topped with goat cheese.  In fact, this is my son's FAVORITE meal and one of the few he will ask for seconds.  We're actually now at a point where we're all trying to scoop up sections that have the most goat cheese crumbles on it. ;)  Not a fan of goat cheese?  Try feta.  It's got a similar tang but isn't quite as creamy.  Or try crumbled blue cheese (and bacon...mmmm, bacon).  Or just leave the extra cheese off altogether.  Do whatever it is YOU and YOUR FAMILY like.  That's the beauty of cooking. :)