Hearty Christmas Pasta

My dad and I created this recipe together when I was home for a few days leading up to Christmas. I call it Christmas pasta because it is red and green. It is very filling and delicious, and has some unexpected ingredients that most people (myself included) don't tend to think of as going with pasta (such as the carrots), but worked very well. This could be made healthier by using lean ground beef and turkey sausage, but since it includes so many veggies already it isn't too bad. Since we made this up by tasting as we went along, I am going to try my best to recall this exactly how we did it, but I didn't take any exact measurements so keep that in mind.



Hearty Christmas Pasta
A Kelsey and Jeff original

1 box farfalle pasta, cooked
1/2 lb. ground beef
2 links italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 - 1 whole onion, chopped
3-4 cloves minced garlic1 1/2 green peppers, in a large dice
2 handfuls baby carrots
4-5 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste and 1 can of water
2 teaspoons Dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
Handful fresh basil leaves
Handful cherry tomato halves

Brown ground beef and sausage in a large skillet. Remove from pan and add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes then add the green peppers, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes or so until starting to soften, then add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and seasonings. Add browned meat back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is reduced to the consistency you want. Make sure to taste the sauce as you go and adjust seasonings. Remove from heat, stir in basil and cherry tomatoes, and serve over the farfalle.

Lasagna Rollups

Kevin loves lasagna. But since there are just the 2 of us, I don't like to make a whole pan because we would have so much left over. Then I found this recipe for lasagna rollups, decided to try them, and now I think he likes these even better than regular lasagna! These are a regular dinner item in our house, and I probably make them once every 3 weeks or so. I make mine with the spinach, but Kevin doesn't like it so I make his with just the meat and cheese.

Beef and Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups
Source: Pillsbury.com
Ingredients:

1/4	lb extra lean ground beef
3	tablespoons chopped onion
1	jar (14-oz.) tomato pasta sauce
1	egg white
1/2	cup ricotta cheese
2	tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1	teaspoon dried oregano leaves
3/4	cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3 oz)
4	(8x2 1/2-inch) frozen precooked lasagna noodles, thawed (I use cooked dry noodles)
1	cup fresh baby spinach leaves, washed, stems removed

Directions:

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. In 8-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently; drain. Stir in 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce. Remove from heat.
2.	In bottom of ungreased 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish, spread 3 tablespoons of the remaining pasta sauce. In medium bowl, beat egg white. Stir in ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, oregano and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
3.	Spread 1/4 each of ricotta mixture, spinach leaves and beef mixture over each lasagna noodle. Starting with short side, gently and loosely roll each noodle; place seam side down over sauce in baking dish. Top roll-ups with remaining sauce. Cover with foil.
4.	Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Remove foil; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 2 to 4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

One note: don't use fat free mozzarella like I did (it was all I had), or you will not get the nice gooey melted cheese on top. It will look like the picture above, and it is ok, but gooey cheese is way better.