Easy Pasta Casserole

Perfect for the weeknight dinner!

Ingredients: 
1 lb. ground beef
1 t Garlic salt
Pepper to taste
16 oz penne
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
16 oz can tomato sauce
10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 T Italian seasoning
2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Set a pot of water on to boil.
3. Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Season with garlic salt and pepper.
4. When water comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta. Cook until al dente.
5. Drain grease off ground beef. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, soup, Italian seasoning, and 1/3 cup cheese. Heat over medium-low heat until simmering.
6. When noodles are done, drain and rinse. Pour them into a 9" x 13" baking dish.
7. Pour tomato sauce mixture over pasta. It will ooze down into the noodles. If the sauce doesn't ooze to your liking, stir things up a bit!
8. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
10. Let casserole stand 5-10 minutes before feeding your crew!

Bon appétit! 

Turtle Fudge Brownies

I've finally gotten my baking groove back….not to mention my blogging groove. Sorry that it's been over a year! What was I thinking?!

Anyway, I wanted to share my latest recipe find. So, you know all those great recipes that require caramels. Remember how most of your prep time is spent unwrapping those little boogers? Not anymore! Kraft has come out with Caramel Bits…already unwrapped little caramel drops. I couldn't resist--I had to buy them!

But what to make with them…..

So I looked on the back of the bag. Voila! A scrumptious brownie recipe!

Here ya go!!

Ingredients:
9 x 13 Family Size Brownie Mix
2 eggs
1/4 C water
2/3 C vegetable oil
1 bag of Kraft Caramel Bits
1/3 C whipping cream
1-2 C chopped pecans, divided (I only used 1 cup)

Step 1
Make brownie mix according to the directions on the box.

Step 2

Pour half the batter into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes at 350*.

Step 3

Meanwhile, microwave the Kraft Caramel Bits and whipping cream for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, or until caramel is completely melted. (It took my little microwave about 3 minutes.)

Step 4

Stir in 1/2 of your pre-chosen amount of pecans.

 

Looks yummy enough to eat!

Step 5

Pour and spread the caramel mixture over the baked layer of brownie.

                    

Step 6

Pour the remaining brownie batter over the caramel layer. (I didn't judge half so well, so my upper layer of brownie didn't quite cover the caramel.) Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake for about 20 minute more, until a toothpick comes out of the top layer of brownie mostly clean. Let it cool for a while then enjoy!

Let me know if you try out this recipe! I'll let you know how it is tomorrow. Made this for dinner with a friend. It might be rude to bust into it tonight….maybe.