Baked Penne Pasta

This is a recipe I saw over at Real Mom Kitchen. Hers is called Baked Ziti, but I had penne pasta on hand. She has lots of easy recipes that are family friendly.
I altered a couple things, but over all the recipe is her's. It satisfied Doug, Jonah and I  at the dinner table and me during the preparations!

1lb ground beef
1 cup onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced), I buy it in the jar already minced, so easy
1 (26 ounce) can meatless spaghetti sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
 3/4 of a (16 oz) package penne pasta (cooked and drained)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, shred your own, you'll love yourself for it
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, I didn't measure, just sprinkled what I thought it needed, probably not a full cup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet add ground beef, onions and garlic. Cook over medium high heat stirring frequently until the beef is browned.

Stir in spaghetti sauce, chicken broth and Italian seasoning. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of sauce into the cooked penne noodles.

Spoon ½ of the penne mixture into a 13×9” baking dish.

Sprinkle 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup  parmesan cheese over the top of the penne mixture.

Top with 2 cups of the sauce, then add remaining penne mixture and top that with the remaining sauce.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Source: Real Mom Kitchen

White Chicken Chili

1 can chicken broth
4 cans great northern beans, slightly drain
3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded OR 1 precooked 
rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 pkg chili seasoning mix, only use half if you want chili to be more mild
1 onion, chopped
olive oil

Saute onions in olive oil, till lightly browned.

Put all ingredients into crockpot. 

Cook on low heat for 5 hours.

I made this with 1/2 a package of seasoning as that is what the original recipe called for. In the future, I'll use the whole package to spice it up. Super easy, tasty and you can dress it up however you like to serve it. I offered Fritos, fresh grated cheddar and light sour cream. You could also serve it with cornbread or crackers. I think a few green onions would be good too.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

1 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375*.

Mix butter, sugar, brown sugar and egg with electric mixer until creamy.

Stir in flour, baking soda and salt, dough will be stiff.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Spray a 9 X 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Spread cookie dough in baking pan using a spatula and spread even.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Let cool, then cut into bars.

I haven't made these cookies in a while. I used to make them all the time when I was packing 15 lunches a week! The boys really like them in bars for a change and I can put them in the oven and forget them for a while, unlike regular chocolate chip cookies.