Ma What's For Dinner?

When you’re craving some good ol’ fashioned stick to your ribs creamy gooey goodness then throw this bad boy together.  You and the family will not be disappointed.

Serves 6 Prep Time:  20 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes

1/2 cup butter

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1 garlic clove, diced

1 small onion, diced

S&P

1 can condensed cream of mushroom and garlic soup

1 8 oz package cream cheese, cubed

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup chicken stock

1 T italian seasoning

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded swiss cheese

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 cooked boneless chicken breasts, cubed

1 lb fettucine pasta

Topping:

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

3 T butter melted

2 T parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Heat a large pot of water over high heat and cook fettucine to al dente, about 12 minutes.  Drain.

While the pasta cooks, heat butter over medium high heat.  Add in mushrooms and onions and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes.  Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Season well with S&P.  Stir in cream cheese, soup, cream, and italian seasoning.  Allow cream cheese to melt and add in chicken stock. Stir in remaining cheeses and turn the heat down to medium low.  Season to taste with S&P.  Fold in chicken and allow to heat through.  Pour in pasta and mix well.  Pour into a greased 13×9 baking dish.

Combine the ingredients for the topping and sprinkle over dish.  Cover and cook at 375 for 25 minutes.  Uncover and bake and additional 5 minutes until topping is golden brown.

This was inspired by a dish I saw in Taste of Home magazine by Rochelle Brownlee .  I thought her use of cream cheese was a stroke of genius!  Thanks Rochelle.

OH OOOOHHHH OHHHH!!!  Good news good news!  I can’t believe it but I just heard that yours truly will be the Featured Blogger at SITS this Friday, April 30th.  I’m so excited I think I just peed…Be sure to swing by and join the party, you’re all invited!

That’s me all Sunshine and Rainbows.  Ok, stop snickering…

I’m so thrilled that the wonderful and talented Lazaro over at Lazaro Cooks chose me for this award.  Thanks Lazaro, and by the way, if you haven’t been by his awesome site you’re missing out.  He is always cooking up something incredible!  And all I have to do to accept this wonderful honor is pass the Sunshine Award on to 12 blogs that I love.  Piece of cake!  And since I’m so inspired by Lazaro Cooks and his incredible foodie delight of a blog I will pass this one on to my favorite food blogs.  And the winners are…ahem, drum roll please….

Steph at Live.Love.Eat I can gain 10 pounds just looking at all her amazing creations!  You have to check it out.

Anne at Annie Bakes Anne is always whipping up something magical, I check her out daily.

Julie at Mommie Cooks When I don’t know what to cook tonight, I always check out Julie’s site.  She’s always got something innovative.

Rachel at Me, Myself, & Pie is teaching herself, and all of us, how to cook lighter and brighter.  She’s doing a great job!

Pamela at Cookies with Boys she’s a great cook with wonderful and beautiful recipes.  Go check her out.

The Ungourmet at The Ungourmet This site always has the greatest recipes coupled with the most amazing photography.  I worship at her photo altar!

The Wife at The Wives with Knives who cooks up some amazing food out there in Oregon Wine Country

Tiffany at Eat at Home Tiffany always has wonderful and practical recipes to get on the table fast

Aimee at Under The Highchair Aimee and her kids are such a treat to watch in their kitchen adventures

Stacie at One Hungry Mama She just moved to this new site and it is looking amazing!

Jenny at Picky Palate is like me and just trying to get her kids to eat, not to mention she’s competed on Food Network competitions.  She’s awesome!

Tina at Mommys Kitchen is incredible and so thorough and I love all her down home dishes.  She even maps out monthly meal plans!

So there you have it, some amazing women and some amazing bloggers.  Please go check them all out, you and your belly, will be so glad you did.  Don’t forget to come back on Friday for my SITS day.  It’s gonna be a great party you don’t want to miss.

In the mood for something quick hearty and satisfying?  Put down that phone and save yourself the delivery charge…no, I’m not talking DiGiorno, I’m talking about a homemade delight that will have your kids (and you) jumping for joy.

Serves: 6-8                        Prep time: 10 minutes                        Cook time: 30 minutes

1 lb  ground beef

3/4 bulk italian sausage

1 c  mushrooms, sliced

1 small onion, chopped

1 t  dried oregano

2 cloves  garlic, chopped

S&P

1 28 oz can  chopped tomatoes

1 8 0z can  tomato sauce

1 ½ c  shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tube  refrigerated pizza dough

1 8 oz container fresh mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet brown ground beef and sausage over medium high heat.  Once browned add in mushrooms, onions, and garlic.  Season with oregano and S&P and stir to combine.  Cook for 5 minutes or until veggie start to soften.  Stir in tomato sauce.   Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer.  Cover and let cook for 10 minutes on low heat.

Pour meat mixture into a 13×9 baking dish.  Top with shredded cheese.  Open up pizza dough tube, unroll and top cheese with it.  Bake for 15-17 minutes.  Top with dollops of fresh mozzarella and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with a side salad and your kids will stand on their heads for this one time and time again.

In college I used to LOVE Pizzeria Uno’s mashed potato pizza. This is an ode to the days of old….

Serves:  Up to 8  Prep time:  20 minutes  Cook time:  25 minutes

1 store bought pizza crust

1 bag frozen Ore-Ida potatoes

1/2 cup milk

2 T butter

2 T parmesan cheese

S&P

1 pound bacon, chopped

1 onion, diced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

chopped parsley, for garnish

chopped scallions, for garnish

sour cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Unroll your pizza dough and stretch it out over a large baking pan, or you can roll it out into a ball and make a round pizza if you like.  Poke a couple of holes into the dough with a fork and bake the uncovered dough for 10 minutes.  While your dough cooks place your potatoes in the microwave and cook on high for 10 minutes.  Pour potatoes into a bowl and add milk, butter, parmesan cheese, and season with S&P.  Mash well and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brown your bacon until just crispy.  Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  In the bacon drippings saute onion, mushrooms and garlic until soft, about 7 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and spread out your potato mixture to cover leaving a one inch border for your crust.  Top potatoes with mushrooms onion and garlic mixture.  Then sprinkle on cheese to cover well.  Top with bacon.

Return pizza to oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Slice it up and top with sour cream and parsley or chopped scallions.  Serve as an appetizer or with a salad for a main meal.

This is a quick, delicious and nutritious side dish for you. Cooks up in minutes and will get you rave reveiws!

Serves: 6  Prep Time: 0 minutes  Cook time: 12 minutes

1 bunch asparagus, cleaned and trimmed

1 T olive oil

S&P

1 T parmesan cheese

1 T basil chiffonade

1 T toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss asparagus into a roasting pan.  Sprinkle with olive oil and S&P.  Mix well with your fingers to coat each asparagus stalk well.  Cook for 10 minutes on 400 degrees.   Remove from oven and sprinkle on cheese, basil and pine nuts.  Toss well and serve immediately.

So good…