Creamy White and Artichoke Lasagna

I found this recipe on Pinterest here and made it for dinner last night. Greg loved it! I halfed the recipe for our little family and thought it was pretty good. Next time I'll probably make some lower fat substitutions such as neufchatel cream cheese and low fat milk.

This is for a 13x 9 pan. Half for a 9x9.

Ingredients
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (I cook a boneless chicken breast on low on the stovetop with salt/pepper and achicken bullion cube)
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA, divided
1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil, chopped, divided
12 lasagna noodles, cooked (Tinkyada has a great gluten free lasagna noodle)

Directions
HEAT oven to 350°F.

COMBINE chicken, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and tomatoes. Beat cream cheese, milk and garlic powder with mixer until well blended; stir in 2 Tbsp. basil. Mix half with the chicken mixture.

SPREAD half the remaining cream cheese mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with 3 noodles and 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice. Top with remaining noodles, cream cheese mixture and mozzarella; cover.

BAKE 25 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining basil. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

Serve with garlic bread and salad. Yum!

Shredded Chicken Tacos

Every once in a while I try a new recipe that is a hit. Well, tonight was such a night and I made shredded chicken taco's and everyone had seconds! Here is the recipe (well I didn't really measure anything) that I used for the chicken and I don't want to forget!

To feed 4:

Put in crockpot:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 to 3/4 Pace Picante Mild Salsa (or whatever brand you like)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 Chili Powder
2 cloves garlic (I used minced garlic and put in about a tsp)

Cook on high for 4 hours and reduce to low for a hour. Then I worried the chicken would dry out so I put it on warm till we had dinner.

The chicken was great! I fried some corn tortilla's in olive oil and served the taco's with sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. Avacado or guacamole would have been good but I didn't have it on hand.

As a side dish I warmed up some refried beans in the oven that had been mixed with a few TBS of mayo and topped with pepper jack cheese. So yummy!

Taco Pasta

Every once in a while I come across a recipe that is a really winner in our family...especially when it meets our gluten-free criteria! Tonight we had a recipe that I saw on a friends blog and we will definitely be adding it to our meal rotation. It's a great quick meal using items that I always have on hand. Perfect!

Here it is....

Taco Pasta
from: Fake Ginger

1 pound Lean Ground Beef
8-12 ounces small Pasta shells ( I used Elbow)
1 small Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 (14 oz) can Diced Tomatoes, drained
4 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
3 ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook ground beef and chopped onion over medium-high heat. Cook until beef is no longer pink. (Drain any grease) Then add minced garlic, cook and stir for 30 seconds. Stir in can of diced tomatoes and taco seasoning. Let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and 1/2 cup pasta water. Cook and stir until cream cheese has melted and sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat for another 5 minutes, or until sauce has reduced a bit.

I thought about omitting the dairy to make it a little lower in fat but I'm so glad I didn't. Yum! Dylan wasn't able to eat it with the dairy, but was happy with the noodles and the meat sauce (pre-sour cream and cream cheese).