Cheesy Baked Mostaccioli Recipe

Hola Amigos! After cooking all week, we all feel like taking a break on the weekends, and the best way of doing it (and cheapest) is to cook a casserole big enough to feed an army and tasty and satisfying for your soldiers not to mind reheating leftovers the next day!
Mostaccioli is a favorite. My grandma used to called it Macarrones Asados! She made the most delicious food ever, well I think we all  believe our grandma's are the best at everything anyways, right? I'm sure they are!

I asked my readers on FB how they have theirs, with meat as a main dish or plain as a side, but you know Facebook, No One gets to see what you post there unless a) you have a large fan base b) you pay to promote your status, or c) your  family and friends love you so much they keep up with what you do. I'm blessed and proud to have option C . I got 2 answers, one from my friend +Diane Kaul blogger at Giraffe Legs and she likes it as a main dish with meat in it, delicious and with endless options and the other one from my sweet adoptive little "sis" and blog designer,  Brooke, creative at Uplifted Designs who likes it as a side. Knowing my boys, I decided to play it safe and make a big casserole as a side.

This is a common recipe, everybody has their own little extra special ingredient and that is what I'm interested on exploring. New possibilities and tastes for a classic!

My motto bake 2 freeze 1 applies to this dish, only don't bake  it after you are done preparing it, freeze it well sealed right away and then bake it for that day you are scratching your head for what to have for dinner!
They all liked it  and I was able to stay out of he kitchen for the weekend a win win situation in my book if you ask me!

Thank You for visiting the blog today! I wish you all a healthy and productive week! Before you leave don't forget to let me know what makes your Mostaccioli extra special and a hit among your family and friends! Big Hug and remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Cheesy Baked Mostaccioli 

Ingredients:

2 Cups Uncooked Tube Shaped Pasta

1 Jar (24 oz) Spaghetti Sauce of your choice

1 (10 3/4 oz) Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

1/2 Can Milk

1 Large Egg, Beaten

2 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded (about 16 oz)

1 Cup Cottage Cheese

Pepper. Salt and Garlic Powder to taste

1 Cup Cheddar Cheese "Pringles" Chips, Crushed

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 F.

In a large saucepan prepare your pasta with plenty of salt in the water as indicated on the package. Once drained, place it in a large mixing bowl and start adding ingredients to it mixing after each ingredient is added carefully not to break the pasta. After the last cheese is added, the cottage cheese, check the pasta for flavors and add the condiments, pepper and garlic powder to taste and extra salt if needed.

Pour the mix in 2 separate, previously greased baking dishes. I used (2) 9x9 dishes.

*If you are going to freeze one baking dish, cover the container well and freeze. Remove from freezer, thaw in the refrigerator add the toppings after it thaws and  you are ready to bake it.

Top the remaining baking dish with crushed chips and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 minutes. Let it rest and serve with salad, garlic bread and enjoy!

Prep Time 20 minutes                      Cook Time 45 minutes                       Serves 8-12

Sharing my Easy Cheesy Baked Casserole at these Fabulous Parties:

Gina's Craft Corner, Little House Living, Feeding Big, The Princess and her Cowboys, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Lady Behind the Curtain

Orzo and Chicken Autumn Skillet Meal Recipe

Hola Amigos! We had an unusually warm day for this time in the year up here. But still, it was one of those days that some comfort food was in order. I went to the store to get me some chicken and thought about trying the new chicken helpers on the market, just to make a quick meal but I couldn't Something about sweet and sour chicken coming out of a box doesn't sound too appealing to me, no matter how easy it looks.
I tell you guys, best decision ever! For about the same price I made this delicious and easy 1 skillet meal.
Maybe lady luck was on my side because all the mayor components were on sale! The rest we all have in our pantries.

A homemade meal to feed 4 for about $5 (well not counting the caramel apple candy corn and diet pop I got)!

This is your ideal Fall and Winter meal, easy, warm and comforting! In my book it doesn't get any better than that. Dinner is done in no time leaving plenty of time to enjoy the crisp weather and sunsets outside with the family.

