Cheddar Chicken Lasagna Roll-Ups

The first thing CM ever cooked for me was chicken lasagna. I already knew that I didn't like regular lasagna, but he insisted it was delicious, so I gave it a shot. I was hooked. During his times overseas, I would crave it so much. I'm glad he's home to make it whenever I want now! But I decided to do something a little different with it; I decided to roll it up. I had CD 2 months ago, so I've been trying to lose the baby weight, and my biggest issue is portion control. I would be going, going, going all day, and be starving for dinner and eat more than I should have. That's what makes these roll-ups so perfect! Easy for me to portion so that I don't eat too much.

I'm going to be honest. The way it's supposed to be made is with mozzarella. But when I went to the store, I completely forgot to get some, and all we had was cheddar, so I went with it because I don't like going to the store at 5 pm on a weekday when everyone else is there. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. 

Here's what you need:

• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 C of hot water
• 1 chicken bullion cube
• 3 C of cheddar cheese
• 1 24oz jar of pasta sauce (I used Classico Four Cheese)
• 15 lasagna noodles (NOT oven ready)
• 1 Tbs of olive oil

Here's what you do:

• Boil the chicken until it's cooked (it will take about an hour), then let it cool.
• While it's cooling, boil your noodles in a large pot until they're al dente (it took my noodles about 6 minutes or so)- put the olive oil in the water to keep the noodles from sticking together.
• When the noodles are done, drain them and let them cool down.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Shred you chicken and put it in the food processor (or a large mixing bowl).
• Add in the cream cheese, water, and bullion cube.
• Blend until it's well mixed, it will be kind of like a paste.
• Line your noodles up, side by side, on a baking sheet. I was able to fit 6 on the sheet at one time.
• Spread your chicken mixture out down the length of the noodle. I put about 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture on each one.
• Then spread some of the pasta sauce over the mixture. Put as much, or as little as you want. But keep in mind that it will be a bigger mess if you put too much.
• Slowly roll each noodle up, and place in a 9x13 baking dish.
• You should be able to put 3 rolls on one row, and have 5 rows.
• Pour some more sauce over the top of all of the rolls and use a spoon to spread it out.
• For maximum cheesiness, add an additional cup of cheese over the top of the rolls.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

The cheddar added a little more sharpness and flavor to the lasagna. And, again, these rolls are great for portion control. I was able to stick to only 2 rolls. And there are plenty of leftovers to eat for lunch for a few days, which is always nice. These take a little more work than regular lasagna would, but they're so worth it!

Ranch Chicken Penne

As has been previously mentioned, CM loves ranch. And I've tried a recipe for Crock-Pot ranch pork chops, but I just didn't like cooking pork chops in the Crock-Pot. I decided to do chicken this time. I must say that this recipe was a success because he didn't even stop to give me his opinion like he usually does. He just kind of stuffed his face.

There's not much I can say about this meal other than it's easy, creamy, and a tad on the spicy side.

Here's what you need:

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 8 oz of cream cheese
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 can of cheddar cheese soup
• 1 packet of ranch dressing mix
• 1/8 tsp of oregano
• 1/8 tsp of ground cayenne red pepper
• 3/4 C of mozzarella
• penne pasta

Here's what you do:

• Place your chicken in the Crock-Pot
• In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to blend the cream cheese, both soups, the ranch dressing mix, oregano, cayenne red pepper, and mozzarella until it's creamy
• Dump the mixture over the chicken and make sure it's evenly spread out.
• Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or high for 2-3 hours.
• When it's nearly done, cook your penne.
• Put your chicken on top and cover with your sauce.

It was very filling and exactly what CM needed after a hard day of doing yard work! If you don't want any spice, simply take out the cayenne red pepper. If I could have had my way, I would have thrown some broccoli in there, but CM hates it. Green peas would also have made a really good addition if you're looking to add some veggies to it.

Let me know what you think and be sure to share this with your family and friends!

Cheesy, Beefy Crock-Pot Ravioli

Oh, Crock-Pot. How I love you. I can literally just pile food up in it, let it cook for a little while, then take it out and have something delicious. I don't have to stir it, I don't even have to look at it! So if I'm able to make something in it, I will. 

Combine that with my love of ravioli, and I have a very good, very easy meal. It was one of my favorite things the cafeteria would make in high school. Of course, it came from a Chef Boyardee can, straight into a pan for the oven, topped with cheese. It isn't something they could mess up.

I, personally, don't mind Chef Boyardee brand. But CM loves to remind me of how he's Italian (he's like 1/8 Italian or something- he says he's "Olive Garden Italian"), and being the slightest fraction of Italian makes him despise Chef Boyardee. So I'm not allowed to take an industrial-sized can of ravioli, dump it in a dish and bake it with cheese. He would know. That's why I have this recipe for Crock-Pot ravioli.

Now, I didn't make my own pasta dough and whip up my own batch of ravioli. I used frozen cheese ravioli, which is just about as easy as making it from a can... only it tastes better (in my opinion). And this recipe is very flexible, as far as what you use in it.

Here's what you need:

• 40 oz of frozen unbreaded ravioli (I got the 4 cheese kind, but there are many varieties)
• Also, the kind I use says, "Ready in 5 Minutes." Don't let that confuse you! Putting it in the Crock-Pot will not make it ready in 5 minutes, even if you've got it on high. I promise.
• 16 oz of your favorite pasta sauce (I used Classico 4 cheese sauce because we love cheese)
• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Here's what you do:

• Toss your frozen ravioli into the Crock-Pot.
• Mix in your pasta sauce
• Let your pasta cook on high for 2 1/2 hours. 
• But some Crock-Pots are faster, and some slower. So it could be done as soon as 2 hours, or as late as 3 hours.
• About 30 minutes before you're ready to serve it, begin to brown your hamburger.
• Stir in your hamburger, then add your cheese on top.
• Let it continue to cook for another 20 minutes to let the cheese melt.

If you want to leave this cooking for the day while at work, or out and about, you can cook it on low for about 6 hours or so. As well, I love having leftovers for the next day, so if you don't want to make enough for a family of 4+, or you don't want leftovers, simply cut the amount of ravioli, sauce, and cheese in half.

It's really that easy. It takes about 2 1/2 hours (at the least) to whip it up. And, as I said earlier, there is a ton of flexibility for how you can make this dish. Instead of the 4 cheese pasta, you can use meat-filled pasta, or seasoned pasta, or any other kind of frozen pasta you find. You can use different meats, such as ground turkey, or chop up pieces of chicken or sausage, or no meat at all! You don't have to use mozzarella, either. Mozzarella is just the standard cheese that is used for ravioli, so that's why I used it. And if you want to add SOMETHING healthy, you can always throw in some veggies. I might stick some broccoli in there next time because CM positively loves broccoli. That may or may not be a lie. The number of variations for this dish means you can have it pretty frequently and (probably) won't get sick of it quickly.

So, let me know how you liked it, and how you made it your own! If you loved it, be sure to share it with your family and friends.

And as an added bonus for my readers, here's a photo of my sweet CD: