Category: Cait’s Cafe

I always go into the week with healthy meals planned out but by the end of the week I’m usually craving something carb filled – insert my homemade chicken alfredo pizza. Full disclosure, I do not make my own pizza dough but in this house anything made in the oven or stove top is considered homemade.  🙂

Ingredients
1 Can Pillsbury Pizza Crust
1 Jar of Your Favorite Alfredo Sauce
1 Cup Cooked & Shredded Chicken
3 Slices Bacon Cut into 1-inch Pieces & Fried
Handful of Spinach
1-2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese (or enough to cover the entire pizza)
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Dried Chopped Onion
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Let’s Bake
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and pre-bake crust according to package
2. In a skillet, fry bacon until well done
3. Add chicken, garlic, onions, and Italian seasoning to skillet (don’t skip this step- frying all these ingredients together helps marry the flavors).
4. Once crust is pre-baked, spoon alfredo sauce onto crust until desired amount is reached
5. Spoon skillet mix on top of alfredo, then add red pepper flakes & spinach
6. Now add the cheese – go crazy and smoother that pizza with yummy mozzarella
7. Bake according to package or until edges are brown & cheese is bubbly
8. Enjoy!

We love pancakes in this house.  I usually make the easy – add water – boxed pancakes because well, they are easy.  But I was browsing @dianemorrisey Instagram page and started drooling when I saw her sheet pan chocolate chip pancake recipe.  I knew I had to try it!  Below is her recipe; I cut the recipe in half to accommodate my small family.  If you love fluffy pancakes, this is going to be your jam.  And it’s so flippin’ easy because there is no flippin’ of pancakes involved.

Ingredients
8 Tbsp. Cold Butter – Cut into 1/2 Inch Cubes
1.5 Cups Cold Buttermilk
1 .5 Cups Cold Milk
3 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 Tsp. Salt
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
Syrup

Let’s Bake
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Spray 13×18 pan & line with parchment paper
3. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, & baking powder. Then sprinkle butter in until well blended.
4. Pour mixture from food processor to a large mixing bowl
5. Stir in buttermilk and milk to mixing bowl
6. Let batter sit for at least 5 minutes
7. While batter sits, put pan in oven to heat for a few minutes then add a few cubed butters to pan. Once melted, swish around pan to coat the bottom.
8. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until batter is golden
10. Serve, pour maple syrup on top, and DEVOUR!

After having my son, I couldn’t taste anything. Everything tasted SO bland. So I started craving spicy food AND the Buffalo chicken pasta bake was born.  This dish packs some heat so if you prefer less heat, cut down the amount of Frank’s Buffalo hot sauce you add.

Ingredients
1 Box Ziti Pasta (Any pasta will do, this is just what I had on hand)
1/2 Cup Franks Hot Sauce
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 8oz Package Cream Cheese
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1.5 Cups Shredded Rotisserie Chicken
4oz Shredded Cheese (Your choice)
Optional: Ranch dressing

 

Let’s Cook
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cook pasta according to package, drain, set aside
3. In a large skillet, add cream cheese, buffalo sauce, & chicken broth. Over medium heat, stir together until cream cheese is well blended. Then add in garlic powder.
4. Fold in shredded chicken & pasta.
5. Transfer buff chicken pasta to a baking dish, top with cheese, and bake for 30 minutes (or until bubbly).
Optional: Before Serving, drizzle ranch dressing on top of dish.
6. ENJOY!

If you are looking for a rich & hearty meal, look no further.  This baked tortellini with meat sauce is so dang good.  And while this meal tastes amazing, it’s also super easy to whip up.  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients

1 9oz Package Buitoni Three Cheese Tortellini
4oz Cream Cheese
8oz Jimmy Dean Regular Sausage (1/2 a Roll)
1/2 Jar of Traditional Pasta Sauce
1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
2 Cloves Garlic
4oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Let’s Cook!

1. Cook pasta according to package, drain, & set aside

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees & grease an 8×8 baking dish

3. In a large skillet, brown sausage with seasoning & garlic. Once cooked through, add in pasta sauce & cream cheese. Mix together until consistency is smooth.

4. Gently fold in the cooked tortellini. Once tortellini is covered in sauce, transfer to baking dish.

5. Sprinkle top with mozzerela cheese & bake for 20-30 minutes or bubbly.

6. Enjoy!

My husband loves mac & cheese and I love Mexican food.  Here is a random dish that I came up with that actually turned out as a crowd pleaser!  I love to add lots of spice to mine but you can easily tone the heat down by not adding red pepper flakes & using a mild taco seasoning.

Ingredients

2 Cups Small Pasta Shells
1 Pound Ground Beef
2 Cups Beef Stock
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Can Diced or Chopped Tomatoes
2 Cups Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Small Yellow Onion, diced
1-2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1/2 Package Spicy Taco Seasoning
2 Tsp Mexican Chili Powder
2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
Salt & Pepper to taste

Let’s Cook!

1. In large pot, cook pasta according to package.
2. In large skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onion & garlic for 1-2 minutes, then add ground beef.
3. As you are browning the beef, add in taco seasoning, Mexican chili powder, and red pepper flakes (this helps season the meat and cook down the spices). Drain excess fat from beef mixture and set aside.
4. In same skillet, whisk in flour until lightly browned.
5. Whisk in beef broth & diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened.
5. Mix in pasta, beef mixture, and heavy cream until heated through. Then mix in cheese.
6. Add salt & pepper to taste and enjoy!

**To save time, I have made this dish super dumbed down as well. While it’s not AS good, it’s still pretty amazing. Follow steps 1 & 2. Once you’ve browned the beef & spices, add in the canned tomatoes (do not drain); let simmer. Add the pasta to your skillet. Add 1/2 stick of butter and cheese to your skillet and mix together. Again, this is the easy version and while it’s good, it can turn out a bit dry. If you have the time, stick with the original recipe. 🙂