Thank You for your visit to the blog today! I hope you are able to try this recipe and enjoy it as much as we did. Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Orzo and Chicken Autumn Skillet Meal
Ingredients:
1 Pd Chicken Tenders (was on sale)
1 Pd Baby Spinach (was on sale for $1)
1 Small can Mushrooms slices (was on sale for $.89)
1 Large Onion, sliced
1 Clove Garlic, minced
2 Cup Chicken Broth
1/3 Cup Orzo (was on sale for $1)
1 Tbsp oil for browning
Directions:
Season your chicken as you usually do with salt and pepper. I add a pinch of celery salt to mine all the time.
In a large skillet add the oil. Let it get hot and add your onion and garlic clove. Cook until your onions are transparent, always keeping an eye on your garlic not to burn. Add the chicken and brown. Add spinach, mix in with the chicken. Add orzo, mushrooms and broth. Cook for the time indicated on the box. I cooked mine 12 minutes. We really don't like our pasta quite al dente, neither mushy so that time was good for me. If you like it more al dente by all means cook it for only 8 minutes which is the box recommended time.
Let it sit for a couple of minutes for the pasta to absorb the sauce and serve with Parmesan cheese and bread. Enjoy

Prep and cooking time 30 minutes                                                                  Serves 4

Sharing my Frugal Comfort Meal at these Fa-BOO-lous Parties:

The Best Blog Recipes, Craftionary, The Girl Creative, Tidy Mom, Home Maid Simple, Love and Laundry, Today's Creative Blog, Practically Functional, My Turn (for Us), Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Sara Howe, Townsend House, Cooking with Curls, Living Better Together, Shaken Together, The Pin Junkie, 504 Main, Cheerios and Lattes, Six Sisters Stuff, It's Overflowing, Be Different Act Normal, Classy Clutter, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Angels Homestead, Suburbs Mama, Twigg Studios, Life on Lakeshore Drive, I Should be Mopping the Floors, The Chicken Chick, Huckleberry Love, Under the Table and Dreaming, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, The Velvet Moon Baker, Flamingo Toes, This Gal Cooks, WOM, Between Naps on the Porch, My Girlish Whims, Ginger Snap Crafts, Made to be a Momma, A Southern Faitytale, The Shady Porch, Mom's Test Kitchen, Mom's Test Kitchen, Lady Behind the Curtain, Creations by Kara, Ducks' n a Row, Our Table for Seven. Homemade Ginger, Hun What's for Dinner?, Memories by the Mile, Not Just a Housewife, Home Stories A to Z, The Blackberry Vine, The Mandatory Mooch, Sweet Haute, A Pinch of Joy, Recipes for my Boys, Kitchen Meets Girl, Real Coake Family, Considered Me Inspired, Cassidy's Cooking

Cookies and Cream Cannoli Cones Recipe

Hola Amigos! Another week comes to an end which brings us to the end of summer. I can't help to start getting in the mood for earthier  flavors on main dishes and desserts  even though the official start of fall is more than a month away (Sept.22) , do you feel the same way?
But...let's not rush it and have a few more rounds of fun and easy going summer treats! Just like this one!
I set my mind the other day to make homemade cannoli. Easier said than done. First,  I couldn't find cannoli shells anywhere and I didn't feel like baking any either, after all it's supposed to be an easy dessert. So I improvised and used waffle cones and then myy mix turned out a little softer than I wanted to fill the cones so I turned them into parfait by crushing almond cookies into the mix. Problem solved and a wonderful refreshing dessert was born!

I tell you, I think I like these better than if they were the real thing! Easy to handle, no forks or plates, Mobile, the kids took them outside right away.Crunchy, crumble cookies in the inside and crunchy waffle cone on the outside and Creamy...the cannoli filling just the way you like it!

I plan on doing this recipe for family gatherings for now on...I can see it already it would be a hit coming Thanksgiving...well it won't replace the pie...but, who knows!

Most of my ingredients I had at hand, I just had to buy the ricotta and it was on sale too! So it's an inexpensive dessert to feed at least 8, depending how generous you are with your cone filling.
Another summer dessert for you my friends. I hope you give this one a try! is worth every single calorie, I promise you that!

Oh one more thing, even though traditional cannoli is not a dessert that should be frozen by any means, my son couldn't finish his 3rd and froze his and had it like a real ice cream cone the next day...so seems to me it works as a frozen dessert too!

Thank You for stopping by! Put on your shades, go outside and enjoy the sunshine. Remember that no matter the season, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Cookies and Cream Cannoli Cones

Ingredients:

For the Filling:

1 Cup Milk

1/4 Cup Cornstarch 

1 (150z) Container Ricotta Cheese (drain your ricotta overnite if possible)

1/2 Cup Cookie Butter

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Almond Extract

8-12 roughly crushed almond cookies

Pinch of Salt

For the shells

Waffle Cones

Rainbow sprinkles, coconut, powder sugar.

