Baked Cavatelli

Serves 6

7 ounces dried cavatelli or wagon wheel pasta
12 ounces uncooked Italian sausage links, casings removed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 24-ounce jar pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside.

2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion, and garlic until sausage is brown; remove from skillet and drain.

3. In a large bowl, stir together pasta sauce, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and the pepper. Add the cooked pasta and the sausage mixture. Stir gently to combine. Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart casserole.

4. Bake, covered, in a 375° oven for 25-30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake about 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.

Served with salad

Results: We are overflowing with leftovers in our house, so I divided this into two 9x9 pans and put one in the freezer. Half of this dinner was the perfect amount for a family of four (with two being small children.) We had no leftovers.

This is very easy and quick to put together. It was also very tasty. Henry ate THREE bowls of this. He loved it. Steven, surprisingly, ate the sausage, but didn't want the pasta. That counts! Yay!

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

Serves 8

1 whole garlic head
4 ounces pancetta, chopped
2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (16-ounce) cans cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf
2 (1-ounce) slices white bread
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap garlic head in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Set half of garlic pulp aside; reserve remaining garlic pulp for another use. Discard skins.

3. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; sauté 5 minutes or until crisp. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Add onion and 1 tablespoon oil to drippings in pan; sauté 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 25 minutes or until onion is very tender and browned, stirring frequently. Stir in vinegar.

4. Preheat oven to 375°.

5. Add garlic pulp, pancetta, squash, and next 6 ingredients (through bay leaf) to onion mixture, stirring well. Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure about 1 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil; sprinkle evenly over squash mixture. Cover and bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until squash is tender. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until topping is browned. Discard bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley.

Served with sugar snap peas

Results: This may look like a difficult recipe, but it was actually very simple. You just have to pay attention to the cooking times, which are long, but all the cooking takes place in one pot, which is a plus. Our grocery store does not sell pancetta, so I always substitute bacon in recipes that use it. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought groceries, because I ended up buying proscuitto instead of bacon. Bacon would have given it a great crunch. I would also cut down the amount of beans to two cans. Four cans was a bit much.

Both boys asked us to take the butternut squash out, but I don't think either of them ended up touching the meal. This was good, but it was missing something. It almost needed some sort of sauce or cheese (provolone?) to meld the ingredients together. Don't get me wrong, it was very yummy, but it needs some tweaking. This would be a fantastic side dish for a holiday dinner! I'll halve it next time. We have a mountain of leftovers!

Pork Chops with Carolina Rub

Serves 4

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork loin chops
Cooking spray
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1. Prepare grill.

2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub pork with spice mixture; let stand 10 minutes.

3. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 4 minutes. Turn pork; grill 2 minutes. Brush each chop with 1 tablespoon sauce, and grill 2 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.

Served with sweet potato fries and salad

Results: I got a late start on dinner, and Henry was practically falling asleep, so we didn't make them wait for this to be finished. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that neither boy would have tried this one. But, I had to share the recipe, because it was super easy to make and very, very delicious! I will definitely make this one again! Next time, I will probably cut down on the amount of chili powder and black pepper. Chris and I liked the kick, but it may be too spicy for kids. YUM!

Chicken and Root Vegetable Potpie

Serves 8

3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled celeriac (celery root)
1 cup (1/2-inch-thick) slices parsnip
1 (10-ounce) package frozen pearl onions
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces), divided
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 sheet frozen puff pastry dough, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Bring broth to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add peas and next 5 ingredients (through onions) to pan; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 6 minutes. Add chicken; cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken and vegetables from broth with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl.

3. Increase heat to medium. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place all but 1 tablespoon flour in a medium bowl; gradually add milk to bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broth; cook for 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. Stir in chicken mixture, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

4. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon flour on a work surface; roll dough into a 13 x 9-inch rectangle. Place dough over chicken mixture, pressing to seal at edges of dish. Cut small slits into dough to allow steam to escape; coat dough lightly with cooking spray. Place dish on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes or until pastry is browned and filling is bubbly.

Results: Do you have three hours to stand in the kitchen and chop vegetables? If so, then THIS IS THE MEAL FOR YOU! This dish was good, but it would have tasted a lot better had it not taken sooooo loooooong. I kid you not...I was standing in the kitchen for THREE HOURS! And the boys wouldn't even touch it! The only thing that makes me feel better about this meal is that I doubled the recipe so I now have one waiting in the freezer for an easy meal another night. I won't repeat this, but only because it took way too long.