Clean out the Cupboard Meals

This week I didn't really feel like making a real meal plan....and I had some random items on hand.....so here we have it. Two recipes (I call them that loosely) that you can hopefully make from leftovers in your fridge and pantry.

The first is what I ended up calling Enchilada Lasagna. 
What you need:
Corn tortillas
1 lb ground beef
large can of refried beans
1/4 onion chopped
can of enchilada sauce
cheese...lots of it

I sauteed the onion and then added the ground beef in a skillet. Add the refried beans.Add a little bit of enchilada sauce. Heat remaining enchilada sauce in a small saucepan. When you have everything cooked in the beef skillet and heated in the enchilada sauce pan assembly goes like this.....#1 Dip corn tortilla in enchilada sauce. #2 Layer 6 tortillas like this in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. #3 Cover with 1/3 of the bean/beef mixture. #4 Cover with cheese. #5 Repeat from step #1 until the pan is full. Then pour remaining enchilada sauce on top. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and heated through.
We served ours with mexican rice (which was just instant brown rice cooked and then a can of Rotel added toward the end of cooking time.) and sour cream and fresh cilantro on top.

Recipe #2 Pantry Pasta

This is definitely a variation on the pasta rosa, tomato/cream, alfredo thingy that I love.
Here's the ingredients I used:
1/4 jar of Ragu left in the fridge from making pizzas
1/2 jar of Alfredo sauce left in the fridge from making pizzas
1 can diced tomatoes
3 chicken breasts diced
2 cloves garlic
the end of a block of parmesean
Italian Seasoning
Crushed Red Pepper flake
8 oz pasta swirl (or any other short cut pasta)

Sprinkle chicken with S&P and Italian seasoning and saute in skillet with EVOO. In the meantime, cook pasta according to directions just to al dente. Add minced garlic to chicken. Add canned tomatoes. Add leftover sauces and Red Pepper and 1 tsp of Italian seasoning. (If you had any leftover white wine that would be good here too) Once pasta is finished, drain and add to pan with chicken mixture. Allow to cook for about another 4-5 minutes. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce and will absorb the flavors. Add shredded parm. Add fresh parsley to the top if you have any. (I did not, so I added some dried).