Directions

In a saucepan on medium heat combine milk with cornstarch. Heat up  stirring constantly until it thickens. Add Cookie butter, sugar and pinch of salt. Stir until is all combined. Remove from heat. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap until is room temperature.

When your mix is room temperature, add the Ricotta cheese to it, add vanilla and almond extracts and combine them until everything is uniform. Add crushed cookies and gently fold them in the cheese mix.

Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve dessert. In the meantime, decorate your cones by dipping them in chocolate and then on your rainbow sprinkles, coconut or sugar, your choice.

To serve, scoop and spoon some of the mix into each decorated cone and top with more crushed cookies. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 minutes                     Cooking and Cooling 30 minutes           Serves 6-8 cones

Sharing some colorful cannoli cones at these fabulous parties:

WCFS, Dessert Now, Dinner Later, The Tablescaper, Life on Lakeshore Drive, A Pretty Life in the Suburbs,Rain on a Tin Roof, Huckleberry Love, Jembellish, A Southern Fairytale, Mad in Crafts, Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Cupcake-n-Bake, Who Needs a Cape, BoogieBoard Cottage, The Blackberry Vine, Say Not Sweet Anne, My Mixing Spoon, Feeding Big, Setting for Four, Hun...what's for dinner?, Home Stories A to Z, Handmade Cuddles, Ladybugs Blessings, Mandy's Recipe Box, Nap-Time Creations, Kathe with an E, Pint Sized Baker, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Summer Scraps, The Princess and her Cowboys, Sugar Bee Crafts, Our Table for Seven, Memories by the Mile, Not Just a Housewife, Bebetsy, Clean and Scentsible, Mom's Test Kitchen, The Lady Behind the Curtain, The Everyday Home, Smart School House, Kitchen Meets Girl, Ducks'n a Row, The Shaddy Porch, Sew Much Ado, Thank You Honey, My Girlish Whims, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, This Silly Girl's Life, Someday Crafts, Polkadots on Parade, Real Housewives or Riverton, We Like to Learn as We Go, 733 Blog, Real Coake, 52 Mantels, The 36th Avenue, The Brambleberry Cottage, A Handful of Everything, Katherine's Corner, CrazyLou, House of Hepworths, The Mandatory Mooch, I Gotta Create, Lamberts Lately, Chocolate, Chocolate and More, The Crafty Blog Stalker, The Best Blog Recipes, Jennifer Rizzo, Do Small Things with Love, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, The Answer is Chocolate, The Inspiration Network, My Turn (for Us), Simple Living and Eating, The Pin Junkie, Simply Designing, Tidy Mom, The Shabby Nest, A Simple Five, A Peek Into My Paradise, Living Better Together, One Tough Mother, Happy and Blessed Home, Five Days Five Ways, Shaken Together, Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Four Little Fergusons, Just Us Four, Esskunst, Made from Pinterest, The Wondering Brain, Cheerios and Lattes, Classy Clutter, A Little Claireification, Spatulas on Parade, Too Much Time on my Hands, Angels Homestead, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Serenity You, Frugal Foodie Mama, Claire Justine oxox, Craft-O-Maniac, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Flour Me With Love, Jam Hands, Keeping it Simple, Alderberry Hill, Ms. enPlace,The Gunny Sack, Chef in Trainning, The Trendy Treehouse, SNAP, Glitz and Gold, My Romantic Home, Tatertots and Jello

You might also like these unique desserts:

Peach Rustic Custard in Chocolate Cups

Alfredo and Pesto Chicken Bruschetta Recipe

Hola Amigos! With the weekend approaching I have the perfect appetizer for you or even a light meal with a bowl of soup instead of a sandwich. And the best thing of all is that you can make this with leftovers from a classic Italian dinner like Chicken Alfredo. That's what I did!

I had made some Fettuccine Alfredo a few days ago, you can find the recipe here and had some chicken and Italian bread leftover. My husband had to go on a last minute business trip and it was only me and the kids. No point of cooking a big meal, right, then and idea came to mind, how about bruschetta, Alfredo and Pesto, crazy but it might work.

I just added store bought Alfredo sauce, crisp bacon, tomatoes, basil and made a delicious pesto butter with butter and store bought pesto.

My semi-home made Alfredo and Pesto Bruschetta was a hit and a  "you have to make these again mom"! AKA Seal of Approval from the kiddos!

I even made a couple Vegetarian! I was thinking on a Vegetarian bloggy friend of mine (you know who you are, lol  don't worry I won't Out You) and thought she could have these anytime!
Just a few sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms sauteed in a little bit of olive oil and white wine, salt and pepper and you are all set!

