Pasta Salad

I don't even know how I found this website and recipe, but it was good!

There aren't too many amounts given for the ingredients, you just have to balance it how you want it -- I did use a whole package of bacon instead of just a handful of pieces and more sundried tomatoes and pesto than it said to and it was delicious. Also, the recipe says it's better served cold, but I liked it warm and even reheated a bowl of it for my lunch today.

PASTA SALAD

About 500grams spiral pasta
Olive Oil
Sundried Tomatoes
Crumbled Feta
Bacon pieces
Basil Pesto

Cook the pasta and drain (in advance if you have time, it’s better served cold), sprinkle with olive oil.

Cook about a handful of bacon pieces, so they are nice and crispy, add to pasta with any oil in pan.

Cut about a tablespoon of sundried tomato into little pieces, add to pasta with some of the oil from the sundried tomatoes jar.

Stir about 2 tablespoons of pesto into the pasta.

Sprinkle with a small handful of crumbled feta cheese.

Toss everything together, and you’re done!

Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken

Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken (from allrecipes.com)

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 lemon, quartered
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 (8 ounce) package rotelle pasta
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place chicken in a lightly greased baking dish. Squeeze lemon over both sides of the chicken breasts and season both sides using 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Bake for 40 minutes, or until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink inside.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, season the chicken broth with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and add lemon juice and pasta. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
Cut cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir into cooked pasta, along with the cream and lemon zest. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir thoroughly before serving.

This was really yummy. I would probably double the recipe for a family bigger than ours! I made Jennifer's flat bread to go with it and it turned out great!

Ratatouille

So awhile ago I got this weird idea to try and make Ratatouille (I have no idea why) and I found a recipe that had noodles with it. I tried it but nobody liked it, I think it was because it had eggplant in it and I have no clue how to cook eggplant. So I fiddled with the recipe and came up with my own version and luckily everyone likes it. It's also kind of fun to make this for dinner and watch the movie Ratatouille too. So here is my version, if anyone wants the original one let me know and I'll post it.

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 TBS. olive oil

2 small zucchini cut into thin slices

2 small yellow squash cut into thin slices

1 red bell pepper , chopped

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. ground corriander

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds (my family doesn't like these whole, so I chop them up)

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 pound penne pasta, cooked

chicken cut into cubes

In a large pot, cook chicken cubes until done. Add 2 TBS. of the olive oil, onion and garlic. Cook until onion is soft, stirring occasionally. Add remaining oil, zucchini, squash, and bell pepper and cook for about 7 min. or until vegetables are tender. Stir in oregano, thyme, coriander, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Then mix in cooked pasta and serve.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

I've alway been a huge fan of Baked Mac & Cheese with bread crumbs on top, but I've never made it before. I used America's Test Kitchen recipe and it was delicious! It's so easy too, and I was meaning to take a picture, but totally forgot, sorry!

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs ( I didn't use fresh, I used Panko and they were delicious)
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 garlic glove, minced
1 teaspoon dry mustard, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water (I didn't have any dry mustard, so didn't use)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound Colby cheese, shredded (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
Pepper

Heat oven to 40o. Melt 2 Tablespoons butter and toss with breadcumbs. Bring 4 quard water to a boil. Stir in 1 Tablespoon salt and cook macaroni until almost tender, but firm to the bite. Drain and leave in colander. Wipe pot dry, and add remaining 6 Tablespoons butter and melt over medium heat. Stir in garlic, mutard mixture, and cayenne. Cook until fragant, 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute Slowly whisk in the milk and broth. Bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking often, until the mixture is slightly thickened (6 minutes). Take off the heat and stir in cheeses until melted. Season with salt & pepper. Stir in macaroni. Pour into 9 x 13. Sprinkle with breacrumbs and bake until golden brown and bubbling.

This was delicious. When I make it again, I'll put a picture up, or Tawn can take a picture wen she makes it and put it on!

Pesto

My friend Diana has brought over some homemade pesto a couple of times now and we have loved it! She brought me some basil leaves from her plant the other day, and I told her, "Sorry, bring them back when you have turned them into pesto." Not really, I was happy to get free basil leaves and try making pesto on my own. I used Martha Stewart's recipe, and it turned out just fine. Next time I want to add parmesan cheese -- I wanted to this time but totally forgot.

Makes 1 3/4 cups

1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts evenly on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, tossing once, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil; add basil, and submerge with a spoon. Immediately drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water until cool, then pat basil completely dry in paper towels.

In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Process until nuts are finely chopped. With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Use immediately, or freeze. To freeze, spoon pesto into an ice-cube tray (2 tablespoons per cube); cover with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight, then transfer cubes to a resealable plastic bag; keep up to 6 months. Defrost pesto at room temperature, about 20 minutes (or at 30-second intervals in the microwave). Mash with a fork before using in recipes.

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

I made this for dinner on Sunday and it was a hit! I got the recipe from Real Mom Kitchen, and she got it from What's Cookin?, so you can click on either of those to see their nice pictures. What's Cookin actually used Farfalle (bowtie pasta - I just learned that), and Real Mom Kitchen used rotini. It does make a lot - we had it the next day, too, and Jon took some to work.

The bacon was SO good in it, the chicken was good but it would be great without it, too, as a side dish or something. And here's the amazing part---EVERYONE liked it. Nobody whined. A Sunday miracle. Bad part---it is a pricey dish (bacon, chicken, cream, parmesan, marinade).

16 oz. Farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt
1 Tbsp. pepper
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumbled
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

In the crockpot, cook chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6-8 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (it just falls apart). Set this aside. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over pasta, add chicken and stir. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Baked Spaghetti

This is really good. Both of my boys even eat it, which doesn't happen often.

1 pkg. lasagna noodles cooked (you only use about 10 noodles so don't cook the whole box)

1 lb. hamburger cooked

2 c. cheese ( I use either colby jack or mozzerella, and I use a little more becasue we really like cheese)

1 can tomato soup

1/2 c. milk

1 26oz. can of spaghetti sauce

2 TBS. sugar

Mix soup, milk, and sauce together in a bowl. Spread some of the sauce on the bottom of a 13 X 9 inch pan. Then place half of noodles on top of that. Sprinkle 1 TBS. sugar over noodles (sounds weird, but it's really good) and 1/2 of cheese on top of that then 1/2 of the hamburger. THen repeat, noodles, sugar, cheese, hamburger. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top and spread it around. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Asian Steak and Noodles

2 TBS. vegetable oil

1 lb. round steak , thinly sliced

2 packages Oriental flavor Ramen noodles, broken into small pieces

2 c. broccoli florets

1 c. thinly sliced carrots

1 c. thinly sliced mushrooms

2 c. water

1 can sliced water chestnuts

1/2 c. fresh or frozen peas

sliced green onions

Heat oil in a large skillet and add the beef and cook until done. Place meat in a bowl and add 1 seasoning packet from the noodles. Set aside. Add the broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, to the skillet and saute until almost cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, stiring frequently. Add the water, noodles, and remaining seasoning packet and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Add the water chestnuts, and peas. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the beef and green onions and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute.

Varitations:

Add thinly sliced chicken breasts, or shrimp instead of beef.