Pizza Pasta

We have a lot of fun making this meal, assembly line style. Each child gets to be in charge of one item. This is a favorite meal at our house.

1 large jar pasta sauce (2 lbs. 13 oz. size)
1 cup water
4 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbs. Italian seasoning
2 lbs. wide egg noodles
8 oz. pepperoni slices

Cook the egg noodles for 3 minutes, until just barely tender. No longer!
Combine the sauce with the water. In another bowl, combine cheese, onion, and Italian seasoning. Layer in the crock-pot: 1/4 of each item in the following order:
noodles, sauce, pepperoni, cheese

Cover and cook on LOW 3-4 hours. *Serve with garlic breadsticks.

Italian Sausage & Bean Soup

2 cups dry Great Northern beans
1- 14 oz. can Italian style tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup dry red wine
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 bag frozen spinach
2-3 large squash, sliced & quartered
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Cover beans with water and cook on HIGH 1 hour. Drain and add remaining ingredients to crock-pot. Cook on LOW 8-10 hours. *Serve with rosemary bread.

Thai Rice Bowl

2 Tbs. Olive oil
1 lb. chicken, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. Thai fish sauce
2 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
2 cuts jasmine rice
2 cups baby shrimp, optional
4 scallions, chopped
20 leaves fresh basil, rolled & sliced
fresh pepper to taste

Cook on LOW 4 hours. Watch closely. Serve with fortune cookies.

This recipe has been crock-pot converted from: