Pasta Bake

One of the nice things about my pantry is that I almost always have pasta on hand.  So for me an easy and quick weeknight dinner is to cook up some pasta and then throw in whatever I happen to have on hand.  So here is a quick run down of some of the combinations that I use to add to a box of pasta.  The directions are pretty simple:

Cook pasta al dente
Add additions (be sure to cook veggies before adding to the pasta or they may not cook completely while baking)
Place in greased baking dish
Put shredded cheese over top
Bake 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees

Favorite Addition Combinations:

1. Jar of red sauce, half a bag of frozen spinach, mini turkey pepperoni, chopped eggplant (already cooked)
2. Can of diced tomatoes w/ juice and can tomato paste, Italian seasoning, cooked mushrooms, half a bag of frozen spinach and ricotta cheese layered in the middle of two layers of pasta with tomatoes
3. Jar of red sauce and block of cream cheese mixed together, fresh spinach, chopped chicken breast
4. Jar of alfredo sauce, parmesean cheese, asparagus (cooked), drained diced tomatoes
5. Parmesean cheese, butter, italian seasoning, asparagus (cooked)

My only warning is this...the more you add, the bigger it gets, so be careful or you may end up with more than you anticipated!

Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

So I had some leftover chocolate icing, mini tart shells and cool whip and not being one to waste leftovers a fabulous idea came to me...couldn't I just make tarts out of these and wouldn't they taste just like a chocolate cream pie??? Low and behold...it worked!  These tasted amazing... so good and easy in fact that I ate every last one!  Here is another easy semi-homemade actually more like mostly-store-bought-just-put-it-together recipe.

Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

1 pie crust
1 can chocolate frosting
1 tub whipped topping or whipped cream

Unroll pie crust and using a small biscuit cookie cutter, cut out rounds of dough.  You want to basically cover the bottom and barely the sides for the cups of a small muffin tin.  Press dough into the bottom of the muffin cups and prick with a fork a few times so they do not puff up.
Bake about 10-15 minutes and let cool.
Melt frosting in the microwave so that it is easy to stir.
Drop frosting by the 1/2 teaspoon full to fill the cooled tart shells.
Place a large dollop of whipped topping on the chocolate after it cools.

This recipe will probably make about 24 cups with extra frosting and cream.

These things are delicious and super easy to make... people will think you went to a lot of trouble to make those little pies...muahahaha!