Vegetable Tortellini Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil
5 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
8-9 oz. tortellini
2-3 Tbsp. Chopped parsley
1 med. onion, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 c. canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Heat olive oil, add onion, zucchini, and carrot. Saute for 8-10 minutes. Add the stock, basil, bay leaf, tomato, and salt. Bring mixture to a boil. Add to tortellini. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 or 6 minutes. Stir in parsley and pepper just before serving. Makes 6-8 servings. This recipe is from Ruth.

Italian Creamy Chicken

Italian Creamy Chicken
4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 package of dry Italian seasoning

Serve over egg noodles

In a crock pot layer chicken breasts. Throw the rest in and and cook on low for 5 hours. Remove chicken; shred and mix with sauce in crock pot. Pour over egg noodles. This recipe if from CheyAnne.

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff
1 package of lipton onion soup
Stew beef (you can use a different cut of meat; my husband thinks stew meat is chewy)
1 pint of sour cream
2 cans cream of mushroom
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
egg noodles

Sear the cut up meat on the outside. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. then mix in meat. Add to crock pot and cook on low for 7 or 8 hours. Serve over egg noodles. This recipe might need to be tweaked a little but this is what you can start with. I got this recipe in California.

3-Cheese Vegetable Lasagna (no meat involved)

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
1 (28 oz.) can tomatoes, tomato puree
1 (14.5 oz.) can tomatoes, un drained and chopped
2 cups (6 oz.) sliced fresh mushrooms
1 zucchini, diced
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp. basil, crushed
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. oregano, crushed
2 cups (15 oz.) Sargento light Ricotta cheese
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 egg whites
2 Tbsp. Sargento Fancy Supreme shredded Parmesan Cheese (I use regular)
1/2 pound Lasagna noodles, cooked
3/4 cup (3 oz.) mozzarella (divided)
3/4 cup mild cheddar cheese (divided)
*You can use generic ingredients. This recipe is from, Favorite Brand Name BEST LOVED RECIPES of all time (so they work with brand name ingredients.)

Spray skillet with nonstick vegetable spray. Add onion, garlic and olive oil; cook over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally. Add tomato puree, tomatoes, tomato liquid, mushrooms, zucchini, bell pepper, basil, salt, sugar, pepper flakes and oregano. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Combine Ricotta cheese, spinach, egg whites and Parmesan cheese; mix well. Spread 1 cup sauce in bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish. Layer 3 lasagna noodles over sauce. Top with half of ricotta cheese mixture and 2 cups sauce. Combine mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese mixture over sauce. Top with remaining lasagna noodles and sauce. Cover with foil; bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese mixture. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. This is sooo yummy, we love it.

Olive Garden's Alfrado Pasta

1/2 cup butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups heavy cream

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

pinch of salt

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 (12 oz.) box of fettuccine pasta

or pasta of your choice.

Cook the noodles and drain. Throw the rest of the ingredients into a sauce pan and cook. Don't crank heat too high when simmering, it could make the sauce soupy. You can add sliced chicken and some broccoli partially cooked.

Chicken and Egg Noodles

1 (26 oz) can of spaghetti sauce
6 Tbsp. parmesean cheese
1 1/2 cups of motserella cheese
2 cooked and cubed chicken breasts

Mix cubed cooked chicken with spaghetti sauce and parmesean cheese. Bake covered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Add shredded cheese. Bake for 5 more minutes uncovered.
This recipe is from my sister in-law CheyAnne

Stuffed shells

Not the best picture, I had to check the middle to see it was cooked all the way through (since it has eggs in it).

18 jumbo pasta shells
3/4 lb ground beef or italian sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 eggs
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 can (26 oz) spaghetti sauce

Cook pasta according to package directions, just until tender; drain. Brown beef or sausage, onion and garlic in skillet; drain. Mix rest of ingredients together, except spaghetti sauce. Stuff shells, set aside. Pour half of sauce into slow cooker. Arrange stuffed shells in sauce. Top with other half of sauce. Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours.
This recipe is from 365 days of crockpot blog site, by Karen Peterson a neighbor down the road.
I usually don't get it into the crockpot in time to have it done by dinner so I adjusted the recipe for it to cook in a 9 by 13 pan and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. I can usually fit up to 30 shells in one 9 by 13.