Baked Mac ‘n Cheese

Mac ‘n  cheese is definitely something we all enjoy. I mean who doesn’t like a whole lot of cheese in their pasta? Cheese girl here!

This Mac ‘n cheese recipe I got from http://www.heathersfrenchpress.com is definitely awesome. It uses pizza sauce to give it a bit more flavor than just your regular mac ‘n cheese. Since this was supposedly a pizza flavored mac ‘n cheese it asked for pepperoni but I didn’t have any on hand so I decided to use schublig (my dad’s favorite sausage!) and bacon (because who doesn’t like bacon?) instead. I also didn’t have any mozzarella on hand so I used Parmesan cheese. So it wasn’t as creamy as I would have wanted it but it was still awesome!

Would Definitely try this out again when I have mozzarella and pepperoni on hand!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of elbow macaroni {cooked according to the package directions}
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup of pizza sauce
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese {I used Parmesan cheese}
• 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
• pepperoni slices {I used schublig and bacon}

Instructions:

1. while the pasta is cooking, heat a skillet over med. heat
2. add the butter, and allow to melt
3. stir in the flour to make a roux
4. whisk in the milk, bring to boil {whisking often} until it thickens {this takes a few minutes}
5. Stir in the pizza sauce, and salt to taste {I did not add any}
6. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses
7. Add the drained macaroni and toss to evenly coat
8. top with the pepperoni slices, the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese
9. broil until the top begins to brown {about 2 minutes}

Baked Spaghetti

I love pasta. And I’m not using the word love lightly. I literally love pasta. Pasta is something I will never get tired of cooking and eating. My go to food when I’m happy, sad, hungry or full. I eat it alone, with company and whatever is in between.

Anyway, since I’m a huge pasta lover I’m always looking for yummy pasta recipes that would make me swoon. And I found this recipe by http://www.kraftrecipes.com. This baked spaghetti is just wonderful. The cream cheese makes it creamy without being overbearing. The angel hair pasta makes it less heavy than using spaghetti noodles. This was so awesome that I didn’t have time to take a photo of it before it was all gone. Yep, my family and friends loved it too.

Just, try it. Even if your not a huge pasta lover, you will love this!

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb, angel hair pasta, uncooked
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 lb. Italian sausage
• 24 oz. spaghetti sauce
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese (I used Mozzarella though because I couldn’t find this, it worked perfectly)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain.
3. In a large skillet, brown beef and sausage; drain, if needed. Return meat to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce and cream cheese. Cook over low heat until cheese has blended into sauce and it is heated through.
4. Cover the bottom of a 13X9 inch baking dish with a little sauce. Add a layer of 1/2 pasta and 1/2 remaining sauce then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese, repeat the layers, ending with the sauce.
5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, add 5 more minutes.
6. Cut into squares before serving.