Lightened Up, Kicked up Baked Pasta

If you're like me, a simple pasta dish is always a great meal to have on deck for those busy week nights. But all too often for me, I have hopes of something being delicious and it falls short of my expectations. I adapted this recipe from one I saw on a recipe site that I frequent...a lot. It's probably considered stalking at this point lol. But it looked delicious and easy and I just needed to give it a try. From start to finish this dish took about 35-45 minutes (and most of that time was in the oven

The verdict: IT WAS AWESOME!!! It simply was awesome. And even better for leftovers the next day. And since its lightened up, you won't find yourself having to run 121 miles to burn it off. I hope you enjoy!!

Lightened Up, Kicked up Baked Pasta

 

1/4 C. Parmesan Cheese

8 oz. Fat Free Ricotta

8 oz Part Skim shredded Mozzarella Cheese

13 oz Hot Italian Sausage, casings removed

Box of high fiber Penne Pasta

Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

6-8 Cups fresh Kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper

1 1/2 jars of your favorite Marinara Sauce

1) Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees. Using your Misto (or favorite cooking spray), spray a glass casserole dish

2) Cook your noodles according to package directions, but remove 4 minutes before they would be Al Dente

3) In a medium bowl, combine together the Ricotta and half the mozzarella cheese and half of the parmesan cheese.

4) While your noodles are cooking, heat a deep skillet on medium high heat. Add the sausage and break up into rough pieces until it is cooked. Remove from pan and set aside. Using a little bit of the grease from the sausage, sauté the garlic for a minute or two. Add in the kale, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 8 minutes. If you use spinach you will only need to cook it for a minute or two. Add the sausage back into the pan and add the marinara sauce. Cook on low for about 5 minutes to incorporate all of these wonderful flavors.

5) Once the noodles are done, drain them and place half of them in the glass casserole dish. Use a little less than half of your sauce mixture and coat the noodles then top them with the ricotta mixture. Then add in the remainder of the noodles and use the rest of the sauce to coat those. Top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese that you set aside and cover with aluminum foil.

6) Bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 8-10 minutes to melt the cheese.

When I serve this, I garnish it with a little bit more parmesan cheese and some red pepper flakes.



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Bella's Perfectly Chocolate Cupcake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

It's all in the name!!

My amazing and wonderfully smart daughter turns 4 tomorrow! And a few days ago I asked her what kind of cupcakes she would like me to make for her birthday party. I thought that she would give me a shoulder shrug, say "a good one",  or just stare at me like they do in cartoons when they are waiting for the children to answer a question. To my surprise, my little girl tugged at my heart strings and said "CHOCOLATE MOMMA". In her really dainty but excited voice and with a smile that went from ear to ear. Well....in our house on Bella's birthday, if she wants a chocolate cupcake she's going to get one hell of a chocolate cupcake!!!

But...in true fashion, I needed a test run on the recipe. After all, I can't be posting about delicious cupcakes when I've not tried them and I certainly needed some extra practice on my piping skills (don't let the picture fool you, I still have a loonnnnngggg way to go before a perfectly frosted cupcake comes natural to me). And my mom and my nephew joined us for dinner last night so I just knew I had the right crowd to try them out on.

Please don't let the lengthy list of ingredients scare you away. I promise you that these are all ingredients you should have on hand and the few extra steps result in a much better cupcake than a boxed cake mix can deliver.
The frosting is also very much worth a little extra time too.

The verdict: Well...you be the judge. Last night I gave Bella, Landon, Shawn and my Mom their cupcakes and set mine down on the little table the kids were sitting at. In the time that it took me to walk 10 steps into the kitchen, pour myself a glass of milk, then make the 10 step trek back to the living room, both kids had not only devoured their own cupcakes, but they split mine in half and shoved it in their mouths. How could I be upset when I'm looking at the faces of a 3 and 4 year old with lips covered in frosting and them laughing and smiling at me? You just can't. Good thing I had more in the kitchen or those kids would have had another thing coming LOL.

I hope you enjoy this easy yet so so delicious recipe. And fittingly, I'm naming it after my daughter since she is the reason that I made them!!

Bella's Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

Cake:                                                               

1/2 c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 c. HOT water
1 c. Buttermilk
2 c. White Sugar
2  Eggs
1/2 c. Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 tsp. Pure Vanilla
2 1/2 c. All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

1/2 c. Heavy Cream

Directions:
1) In a medium size bowl, combine the Cocoa Powder and hot water and whisk until the coca powder is completely dissolved.

2) Slowly add in the buttermilk to the cocoa powder mixture to cool it down, then add in the white sugar and whisk until its well combined.

3) Next, add in the egg and vanilla and continue to mix.

4) Combine together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, powder, soda and salt) in a small bowl then slowly add it to the chocolate mixture until there are no lumps.

5) Stir in the heavy cream until it is mixed in.

6) Pour into lined cupcake or mini cupcake tins and bake on 350*F for 18-22 minutes. Be sure to pull them out just before an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow these to come to room temperature and for best results, allow them to chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes after coming to room temp.

Salted Caramel Buttercream
1/4 c. White Sugar

2 T. Water

1/4 c. Heavy Cream

1 tsp. Pure Vanilla

1/2 c. Butter, softened

1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

1 package Dream Whip

3 C. Powdered Sugar

1) To make your own caramel sauce - combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir. Over medium high heat, bring this to a boil and allow it to cook UNSTIRRED until the mixture becomes a deep amber color (about 10 minutes).

2) Remove from the heat, allow to cool off for a few minutes, then slowly add in the heavy cream and vanilla. You must do this slowly because adding it all at once will shock the hot sugar mixture and clump it up. Stir until the sauce is velvety smooth. Let the caramel cool off (about 20 minutes) until its barely warm but still pourable.

**if you prefer to use prepared caramel sauce, use just under half a cup of it**
3) Cream butter and salt until it is fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add dry dream whip packet. Next beat in the powdered sugar until the mixture is well combined. Add the caramel and continue to beat on medium, scrapping the sides as needed. You want it to be a light and fluffy consistency that is firm. If it is too runny its probably because the caramel was too warm. Just chill the frosting for a little longer or add a little more powdered sugar. The cupcakes should be cooled off before frosting.

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