Baked Ricotta Penne Pasta
August 2, 2012 - Written by Diana
Penne is one of my favorite tubular pastas – the sauce seems to cling in and around the pasta better than some of the others while keeping the tube shape. I love to cover it in a meat sauce and layer it with ricotta. Since I was reviewing TJ Gallivan’s Pasta Sauces, I used La Matrice to make my Baked Ricotta Penne Pasta.
TJ Gallivan’s Sauces are great when you don’t have the time to make the sauce yourself. They are full of tomato flavor – that’s something my kids and I noticed right away, how the tomato stood out. The other big plus was how thick the sauce is and how well it clings to the pasta. I love a sauce that sticks.
The Tradizionale – is a sauce full of tomato, garlic, basil and oregano and is the mildest of the three sauces. My daughter liked this because she thought it was customizable. She could take the sauce plain, or …
Orzo, Asparagus and Garlic Scapes in Garlic Scape Pesto
May 29, 2012 - Written by Diana
What to eat when it’s hot outside ? A salad with pesto as the dressing is better than mayo or heavy dressings and parts of it can be made ahead of time to be combined sometime later before you eat. Both my husband and my son enjoyed this for dinner, my husband loved it so much he finished off whatever was leftover that same evening.
I received garlic scapes in my market bag and used it in the pesto and the salad itself, chopping it into pieces about one to two inches in length. I cut the asparagus and the leeks to the same size as the garlic scapes (though they weren’t used in the pesto). I prepared this again with more asparagus for our Memorial Day family gathering, but I have broccolini that would work well and so would fresh peas.
Garlic scapes are substituted for garlic in this dish, I used it in the pesto and the salad. They are the seed heads that shoot up among the garlic, cutting the scape off is supposed to lead to a bigger head …
Chicken, Penne and Broccolini – Leftover Remix
January 11, 2012 - Written by Diana
Sometimes I am at odds with my son about dinner. If it takes too long, he won’t bother. If he has to read directions, he won’t bother. If it takes too many pots and pans, he won’t bother. This isn’t to say he’s hopeless or can’t cook. Slowly we are building up his repetoire and the meals he does cook are very delicious. My method with him is to encourage him to try to experiment by adding different vegetables and herbs to a basic recipe.
This time we took some chicken from our roast chicken the other night and added pasta, some broccolini, a few herbs, smash some galic and voila – dinner is served. This is a good college kid meal, you can change up the pasta, the veggies, substitute the oil with broth to make it a little lighter. Swap the lemon with white or red wine vinegar for a little different. We stood side by side at the stove cooking this dish. When we were done, I asked my son if he thought he could do it all over again, …
Garlic Shrimp Fettuccine with Asparagus to Celebrate!
October 21, 2011 - Written by Diana
Tonight’s dinner was a reward dinner for my mom. She’s been going through a lot recently, diagnosed with breast cancer and last Tuesday had a “simple” mastectomy. I flew to NJ to take care of her, and we weren’t sure how well it would go. She was diagnosed early and I think that was the key along with her always upbeat attitude. The celebration is because her recovery is going so well and the doctor is very happy with her progress. She deserves it don’t you think.
I made a tasty quick dish, with some of her favorite foods. Shrimp, garlic and asparagus are on that list as well as seeds and nuts. My ingredients were limited. I did stop at Whole Foods, but I didn’t want to load up her fridge with fruit and vegetables that would go bad after I left for home. I also wanted leftovers. I froze a couple of individual meals for my mom to reheat for dinner once I’m back in Ohio. I think if you reheat with a little chicken broth it will be very tasty. This meal …
Minty Spring Asparagus & Pasta with Lamb Mint Sausage
April 7, 2011 - Written by Diana
The last time we had Lamb Mint Sausage there were a few who said they didn’t know if lamb and mint went together. I love mint and I think the lamb mint sausage are very tasty, but it is a very mild flavor. I wanted to up the mint factor this time. So, I made a mint and parsely pesto to use with gemelli pasta and some asparagus, one of my favorite spring time foods. Of course I added some lamb mint sausage because I thought it would be the perfect thing to round out the dish.
