This recipe tastes like lasagna, but not anywhere near the work. Gabrielle even likes this and stirs it together to make "pink sauce"- It is from Better Homes & Gardens (iphone app, but also on their website). You can add as more ravioli if you want - I use frozen mini cheese ravioli.

Ravioli Skillet Lasagna

Makes: 4 servings

Start to Finish: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups purchased pasta sauce (or just use 1 jar)
• 1/3 cup water (I put the water in the sauce jar and shake it, then pour it out to get all the sauce)
• 1 9 ounce package refrigerated or frozen cheese- or meat-filled ravioli
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 115 ounce carton ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• Grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a 10-inch skillet combine pasta sauce and the water. Bring to boiling; stir in ravioli. Reduce heat. Cook, covered, over medium heat about 5 minutes or until ravioli are nearly tender, stirring once to prevent sticking.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together egg, ricotta cheese, and the 1/4 cup Romano cheese. I add in about a teaspoon of kosher salt to this mixture. Top ravioli with spinach. Spoon ricotta mixture on top of spinach. Cook, covered, over low heat about 10 minutes or until ricotta layer is set and ravioli are tender. Sprinkle each serving with additional Romano cheese. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

Philadelphia Oreo Cheesecake

I made this for a special treat for our Oscar watching party. It was yummy! We baked it in the 9x13 pan and cut it into squares.

1 pkg. (15.5 oz.) OREO Cookies, divided

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

4 eggs

Make It

HEAT oven to 325ºF.
LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Process 30 cookies in food processor until finely ground. Add butter; mix well. Press onto bottom of pan.
BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Chop remaining cookies; stir 1-1/2 cups into batter. Pour over crust; top with remaining chopped cookies.
BAKE 45 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Substitute

Prepare using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese.

How to Bake in Springform Pan

Substitute 9-inch springform pan for the 13x9-inch pan. Do not line pan with foil. Prepare cheesecake as directed, increasing the baking time to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Run small knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool completely. Remove rim. Refrigerate as directed. (Note: If using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan, reduce oven temperature to 300°F.)

Best Brownies

The girls have been making these brownies for a while now. They are chewy and tasty. They don't wait for them to cool and just pour the frosting right on- I really don't think it matters! The recipe comes from the Hershey website.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING (recipe follows)

Directions

1. 1 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
   
2. 2 Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
   
3. 3 Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Prepare CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING; spread over brownies. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies.
   
   
   CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING
   
   3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
   3 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
   1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey
   1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
   1 cup powdered sugar
   1 to 2 tablespoons milk
   
   Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla in small bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar and milk;
   beat to spreading consistency. About 1 cup frosting.

Crockpot Chicken Tacos (With leftovers for Tortilla Soup)

This is the easiest way that I know to do flavorful shredded chicken for tacos, enchiladas, nachos, and quesadillas. You can drain the liquid off for serving to picky children!
Ingredients:
1 envelope taco seasoning
6 boneless frozen chicken breasts
1 16oz jar of salsa (I like to use Pace Salsa Verde)


Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.
For tacos, serve the chicken with soft flour tortillas, lettuce, shredded cheese and sour cream. This is very versatile and can be used for enchiladas, nachos, tostadas, etc. Any leftover chicken can then be used for tortilla soup (make it the next day or freeze the chicken to use at a later time). It is fun to put the ingredients for the soup in a basket and take it as a "soup kit" to give to a friend.

Tortilla Soup Ingredients:
approximately 1 cup of leftover chicken taco meat
1 32. oz box of chicken broth
1 can of Milder Ro-Tel (tomatoes with chilies)
1 can of corn
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
Dump everything in a pot and simmer for about 30 minutes. Garnish with crumbled tortilla chips and shredded cheese (Mexican blend).

Ham-and-Bean Soup

Making this recipe was a real victory for me! Jared loved it and that was my main goal. I had a leftover ham bone from a Honeybake Ham from our dinner group the week before. For super bowl weekend I made 5 different kinds of soups ("souper bowl") and had a bunch of people for dinner. I made this one and it was a big hit. I ended up simmering it longer, because I needed it to- then put it in the crock pot on warm to serve. You can freeze a ham bone and leftover ham until you are ready to make the soup. It is great to serve this with corn bread of corn muffins.

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) package dried great Northern beans
• 3 cups chopped cooked ham
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ham bone
• 2 (32-ounce) containers chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Preparation

Sort and wash beans. Place beans in a 6-quart Dutch oven; add water 2 inches above beans, and soak 8 hours. Drain.
Sauté ham, onion, and garlic in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
Add beans, ham bone, chicken broth, and red pepper. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender and soup has thickened.