I love when  last minute fixins' turns this good.

Thank you so much for your visit today! I hope your coming weekend goes as planned and if you are having friends over always consider this recipe to share with them. Keep in mind my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Alfredo and Pesto Chicken Bruschetta

Ingredients

1 Loaf Italian Bread

2 TBSP Pesto Sauce

4 TBSP Unsalted Butter

2 Cups Shredded Chicken

4 Slices of Bacon Crisp and Crumbled

1 Jar Alfredo Sauce

1 Large Tomato

Basil Leaves

1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese Shredded

For vegetarian:

8 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms Sliced

Olive Oil

1/2 White Wine 

Directions:

Heat oven at 400F.

In a heavy sauce pan, mix shredded chicken with Alfredo Sauce heat up until warm. Set aside. Dice your tomato finely and julienne your basil leaves. 

In a microwave safe container, melt the butter. Remove and add 2 tablespoons of your pesto sauce. Spread this mix or "Pesto Butter" over your bread slices, front and back. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove form oven.

Top each slice of bread with the Chicken mixture, chopped tomato, basil, crumble bacon and mozzarella cheese. Drizzle a little bit of "pesto butter" if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!

To make the vegetarian version. 

In a large skillet with olive oil saute the sliced mushrooms, once soft add white wine and let simmer for 5 minutes. Mix with 3/4 Cup Alfredo Sauce. Take your toasted bread, spread the mushroom mix on the bread and top with tomato, basil and cheese, Serve hot and enjoy!

Prep Time 5 minutes     Cooking Time 10 minutes      Serves 6-8

Sharing my leftover magic meal at these Fabulous Parties:

Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, My Turn (for Us), Home Maid Simple, Rattlebride Farm, Blissful and Domestic, Do Small Things with Love, 504 Main, the Pin Junkie, Jennifer Rizzo, My Romantic Home, This and That, The Best Blog Recipes, Love and Laundry, Chic on a Shoestring, The Shabby Nest, The Answer is Chocolate, Tidy Mom, One Tough Mother, A Simple Five, Craftionary, Liz Marie, Simply Designing, Becoming Martha, Simply Sweet Home, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, My Personal Accent, Krafty Card Set, 4 Little Fergusons, Tartertots and Jello, Cooking with Curls, Happy and Blessed Home, Five Days 5 Ways, Just Us Four, Whiperberry, Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen, The Wondering Brain, Lovely Crafty Home,Dear Creatives, Dessert Now, Dinner Later, Angel Homestead, Serenity You, Cheerios and Lattes, Too Much Time, Classy Clutter, The Taylor House, Flamingo Toes, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Suburbs Mama, Twigg studios, Spatulas on Parade, VMG206, Nifty Thrifty Things, Rain on a Tin Roof, Huckleberry Love, Still Being Molly, Cupcake-n-Bake, The Princess and her Cowboys, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, A Southern Fairytale, Mad in Crafts, The Chicken Chick, Say Not Sweet Anne, Ms.enPlace, BoggieBoard Cottage, I Gotta Try That, Who Needs a Cape, The Blacberry Vine, Ladybug Blessings, Mama Dish, hun...what's for dinner?, Our Home Away from Home, Pint Sized Baker, Kathe with an E, Mandy's Recipe Box, Chef in Training, Love Grows Wild, Home Stories A to Z Nap- Time Creations, Sugar Bee Crafts, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Feeding Big, Homemade Ginger, Memories by the Mile, Not Just a Housewife, Powerful Mothering, Smart School House, Made to be a Mama, Ginger Snap Craft, Clean and Scentsible, Fluster Buster, The Shaddy Porch, Lady Behind the Curtain, My Girlish Whims, Adorned from Above, Kitchen Meets Girl, All She Cooks, DIY Craft Projects, Thank You Honey, Worthing Court, The 36th Avenue, Life with the Crust Cut Off,  Fine Craft Guild, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, The Real Housewives of Riverton, SNAP!, The Crafty Blog Stalker, What's Cooking Love?, Saving 4 Six, Live, Laugh, Rowe, 52 Mantels, The Mandatory Mooch, The Brambleberry Cottage, Polkadots on Parade, Southern Lovely, Katherines Corner, House of Hepworths, Lamberts Lately, The Style Sisters, My Joy Filled Life, Food Done Light, Sew Much Crafting,
Six Sister's Stuff, Ducks n' a Row, My Mixing Spoons, Glitter, Glue and Paint, 

Other Appetizers that you might enjoy:

Pepper Boats and Dips

Easy Ravioli Lasagna Recipe

Hola Amigos! Once in a while we all deserve a break from the kitchen, take a few shortcuts but at the same achieve great and delicious results. This is that kind of recipe. Using frozen ravioli of any kind you would be able to create this lasagna in no time and great taste. 

