Liza's Pizza Pasta Toss

This is one of those dishes that is hearty, tastes somewhat like pizza (which most kids love) and it's easy to prepare.  I call that a winning recipe!

I originally found this recipe in my May/June 2009 issue of Simple and Delicious, but each time I've made it I've changed it a little to suit my family's taste and make it blog worthy!  This recipe now gets 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.  With so many changes to the original recipe, I now call it my own!

I begin by putting some water in a Dutch oven over high heat to start boiling it to cook the pasta.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, I combine the Italian sausage, bell pepper and mushrooms.  I cook this mixture until the meat is browned and the vegetables are tender, breaking up the sausage as it cooks.

My first cooking teacher in Jr. High taught that if several dry spices are to be added to a dish, they should be combined in a small bowl first.  This way they are more easily distributed evenly in the dish.  I've always done this, plus I add it directly to the meat (once the fat is drained off) so the heat of the pan sears the spices to it.

Once combined, the spices get added to the meat mixture, stirring occasionally as it continues to cook.

Next in the pan goes the pepperoni.  I like to use the Hormel brand of pepperoni in the 3.5 oz. box and cut the pieces in half before peeling them apart and adding them to the pan.  I cut them in half so there aren't really big pieces of pepperoni in the dish, plus it doubles the number of pieces so there is likely to be pepperoni in each bite!

To this mixture I add the pizza sauce and diced tomatoes, mixing thoroughly and heating through for about 5 minutes.

Once the pasta is cooked according to the package directions, I drain it and add the meat mixture, stirring to combine.

Once I transfer it to a serving dish, the mozzarella cheese gets added to the top of the piping hot dish, which makes it melt perfectly.

This is an easy pasta dish, which is loaded with flavor.  Enjoy!

Liza’s Pizza Pasta Toss

3 ½ cups uncooked spiral pasta

1 pound Italian sausage

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 bell pepper, diced

1 (14 oz.) jar pizza sauce

1 (4.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes

3.5  ounces pepperoni slices, halved

4 ½ teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried minced onion

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, cook Italian sausage, mushrooms, and bell pepper in a Dutch oven over medium heat; drain.  Add the rest of the ingredients except cheese; cook and stir for 5 minutes.  Strain pasta; add to meat mixture, stir to mix thoroughly; heat through.  Sprinkle with cheese, remove from heat, cover until cheese is melted.

Toasty Deli Hoagie

There are two things that make this sandwich a bit different from the others I make.  One is that it has a nice crunch from the toasted bread and the other is that it has fresh guacamole on it.  I think the guacamole completes this sandwich and makes it special, but two of my guys disagree and choose to omit it.  Their loss!

I found this recipe in my April/May 2011 issue of Taste of Home.  This sandwich gets 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.

The original recipe called for French bread, but we all decided that was far too much bread, so I started building this sandwich on a long, thin baguette.  I cut the bread in half horizontally, then into individual serving sizes.  I find that cutting the baguette this way ensures all of the sandwich pieces fit on my baking sheet.

 

The baking sheet gets put into a preheated oven at 350° for 5 minutes to toast the bread a bit.  Do not expect the bread to brown like regular bread when toasting.  If the bread was in the oven long enough to get brown, it would probably be too hard to bite into!  I took this picture to show the pieces don't look much different from the one above, but when touched, I could tell they were toasted.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, I combined the mayonnaise and lemon juice.

To that, I added the minced garlic.

Once the bread was toasted, using a brush, I applied the mayonnaise/garlic mixture to the bottom half of each sandwich.  If you look closely at the picture above, you can see it on three of the pieces of bread.

Then the layering begins.  The first layer is smoked turkey.

That is followed by a layer of ham.

The next layer is Italian dry salami.

This is followed by yellow bell pepper rings.

Next is red onion rings.

The last layer is mozzarella cheese.  The baking sheet gets put back into the oven for 5 minutes to let the cheese melt.

