Tasty Tuesday: Baked Spasagna

Tuesday nights dinner was delicious and it was the first time I made it. I will be making it again for sure. Everyone loved it except for my toddler who refused to even try it because he is weird. This kid is italian and wont eat (or try) pasta except for mac and cheese.... UGH! Work with me here kid! So he ate strawberries for dinner.

Baked Spasagna

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Servings- 6 to 8 large portions

Ingredients:

1 lb. of Spaghetti Noodles

2 lbs. of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (You can use less of this if you would like to)

8 ounces of Ricotta Cheese

8 ounces of Sour Cream

1 1/4 cups Half & Half

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon Minced Garlic

1/2 teaspoon Ground Pepper

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce (Whatever sauce you prefer)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions, then drain and place in a large mixing bowl.

3. In another mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, ricotta cheese, half & half, mozzarella (save some to sprinkle on top), italian seasoning, pepper, salt, and minced garlic.

4. Add above cheese mixture to spaghetti. Mix until spaghetti is evenly coated with the mixture.

5. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

6. Place spaghetti mixture into prepared dish. Top with remaining cheese.

7. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.

8. Remove from oven, remove foil and place dish on hot pads to cool for 10 minutes.

9. While that is cooling heat up the spaghetti sauce on the stove.

10. Cut pasta into squares and top with sauce.

11. SERVE!

Marvelous Mondays (#58): Slowcooker Garlic & Brown Sugar Chicken

First let me tell you how much I love my crock pot... I LOVE IT! I have been trying to find as many new recipes for it as possible this year because its so simple. I love that at the end of the day when I am tired I don't have to do all the cooking work at that point.

I am in no way advertising for this company or product but instead just plain old bragging on it:

I think that crock-pot liners are God's gift to cooking. I buy them in bulk on Amazon.com. 

Today I am linking up with This Gal Cooks for Marvelous Mondays!

Here is my recipe:

Slowcooker Garlic & Brown Sugar Chicken

Adapted from Makin' it Mo' Betta

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (Can be frozen, thawed or fresh)

1 cup packed Brown Sugar
2/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Sprite (or 7-up, Sierra Mist, etc.) 
2-3 Tablespoons Minced Garlic 
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch ***I didn't have corn starch so I instead used 1.5 tablespoons of flour***
2 Tablespoons water

Directions:
1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. 

2. Place chicken (frozen, thawed or fresh) inside slow cooker.

3. Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper together.

4. Pour over chicken. 

5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.

 6. During cooking turn chicken breasts over every 2 hours if you are home and able to.

7. Take chicken pieces out of slow cooker (mine basically fell apart) and pour remaining sauce into saucepan. 

8. Place saucepan over high heat. 

9. Mix together corn starch (or flour) and water, pour into saucepan, and mix well. 

10. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze. 11. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two (it will continue to thicken as it cools down). 

Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top if desired.

I shredded the chicken with a fork (it really just fell apart so there wasnt any work involved) and then placed it over white rice and poured the yummy glaze over it!

Drool away!