It freezes wonderfully so you will probably want to  bake 2 and freeze 1 for another lazy day.

You put together your lasagna the same way you would a regular one.  Cover it up, bake and enjoy!

You know you have done a great job when you can cut your lasagna and see all the layers you carefully put together come out so pretty!

No one can complain there is not enough cheese on this lasagna! Add more veggies to yours by using spinach raviolis instead. Delicious!

Serve it with garlic bread or a green salad. This one is a main dish in itself

Here is the recipe for you friends. Enjoy and remember everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love. 

Besitos,

Lizy

Ravioli Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

1 Pound Ground Beef

1 Jar (28 oz) You Favorite Spaghetti Sauce

1 1/2 Package (250z) Frozen Ravioli Cheese, Beef, Spinach, your choice

1  Cup Bechamel Sauce

1 (8oz ) Can Sliced Mushrooms (optional)

1 1/2 Cup Shredded Italian Cheese

Directions

In a large pan, over medium heat, brown beef until no longer pink. Add Spaghetti Sauce and season if necessary. 

Using a 9"x13" lasagna baking dish, layer a 1/3 of the beef sauce, half of the ravioli (frozen or cooked), bechamel sauce, mushrooms and half of the mix of Italian Cheeses. Repeat 1 more layer of ravioli, beef sauce and finish with the rest of the cheese.

Cover and bake in a 365 F oven for 40-45 minutes or until heated up.

Prep Time 30 minutes   Cooking Time 40-45 minutes  Servings 6-8 

Sharing my Lazy Recipe at these Fabulous Parties:

Life with the Crust Cut Off, The Shaffer Sisters, Rose Chintz Cottage, The Trendy Tree House, The Mandatory Mooch, Real Coake.com, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Live Laugh Rowe, 52 Mantels, Saving 4 Six, House of Hepworths, Sew Crafty Angel, A Handful Of Everything, Living Well, Spending Less, Consider me Inspired, Artsy Fartsy Mama, The Best Blog Recipes, Craftionary, Naptime Crafters, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, The Answer is Chocolate, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, Becoming Martha, Happy Hour Projects, Rooted in Thyme, Home Maid Simple, One Tough Mother, Tidy Mom, 504 Main, The Pin Junkie, My Turn (for Us), Love and Laundry, Happy and Blessed Home, Chef Picky Kid and Me, Rattlebridge Farm, The Wondering Brain, Lovely Crafty Blog, A Little Claireification, Homemade Ginger, 4 Little Fergusons, 30 Handmade days, Five Days 5 Ways, Dessert Now, Dinner Later, Sew-Licious Home Decor, 4 You with Love, Angels Homestead, Be Different Act Normal, Too Much Time on my Hands, Cheerios and Lattes, It's Overflowing, Serenity You, Mama Gab, Spatulas on Parade, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Bowdabra, Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs, Titi Crafty, WCFS, Create with Joy, Frugal Foodie Mama, Claire Justine oxox, Uncommon Designs, Alderberry Hill, BoogieBoard Cottage, Flour Me with Love, Keeping It Simple, Sew Can Do, Cupcake-n-bake, Jembellish, Jam Hands, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, The Chicken Chick, Craft-o-Maniac, Huckleberry Love, Under the Table and Dreaming, Ms. enPlace, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, The Princess and her Cowboys, I Gotta Try That, Between Naps on the Porch, Who Needs a Cape, Love Grows Wild, Mandy's Recipe Box, Nap-Time Creations, Home Stories A to Z, Pint Sized Baker, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Sugar Bee Crafts, Our Home Away from Home, The Blackberry Vine, Feeding Big, Chef in Training, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Homemade Ginger, Smart School House,

Made to be a Momma, Ducks' n a Row, Daisy Cottage Designs, All She Cooks, The Lady Behind the Curtain, The Shady Porch, My Girlish Whims, Fluster Buster, Designed Decor, Lori's Culinary Creations,

French Country Cottage, I Heart Nap Time, Le Chateau des Fleurs, CrazyLou Creations, Six Sister's Stuff