For dinner, the pasta was warm when mixed with the pesto and the warm asparagus and sausage. The next day cold leftovers were even better. I think my mother will love this dish so much that I’m going to make it for her when she visits this summer. She has strict dietary restrictions and we have to go without tomatoes, onions and she doesn’t like heavy sauces, so this will be perfect for her. You could substitute beans for the sausage, …
Farfalle with Creamy Peas and Carrots
March 25, 2010 - Written by DianaWe had to stop ourselves from eating too much for dinner tonight. Another family weeknight meal that came together quickly. Pasta comes together quickly and goes great with most veggies. The carrots were thinly sliced using a mandolin and added along with peas to the sautéed onions and pancetta. Cream and parmesan were added in and heated up along with some parsley. Toss with the cooked farfalle and dinner is ready. We made a pound of pasta, so we’ll have enough for a leftover meal too. I had to put a restraining order on my son though. He’s forbidden to touch the pasta for a snack – otherwise the rest of us will go hungry.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb farfalle pasta cooked and drained according to directions
- 1/2 onion sliced thin
- 4 oz pancetta
- 1 …
Farfalle with Spinach and Tomatoes & a Little Pinot Grigio
February 6, 2010 - Written by DianaAlong with the Grilled Rosemary Shrimp last night, we had Farfalle with Spinach and Tomato. This wasn’t spinach from my garden, but it was organic fresh spinach from the fresh vegetable section of the grocery store. I used about 8 to 10 handfuls; it’s amazing how little you end up after it wilts down. The tomatoes were Hunt’s petite diced tomatoes with perfectly sized pieces. My husband doesn’t care for shrimp, so he went vegetarian and just ate this pasta dish. I splashed on some Pinot Grigio at the end, which gave it a nice burst of flavor. I think this is one of my best tasting efforts and so easy to make.
Ingredients:8 oz. Farfalle pasta
1 shallot sliced thin
3 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
8 –10 handfuls of spinach rinsed and drained
7 oz tomatoes drained (about half …
Big Bowl of Whole Grainy Dinner Goodness
January 27, 2010 - Written by DianaTonight’s dinner was inspired by a store bought frozen lunch I had today. It had beans, whole grain orzo, dried cranberries, spinach and a little bit of cheese. I enjoyed it quite a bit and thought I would use it as inspiration to create my own big bowl of whole grainy goodness. Even though the barley and quinoa stuck to his braces, my son thought it was delicious. My husband also liked it a lot too. I know my daughter would have enjoyed it, and that she would have grabbed the leftovers thrown salad dressing over top and had it cold for lunch the next day. One thing I would have changed would have been to add in more chard. I dug through the snow to find what chard I could from the raised beds in the garden. I found some small leaves, only about 7 or 8, but it was enough to give it a little color and flavor. I just wish I had more. It’s so cool to go dig through the snow for chard in the middle of winter, but your fingers get awfully cold and you have to be careful that they don’t stick to the …
Campanelle and Pancetta in a Smoky Cheddar Goat Cheese Sauce
December 21, 2009 - Written by Diana
I made this to go with the barbecued ribs we had for dinner the other night. Macaroni and Cheese is a classic meal to go with barbecued ribs, but I had Smoky Cheddar Goat Cheese, so I thought I’d put in a few little twists. The campanelle is a nice sturdy pasta that holds cheese well and the pancetta ups the smoky factor nicely. The Smoky Cheddar Goat Cheese looked and tasted drier than I expected, so adding a little extra milk or cream was necessary. However, in a sauce it was terrific tasting. The cheese is Misty Creek Goat Dairy Cheddar Goat Cheese Smoked from U.S. Wellness Meats. I didn’t want a thick creamy sauce because I thought it would overpower the pancetta, so it was more of a light cheese sauce – at least for me.
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Butternut Squash, Sausage and Campanelle Pasta
December 13, 2009 - Written by DianaI had some great butternut squash just waiting for me to find the time to do something great with it. I put off using squash because it takes a while to seed and peel, but it’s such a terrific ingredient. I found some soup recipes, but it wasn’t what I wanted. So I came up with a pasta dish that was really tasty good, and hopefully good for you. The only change I’d make is to cook the butternut squash a little bit less. I used about a 1/2 of a butternut squash, and probably I should have used only a half a pound of sweet italian turkey sausage. There were three of us at dinner, plus enough leftovers for two people, so cutting down the sausage makes sense. There isn’t a lot of fat in this dish, but I can’t tell you how many calories or fat since I don’t know.