While that's in the oven, I make a quick guacamole by mashing an avocado and adding some lime juice, garlic salt and a little prepared salsa.

When the sandwiches come out of the oven, the cheese is melted and the lids are a little more toasty.

I add the guacamole to the lid and place it on top of the sandwich.

The garlicy mayonnaise on the bottom piece of bread gives an added flavor to this sandwich, but I still think that the guacamole is what really makes this sandwich special.  Enjoy!

Toasty Deli Hoagies

1 loaf baguette bread

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 pound thinly sliced deli smoked turkey

1/2 pound thinky sliced deli ham

12 slices Italian dry salami

1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into rings

1 small red onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings

1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups guacamole

Cut bread in half lengthwise; place cut side up on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until toasted.  In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic, spread over bread bottom.  Layer with turkey, ham, salami, pepper, onion and cheese.  Bake for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.  Spread guacamole over bread top; place over cheese.

Kodiak Casserole

This is a casserole I've made for my family for years.  This recipe makes enough that I can freeze half of it for a later use.  I usually make it in the fall some time so if there is a need for a meal and I don't have time to cook, all I have to do is pull this one from the freezer.

I found this recipe on a flier included in my Taste of Home magazine many years ago.  My boys have always loved the flavor of this casserole, especially with the barbecue sauce and who doesn't love the melted cheese on top.  This hearty dish gets 8's and 9's on the Melnarik scale.

In a Dutch oven, I combine the ground beef with the chopped onions and bell peppers.  I cook this over high heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks and browns.

In the meantime, I slice the celery and add it to the pan along with the diced garlic, continuing to turn the mixture as it cooks and breaking up any large pieces of meat.  While that is cooking, I put some water in a large pot over high heat to bring it to a boil so I can cook the noodles (sorry, no picture).

Using a colander, I drain the meat mixture to remove all the grease.

I return the meat mixture to the pan and add the mushrooms, picante sauce, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce and tomato soup (sorry, I took the picture before adding the soup).  I stir these ingredients together to mix thoroughly, and let it come up to a boil.

Once it comes to a boil, I reduce the heat and let it simmer until the noodles are ready.

Once the noodles are cooked according to the package directions, I drain them and add them to the meat mixture.

Looking at this picture is making my mouth water!  At this point, it's ready to transfer to the baking dishes.  Unless you have a very large baking dish, it won't all fit in one.

I put about half in a 9- x 13-inch baking dish.  This was then put into the oven and baked at 350° for half an hour until hot and bubbly.

The other half I put in a foil pan to cool and then freeze.  Whenever I get a call saying a family is in need of a meal, if I don't have time to prepare something fresh, I know I have this dish tucked away in the freezer.  I only need to add a salad, rolls and a dessert to serve a complete meal!

When the dish we were eating right away came out of the oven, I topped it with a generous amount of cheese and put it back in the oven to let the cheese melt.

With the wonderful smell in the kitchen, my family dug into their dinner so quickly, I didn't even get to take a picture of it on a plate!  Enjoy!

Kodiak Casserole

2 pounds ground beef

4 cup diced onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 medium green bell peppers, diced

2 cups diced celery

1 can (4 oz.) mushroom stems and pieces, undrained

1 can (10 ¾ oz.) condensed tomato soup, undiluted

1 jar (8 oz.) picante sauce

1 bottle (18 oz.) barbecue sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 cups medium egg noodles, cooked and drained

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

In a Dutch oven, brown ground beef with onions, bell pepper and celery; drain.  Add remaining ingredients except noodles and cheese.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Add noodles, stirring to combine.  Transfer to baking dishes, cover and bake at 350° for ½ hour or until hot and bubbly.  Sprinkle with cheese; return to oven for 5 minutes to melt cheese.  

Snickers Caramel Apple Dessert

I know this dish doesn't look like much in the picture, but it's actually quite good.  Most people like to make recipes with pumpkin in the fall, but I also think of apples this time of year.  I've also always loved caramel apples, so that's why this dessert is a winner with me!

