I enjoy cooking, but sometimes I want something quick and easy and this definitely qualifies. It’s simple, but it really hits the spot for a pizza craving, and the way I make it, it’s a lot healthier too. It’s delicious as it is, but if you’re not very health conscious, you could certainly use higher-fat ingredients. I don’t think you need to, though.

Bubble Up Pizza Casserole

• 1 pound 96% lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped (I skipped the onion)
• 16 oz. low-fat pizza sauce
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 17 slices Turkey Pepperoni
• 15 oz. refrigerated breadsticks or biscuit dough
• 2 c. part skim milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Veggie Toppings (feel free to add any vegetables you’d put on pizza: mushrooms, olives, whatever. I personally skip the veggies on my pizza, so I skipped them here too)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In skillet, brown beef and pepperoni over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain beef and return to skillet. Stir in onion, tomato sauce, Pizza sauce, basil, garlic and Italian seasoning.

2. Add veggies, if using. Add quartered biscuits; stir gently until biscuits are covered with sauce. Spoon mixture into a 9×13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until biscuits are done. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: I’ve made this one before, and I’m sure I’ll make it again. I like it better with breadstick dough than with the biscuit dough, but it was good both ways. The directions may sound strange, but the dough pieces puff up from inside the dish to take the place of pizza crust. It’s really good.

Throughout my tenure as a server at the Olive Garden, I had what seems like millions of breadsticks and at least 100,000 bowls of soup. This soup at the OG is a lot like chili, but with an Italian twist. This recipe recreates it pretty well, with a few punched up ingredients.

Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
Serves 8

• 1 lb. 93% lean ground beef
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks (about 1 cup)  (I buy pre-shredded carrots)
• 3 ribs celery, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained (I used San Marzanos this time, and they were amazing)
• 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 ½ cups vegetable juice (I used V8)
• 15-oz. can red kidney beans, undrained
• 15-oz. can great northern beans, undrained
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ½ tsp. dried thyme
• 4 oz. (1 cup) uncooked ditalini pasta (I used small shells)
• freshly grated parmesan and croutons or garlic toast for garnish

Brown the ground beef, in a stock pot, stirring to break it up until no longer pink and cooked through; drain off any drippings.

Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery to the pot; cook, stirring, 5 to 6 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Add remaining ingredients (except pasta); reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. When there are just 10 minutes of cooking time left, prepare the pasta as package directs for al dente noodles; drain.

Add pasta to soup and simmer for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Last night, while trying to scrounge up a dinner based on ingredients on hand, I remembered a recipe for chicken tenders that I had seen on the Food Network, and thought I would try it.

The recipe was for Paula Deen’s Italian Chicken Sticks. The recipe itself is nothing spectacular, not even the type of thing I would usually need a recipe for (I can bread chicken tenders with bread crumbs, thanks). The thing that stuck out in my mind was that in true Paula Deen fashion, the recipe starts with a stick of “buttah.” She dips the raw chicken in melted butter before dredging in the seasoned bread crumbs and then bakes the chicken fingers until crispy. It sounded just crazy enough to work. It also had a 5-Star rating on the Food Network website–I scanned the comments and didn’t find any complaints, so I went ahead and tried it.

The chicken fingers were fine, but not really enough bang for the butter-dipped caloric buck. The recipe was easy, and the chicken tenders were seasoned well and crispy, but I doubt I’ll make this recipe again. I can pull off a better “chicken stick” without the butter, thanks.

By the way, If you’re looking for a good chicken tenders recipe, I’d recommend Giada’s Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders over these “sticks” any day.

Paula Deen’s Italian Chicken Sticks

• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch ground red pepper
• 8 boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
• Marinara sauce or honey mustard, for dipping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a pie plate or platter, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, thyme, basil, oregano, salt, garlic powder, and red pepper. Dip the chicken strips in the melted butter, then dredge them in the bread crumb mixture. Place the chicken strips in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve the chicken sticks hot with marinara sauce, or serve hot or cold with honey mustard.

I’m not actually much of a baker. Despite what the recent rash of Christmas cookies might suggest, I’d rather make dinner than dessert any day.

Tonight, I made Fettuccine Alfredo for dinner. I’ve made Alfredo several times before, but this is one of those dishes that I have trouble replicating. I’ve never really worked from a recipe for it (Cream? Check! Cheese? Check! Butter? Check!) and while it usually turned out well, I couldn’t count on it being the same from one time to the next. That’s why I looked for a recipe to work from this time.

I tried out Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo, but mostly for the proportions. Her recipe called for a lot of lemon flavor, and I just couldn’t see using that much lemon for an Alfredo sauce. So I didn’t. I had a regular box of fettuccine on hand, so no fresh pasta for us. It was still very, very good.

I prefer my Alfredo with chicken, so to that end I sauteed chunks of boneless skinless chicken breast with a little garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to serve with the pasta.

Giada’s Fettuccine Alfredo