Philly Cheesesteak Mac and Cheese = Sooo good

This recipe is amazing, but as you can tell by the ingredients it is NOT healthy...at all! It is great if you are looking for a comforting and delicious meal on a night when you feel like splurging. It's TOTALLY worth the extra calories! I cut this recipe in half and it made more than enough for 2 people. We even had leftovers, but they didn't last long because Dave loved this dish:) I found the recipe here on Krista's Kitchen. She says she adapted it from a Rachel Ray recipe.

Philly Cheesesteak Mac and Cheese (this is the FULL recipe, remember I cut mine in half)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cavatappi-shaped pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded provolone
1 cup shredded Swiss
1/2 cup broth (chicken, beef, vegetable)
1 pkg Steak Umms slices, roughly chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped (I opted not to put parsley on mine)

Preparation

• Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring it to a boil.
• Once the water boils, cook the cavatappi to al dente according to package directions. Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain it and return it to the pot it was cooked in.
• While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onions to the pan and top them with a lid or piece of aluminum foil for 2-3 minutes, just to get them cooking. Remove the lid or aluminum foil and continue cooking the onions until tender and lightly caramelized, 8-10 minutes.
• While the onions are caramelizing, melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium-size pot. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and cook the mixture for about 1 minute. Whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture slowly and bring up to a bubble to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the shredded cheese. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and reserve.
• To the skillet with the onions, add the broth and the Steak Umms. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
• Add the cheese sauce and the onion-beef mixture to the pot with the drained pasta and toss everything to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish. Top with additional cheese and parsley. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Pasta with Chicken and Olive Tomato Cream Sauce

I found this recipe on a blog I like to read that is all about eating healthy and exercising called Eat Live Run. It was very tasty! While I was cooking the sauce I was a bit leery of how it was going to turn out because I thought it smelled funny! But once Dave and I tasted it all concerns went out the window...it was great!! I'll definitely be making this again as a healthy alternative to pasta dishes with heavy cream sauces. Here is the link to the original recipe. The only thing I did differently was substitute another half can of chopped tomatoes for the chopped fresh tomatoes because the ones I purchased didn't look very good. I can't wait for tomato season!! I also used less pasta than it called for, I wanted more sauce and chicken and less noodles.

Pasta with Chicken and Olive Tomato Cream Sauce

Serves 4

3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into one inch cubes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 and 1/2 cans chopped tomatoes in juice

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced

1/2 red onion, sliced thin

1 cup white wine

1/4 cup cream

2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

sea salt and garlic salt to taste

6 oz whole wheat linguine (or whatever you prefer), cooked in boiling salted water

Directions

1. Season chicken with garlic salt, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Brown in saute pan with olive oil.

2. When browned, remove chicken and set aside. Add the can of chopped tomatoes, sliced garlic, olives and thinly sliced red onion to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes-10 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.

3. Add the white wine and simmer for another 5 minutes before adding the chicken back in.

4. Add the basil and the cream then toss with the hot, cooked pasta. Garnish with parmesan cheese!

And of course you MUST add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top because who doesn't love cheese!!:)

Gnocchi with Tomato Cream Sauce and Turkey Meatballs

My inspiration for this dish came from a variety of sources. I used Giada's Marinara Sauce Recipe, but made some additions, I used the meatball recipe (except with turkey) from Rachel Ray's Chicken Parm Meatball Subs and I used De Cecco freeze dried gnocchi. It turned out pretty yummy. The meatballs were a bit dry. I think it was either due to using 99% fat free turkey or baking them in the oven longer than instructed because I wanted them to be a little browner on top.

This was our Valentine's Day dinner so I decided to make it more decadent by adding some half and half to the marinara sauce. When the meatballs were finished baking in the oven I added them to the sauce. I boiled the Gnocchi for 2 minutes (it cooks really fast) and added it to the sauce and meatballs too! I think over all it was a success and I would make it again with only a few minor adjustments. I really loved the Marinara sauce! I have never made my own and only would ever use the jarred variety. I'm not sure why! Making Marinara sauce is really easy, you just need to have some time for it to sit on the stove, but I hear it freezes well so I'm looking forward to having the batch that I froze with some yummy pasta in the near future:) I think next time I make meatballs I'll just suck it up and use beef...I think that will solve my dryness problem.

Here are the recipes!

Turkey Meatballs

1 1/2 pounds ground Turkey

1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)

1 large egg

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

Handful of chopped parsley leaves

Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place turkey in a bowl and season with grill seasoning. Add egg, half of the grated cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, and a serious drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to the bowl. Mix meat together and roll into mini balls, 1 1/2 inches across, and arrange on a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degree F for 10 to 12 minutes or until firm and lightly golden

Giada’s Marinara Sauce (I actually froze half of it...it makes A LOT!)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

2 dried bay leaves

1/2 cup half and half

In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)