A close-up view of a dish featuring cooked chicken pieces in a thick, dark sauce, presented on a white plate.

Recipes for pre-holiday home cooking


By Paula Dream (AKA Kale Haygood)

I’ve already said it many times. Can you believe we are already in the holiday season? Paula’s gonna have to do overtime on her most profitable corner to pay for the holidays.

Because the holidays are nearing, I decided to give you traditional, everyday recipes instead of holiday cooking. In this issue, pasta is our specialty and the dessert that is the easiest you will ever make.

See you next issue, and don’t forget our advertisers!

STUFFED CHEESEBURGER PASTA SHELLS

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup ketchup

3 cups grated cheese, divided

18 large pasta shells (16 ounce box)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add oil to large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook until translucent, about five minutes. Meanwhile, start heating a large pot of water to cook pasta. Add ground beef to skillet and cook, breaking up meat as it cooks until meat is done and broken up finely. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in ketchup and 1-1/2 cups cheese at very end of cooking. Remove from heat. Cook shells according to package until they are al dente. Be careful not to overcook or they will fall apart. Drain shells and let cool. (Tip: Cook a few extra shells in case some fall apart during construction.) Working one at a time, stuff each shell with a heaping spoonful of meat mixture and place in a large baking dish. Repeat until all shells are filled. Add 1-1/2 cups of water to baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake shells for 15 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle a little ketchup over top of shells.

MEXICAN CHICKEN PASTA CASSEROLE

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, finely diced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 pinch freshly ground pepper

1/2 large red bell pepper, diced

1 cup frozen corn

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1 pound bow tie pasta

2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup blue tortilla chips

1/4 cup cilantro for garnish

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté until browned all over. Toss in the chili powder, cumin, garlic salt and pepper. Sauté another minute. Add corn and bell pepper to pan. Toss and combine. Add soup and milk, stir and combine. Boil the pasta until it reaches al dente. Drain and add to chicken, toss and coat.

Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Tuck the chips here and there and bake another 20 minutes until browned and bubbly. Garnish with cilantro.

TRIPLE BERRY CREAM CHEESE COBBLER DUMP

2 cups frozen blackberries

2 cups frozen blueberries

2 cups frozen raspberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 package cream cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 box yellow cake mix (super moist)

3/4 cup melted butter

2 tablespoon powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, coat berries with granulated sugar. Spread berries evenly in bottom of 13″ x 9″ baking dish. Top evenly with cream cheese cubes, then sprinkle cake mix evenly over mixture. Pour melted butter evenly over top of cake mix.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly. Cool 10 minutes, then sprinkle powdered sugar evenly over top.

Paula Dream (AKA Kale Haygood) owns Beyond Service, a Montrose-based, home-cooking catering company. For more information, call 713-805-4106 or email barrykale@yahoo.com.

 

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