My friend, Lori Duncan, found this recipe on Pinterest and served it at a luncheon she held for a few of her friends.  It was originally called a salad, but I think it should be categorized as a dessert, so I changed the name.  It originated at chef-in-training.com.

Following the original recipe, in a large bowl, I combined the Cool Whip, dry pudding mix and milk using a whisk.  I think the Cool Whip got broken down a bit too much, so next time, I will combine the pudding mix with the milk first, then fold in the Cool Whip.

This is where a good, sharp knife is a necessity.  I cut the Snickers bars in half lengthwise, then cut the two pieces in thin slices.  This was a little more work than I expected it to be as a Snickers bar is quite dense.

I added the Snickers bar pieces to the pudding mixture and folded them together.

After washing the red apples, I cut them into pieces that were approximately the same size as the Snickers bars.  I think next time I will cut them a bit larger.

I added them to the mixture and folded them in to combine.

The original recipe called for apples, stating that the author had used red apples.  I followed Lori's suggestion and used three each of green and red apples to add a little tartness.  After cutting the green apples in the same manner, I folded them into the mix.

I transferred the dessert to a serving bowl and drizzled on the caramel topping.  When serving this dessert, I had some caramel sauce on the side for those who got the dessert from the bottom of the bowl where there was no caramel.  Enjoy!

Snickers Caramel Apple Dessert

6 regular size Snickers bars

6 apples (I used 3 red and 3 green)

1 (5 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding

1/2 cup milk

1 tub (12 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed

1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

In a large bowl, combine pudding and milk; fold in Cool Whip.  Cut Snickers bars in half lengthwise and then into small slices; add to pudding mix.  Core and cut apples into bite-size pieces; fold into pudding mix.  Drizzle with caramel.  

South of the Border Wraps

This is a great recipe to use when I have to feed my guys at several different times.  I can have all the elements ready to go and just have to build each wrap as needed.  There is no cooking involved, so this is a perfect thing to prepare on a hot day.

I found this recipe in a Quick Cooking magazine (renamed Simple & Delicious), but it didn't contain any kind of meat, so I altered it by adding chicken tossed in a Southwest seasoning mix.  This recipe gets all 8's on the Melnarik rating scale.  The recipe below makes enough for 3 wraps when using the soft taco size tortillas.  As a can of beans contains more than the 1/2 cup this recipe calls for, it's easy to double it to feed more people.  I usually prepare all of the beans in the can and make extra chicken so it's available for a quick sandwich. 

I put the beans, which have been rinsed and drained, in a shallow bowl.

Using a fork, I mash the beans into a thick paste.

To the beans, I add the salsa, cilantro, and green onions.

The salsa makes the mixture more spreadable.

To make this meal easier to prepare, I use the grilled chicken strips that are sold in most markets as well as the discount warehouse stores.  Any leftover chicken breast meat could also be used.  I cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes.  In a shallow bowl, I place the cooked and cubed chicken and add the Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning mix.  I don't know if there are other brands available out there, because I like this brand so much, I've never looked before.

I toss the chicken and the seasoning until all the pieces are coated.

After heating the tortillas in the microwave to make them pliable, I place about a third of the bean mixture down the center of one tortilla.

I top that with 1/3 of the chicken.

The chicken gets topped with a generous amount of the shredded cheese.

The whole thing gets wrapped up burrito style and it's ready to consume!

 This is a tasty and healthy sandwich that can be assembled quickly and easily.  Enjoy!

South of the Border Wraps

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons prepared salsa

1 tablespoon chopped green onions

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1 cup cooked, cubed chicken breast

2 tablespoons Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning Mix

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3 flour tortillas, soft taco size (about 9 inches)

In a bowl, mash beans.  Add salsa, onions and cilantro; mix to combine.  In a separate bowl, toss chicken with seasoning to coat.  Spread 1/3 bean mixture on tortilla, top with 1/3 chicken and 1/3 cheese.  Roll up burrito style.  Repeat with remaining ingredients.