Mexican Bake

If you've been a long time reader of Finding Joy in My Kitchen, you know that we don't eat very many Mexican recipes.  I love south-of-the-boarder dishes, but, Frog prince isn't a big fan.  I decided to give this dish a try because it was covered in cheese.  Frog Prince can't resist cheese!  

The original recipe is freezer-friendly and can easily be made in bulk.  I paired down the recipe to serve two, and also reduced the amount of meat in the dish.  We often reduce the meat in a recipe, allowing us to stretch our meat across more than one meal.  And, honestly, we didn't miss the extra half-pound of ground beef in the recipe.  It was a great recipe we both enjoyed.      

Mexican Bake - Adapted from Ecomomical Me

1/2 pound ground beef
1 T minced onion
1 (15-16 oz) tomato sauce
1 (16 oz) jar of salsa {spiciness of your choosing}
1 (14.5 oz) whole wheat rotini pasta
6 oz. cheddar jack cheese
~1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. oregano
salt, to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the rotini until done.  Drain.

Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet; as you do - season with salt, pepper and minced onion.  Drain excess grease, if necessary.

Add in the tomato sauce and salsa to the ground beef.  Simmer for ~5 minutes.

Add in the seasoning, and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Then, add in the pasta and stir to combine.

Pour the pasta mixture into a lightly greased 9x9 glass baking dish.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until warmed throughout and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Linked to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, What's On Your Plate? Works for Me Wednesday, Your Recipe, My Kitchen

Rigatoni with Stewed Veggies

Friday night Frog Prince and I were hungry.  We had intended to grill -- but the weather system that brought us a dusting of snow changed our plans.  In an effort to clean out the freezer, I pulled out some frozen spinach, and frozen browned ground Italian turkey sausage.

What started out as a quick spaghetti transitioned to a whole new creation.  I had no idea if it would be any good at all, so I hardly took any photos!

After we took one bite, we knew this recipe would be a keeper.  It's too good not to share.


Rigatoni with Stewed Veggies


1/2 box, rigatoni
1/2 lb. Italian turkey sausage, browned
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can stewed tomatoes, undrained
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 T minced onion
~2 C spinach
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 C Italian shredded cheeses {parm, mozzarella, provolone}

Begin by warming the browned turkey sausage in a large skillet.  If you don't already have pre-browned turkey sausage in your freezer, brown it in the skillet at this step.  Add in minced onion while you do the browning.

Meanwhile, begin a pot of water to boil and cook the rigatoni until done.  Drain when the pasta is done.

Once warmed, add in the green bell peppers and saute until slightly tender.  Then, add in the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, spinach, and seasonings.

Simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens up.

Stir in the cooked and drained pasta.

Then, sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Serve warm.  

Linked to: Full Plate Thursday

Chicken Florentine Rice Bake

This recipe was inspired by Tiffany at Eat at Home!  She posted a recipe for an Italian Chicken and Rice Casserole that sounded delicious.  

I took that idea and ran with it - using what we had in our fridge and freezer to create a make-ahead rice bake.  

Chicken Florentine Rice Bake

1-2 chicken breasts, diced

1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 C brown rice, uncooked
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (15oz) chicken broth
1 C spinach
1/2 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 C shredded Italian cheeses

Begin by dicing up the chicken and cooking it in a large skillet coated with olive oil over medium heat.

Season with garlic powder, and pepper and cook until chicken is browned and cooked through.

Meanwhile, slice up the mushrooms, and lay them in the bottom of a lightly greased 8x8 glass baking dish.

Remove the chicken from the skillet when cooked, and place atop the mushrooms. Sprinkle with parsley.

Then, pour the uncooked brown rice into the skillet.

Add the tomatoes, chicken broth and seasoning.

Bring to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes. Then, add in the spinach. I used frozen.

Simmer until spinach is wilted.

Then, pour into the lightly greased 8x8 baking dish containing the chicken and mushrooms.

There will be lots of excess liquid -- and that's good!

At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the dish until you need it. If you are baking immediately, continue with the directions below.

Preheat the oven to 350. Meanwhile, sprinkle the dish with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for ~45 minutes until the liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and cheese is lightly browned.  

Allow the dish to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Delicious Dishes, Tuesdays at the Table, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, URS

Make-Ahead Spinach Pasta Bake

This pasta dish is a new fav -- and I'm pretty sure it will be at your house too.  

I put this dish together the night before, using uncooked pasta to make the prep even easier.  Then, the next evening, we baked it for ~45 minutes at 350 until it was lightly browned and bubbly.  

Make-Ahead Spinach Pasta Bake


1 lb. whole wheat penne pasta
8 oz tomato paste
2 C tomato or spaghetti sauce* (either crockpot or quick)
1 C pureed carrots
2 tsp. dried oregano
~5 C fresh spinach, rinsed and trimmed
3 C cottage cheese
1 C Italian blend shredded cheese, or mozzarella

*If you use tomato sauce rather than spaghetti, add in some onion too for extra flavor.

Begin by combining the tomato paste with the pureed carrots, and spices.

Then, mix in the spaghetti sauce.

Spread 1-2 large ladle-sized scoops of the tomato-carrot mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 glass baking dish.  

Place 1/2 of the whole wheat pasta noodles, uncooked, over the spaghetti sauce mixture.  Then, spread ~2 1/2 C of fresh spinach over the pasta.    

Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese over the spinach leaves.  

Top with another 2 ladles of sauce.  

Scatter the remaining half the noodles over the sauce layer.  

Repeat the spinach and cottage cheese layers.  

Spread sauce over the top.  Ideally, you'll have just a bit more sauce on the top than in the photo.    

Cover, and refrigerate over night.  

The following evening, remove the pasta dish from the fridge, and uncover.  

Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.  Ours was a mix of Parm, Asiago, Provolone and Mozzarella.  

Bake at 350 for ~45 minutes.  For the first 20ish minutes, cover with a cookie sheet to keep the moisture in the dish.  After 20 minutes, uncover and cook an additional 20 minutes until cheese is lightly browned.

Allow the pasta bake to sit for ~5 minutes before serving.  We recommend serving it with Olive Garden Bread Sticks.

Enjoy!!

Linked to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, What's on Your Plate? Works for Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Things I Love Thursday. Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Mangia Monday, Ingredient Spotlight.