It happens all the time: You go out to eat, try a new dish, take one bite and immediately think to yourself, “I have to re-create this recipe at home!” That’s how this copycat rattlesnake pasta recipe from Uno Pizzeria and Grill—courtesy of Taste of Home Creator Tyler Smith—was born.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to try to source rattlesnake meat from Amazon. All you need is a few kitchen staples to make one of the most insanely creamy, cheesy and comforting pasta recipes you’ll ever try. Fair warning: While this recipe doesn’t contain rattlesnakes, it does have a good, strong bite thanks to the generous amount of jalapenos and jalapeno juice used to make the spicy Alfredo-style sauce.

Our favorite part about this copycat recipe is its fast and easy preparation. Just like these other quick dinner recipes, this copycat Uno rattlesnake pasta recipe can be on your table in around 30 minutes from start to finish. That’s way faster—not to mention more affordable—than dining out or ordering curbside takeout.

Copycat Uno Rattlesnake Pasta Ingredients

• Rigatoni: Rigatoni is one of our favorite shortcut pasta shapes. This large, tubular-shaped pasta with ridges is the perfect vessel for creamy pasta recipes. It acts as a shuttle for the sauce from the bowl to your mouth.
• Chicken thighs: While many chicken pasta recipes opt for lean chicken breasts, we love the extra-juicy, tender flavor of chicken thighs in this recipe.
• Olive oil: Olive oil serves as the cooking oil in this recipe, helping to sear and brown the chicken before it is added to the finished pasta.
• Garlic: Garlic adds a little depth of flavor to the creamy, Alfredo-style cheese sauce.
• Butter: Butter adds extra richness to the sauce’s flavor and serves as a base for the roux, which helps thicken the rattlesnake pasta sauce to make it rich and velvety smooth.
• All-purpose flour: Flour is the other key ingredient to making a basic roux. The starch molecules in the flour react when heated, becoming gelatinous as they absorb moisture, which helps thicken the sauce.
• Herbs and spices: In this recipe, you’ll use a combination of Italian seasoning to flavor the chicken thighs and a bit of salt and white pepper to add flavor to the spicy sauce.
• Dairy: For a supremely creamy rattlesnake pasta sauce, forget about skim or low-fat milk. Stick to a blend of whole milk and half-and-half cream. This is one recipe where you’ll want to use the good stuff.
• Cheese: In this rattlesnake pasta recipe, Colby Jack is melted into the sauce to make it perfectly cheesy. Then, a generous sprinkle of Parmesan is used to garnish each bowl of pasta.
• Pickled jalapeno: To get that signature rattlesnake bite into every bite, you’ll add a generous amount of chopped pickled jalapenos and a bit of the juice from the jar to the sauce.
• Italian bread crumbs: While not included in the restaurant recipe, we love the texture and crunch a handful of toasted Italian bread crumbs lends to each serving of our takeout copycat recipe.

Taste of Home

Whether you call them casseroles, covered dishes or hot dishes, one-dish baked meals are quick, easy and perfect for the whole family. This pizza Tater Tot casserole is a fun twist on pizza for Friday night dinner—no dough required! The recipe combines a saucy meat-and-veggie filling with layers of cheese and frozen Tater Tots for a satisfying comfort meal.

To make it, you’ll brown ground beef on the stovetop with chopped onion, bell pepper and mushrooms. Then, stir in jarred pizza sauce, top the dish with creamy mozzarella and Tater Tots, and bake it until the cheese is melty and the potatoes are crisp and golden. The result is saucy, meaty and cheesy, easy to customize with your favorite pizza toppings and great for feeding a crowd at parties, potlucks and game day celebrations.

Ingredients for Tater Tot Pizza Casserole

• Ground beef: You’ll need 1-1/2 pounds of ground beef. If you only have a 1-pound package of meat, you can bulk up the filling with extra veggies.
• Vegetables: Chopped green bell pepper, onion and mushrooms help thicken the meat mixture and give the casserole the same flavor as a veggie-topped pizza.
• Pizza sauce: You can use either store-bought jarred pizza sauce or homemade pizza sauce to coat the beef and veggie mixture. Jarred spaghetti sauce will work in a pinch, but the casserole will be saucier since it’s thinner than pizza sauce.
• Basil: Dried basil makes this dish taste even more like pizza. According to our fresh to dried herb conversion, you can swap in 3 teaspoons of fresh basil to match the flavor of 1 teaspoon dried basil. If you don’t have either, substitute Italian seasoning for basil.
• Cheese: What’s a pizza recipe without mozzarella cheese? This recipe calls for shredded part-skim mozzarella, but mozzarella slices will melt just as well. We also top the Tater Tots with shredded cheddar for extra cheesy flavor and a melty finish.
• Tater Tots: Tater Tots are one of our favorite shortcuts for adding rich potato flavor and an irresistible crispy texture to casseroles. This freezer staple serves as the golden brown crust in our pizza-inspired casserole. No need to thaw them first—the potatoes can go on the casserole and into the oven from frozen.

Taste of Home

While the definition of trifle suggests something insignificant or of little value, a berry trifle dessert is pure greatness. The trifle, one of Britain’s best exports, is bound to become one of your favorite berry dessert recipes. Our berry trifle recipe is fast, fresh and flavorful, and by using sugar-free and low-fat ingredients, it’s also light and refreshing.

Picture sun-ripened berries layered gently between fluffy angel food cake and extra-creamy pudding. And don’t forget the whipped topping! (I always aim to get a bit of each layer on my fork for the perfect bite.) Serve this trifle berry dessert for summer potlucks, backyard barbecues, spring brunches or holiday soirees—or any time you need something sweet on the fly.

What is a trifle?

A traditional British trifle is a layered dessert made with sponge cake, fresh fruit, rich custard and whipped cream. It’s often served in a large glass trifle bowl so you can see the layers (and garner oohs and aahs from everyone at the table). English trifles usually feature cake soaked in sherry or a fortified wine; fruit including bananas, peaches or berries; and custard flavored to complement the other ingredients. Sometimes trifle desserts will have jams, gelatin or nuts added for texture.

An American trifle can be less fussy. If you ever have a cake that doesn’t come out of the pan or cracks too much to frost, crumble it into a bowl, layer it with pudding or custard, fruit and cream, and you have a trifle! PS: Unlike Rachel’s homemade Thanksgiving dessert in Friends, peas and beef don’t belong in a trifle.

Ingredients for a Berry Trifle

•  Milk: Mixing the pudding with skim milk keeps this recipe on the lighter side without sacrificing creaminess. It’s OK to use 2% or whole milk; the higher the fat content, the richer the mixture.
• Instant pudding mix: Instant pudding whips up quickly to add its signature custard texture and sweetness. Vanilla is the classic choice, though banana, peach and lemon are all delicious too. Reach for the sugar-free version to keep it light but still sweet.
• Vanilla yogurt: A touch of tartness is always a welcome addition, especially balanced with the sweetness of the vanilla. We use fat-free yogurt in this recipe but, again, going with a higher fat content just makes it taste more decadent.
• Cream cheese: The thick texture of cream cheese gives our creamy pudding mixture the perfect moisture level and strength to support the other layers. Since there are so many creamy elements in this berry trifle dessert, we chose the reduced-fat version.
• Sour cream: With its tangy smoothness, sour cream is the final piece of our four-part creamy mixture.
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract balances the cream cheese and sour cream. Using the best vanilla extract you can buy is always a good idea.
• Whipped topping: While making homemade whipped cream is usually your best bet for many recipes, in this case, whipped topping does a better job of holding its shape and is less likely to liquefy over time. It’s also lower in fat than heavy cream so that second helping of berry trifle dessert is easier to justify.
• Angel food cake: Use a store-bought or homemade angel food cake. This is the trifle structure’s foundation, so don’t make the cubes too small; you don’t want them crushed by the other levels.
•  Blackberries, raspberries and blueberries: Nothing tastes more like celebrations and summer to me than these sweet little explosions of flavor. The deep jewel-toned bursts of color against the beige cake and custard in this berry trifle recipe create a beautiful, sculptural dessert.
• Mint leaves: They may be optional, but the clean, aromatic fragrance of mint leaves garnishing the top of this creation is not to be missed. Mint is a fantastic finish, filling out the flavor profile and adding a pop of color. Feeling fancy? A little grated lemon or lime zest with shredded basil could be a fun add-on too.

Taste of Home