Pasta and cheese

We did not have any of the pasta shells the dish called for but we used some pasta called radiatore. We also felt it was a little dry maybe less bread crumbs or because we used the wrong pasta?
1 lb small or med pasta shells
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter divided
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz. fontina cheese shredded
salt
pinch of nutmeg
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 fresh grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400
cook pasta according to directions just till 1 2 minutes shy of al dente
dice 4 tablespoons of butter in a large mixing bowl. Warm cream in a small sauce pan or microwave. Cover and keep warm
When pasta is cooked add to bowl and toss to coat well, next stir in warm cream and cheese till it starts to melt.
Salt to taste and nutmeg
Pour into a butter 2 quart casserole dish. Melt remaining butter and mix in panco breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese, toss with a fork and sprinkle evenly over pasta.
Bake until sauce is bubbling and top turns golden brown about 20 minutes.

Shrimp and jalapeno cream sauce

We have to thank the site Cajun Delight for this one. http://cajundelights.blogspot.com/ This was good but next time we think we could get away just mixing in the skillet instead to heating the house with the oven.
Cook pasta acording to directions and set aside.
1 lb shrimp
1 Tablespoons cajun seasonings
1/2 cup onion chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 Teaspoon thyme
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated.
Saute in a large skillet onions, celery, garlic, and bell pepper for about 5 minutes. Then add shrimp and thyme and cook for another 10 minutes stiring often. Add pasta  and shrimp mix and add in casserolle dish.
 Jalapeno Cream Sauce
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped fine
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoon veg. oil
salt to taste
1/3 shipping cream
2/3 cup sour cream
Saute peppers and garlic in oil over low heat stiring frequently about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and whipping cream and salt mix well.
Pour over shrimp and pasta and sprinkle cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 350 or till bubbley.

Chicken Artichokes and Pasta

This was really tasty and easy and quick to fix it also made a lot.
16 oz of pasta
1 pound of chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
(we added some red pepper flakes.. as much as you want)
3 tablespoons olive oil divided
4 to 6 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic sliced
1/4  cup onion
2 cans artichoke hearts drained and chopped
1/2 cup roasted red pepper(we used a little green as we did not have the red pepper)
3 medium plum tomatoes (we used a few home grown)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaf
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta according directions rinse and drain
cut chicken in narrow strips and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper
In saucepan heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat add chicken  and saute stiring until cooked about 5 minutes.
Remove chicken and set aside add remaning olive oil and mushrooms,onions and bell opepper stiring until tender. Add broth. lemmon.salt and pepper to taste, garlic and artichoke hearts. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in tomato wedges, basil, chicken and pasta and heat through.
Toss with parmesan cheese before serving.

Pasta and Cauliflower

This is one I debated about posting. I like to only put ones we would a least considered a 4 or above star rating but wife liked this one much more than I did.
I really can't believe I did not like it as we love cauliflower in most anything and we thought with pasta it would be a no brainer. There are several recipes like this one out there. I think it was the anchovies that were to much for me. This comes for the Simply Recipes site.
Please see her site for recipe.http://simplyrecipes.com/

Shrimp Tortellini

We got from Sam's three bags or tortellini two of cheese stuffed and one of spinach. I was not sure how this was going to come out as the only other time we used dried tortellini it was a bust.

But I found this recipe and just had to give it a try again. I'm not sure if it was the brand but this tortellini and this dish was to die for as good as any Italian restaurant if I do say so my self. In fact it reminded me of a restaurant we went to a long time ago that is no longer in business here in Jackson. Mario's, unfortunately the owner passed away some time ago.

1 lb shrimp (or any seafood, crab, lobster, crawfish). This was a bit of a juggling act as three tings were going at once so wife did come help. Serve with a salad and good bread and we had a white wine with it and felt like we were out on a date. I know the picture isn't good but we couldn't wait to eat it.

1 pk 3 cheese tortellini cooked to directions

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup onions

juice of 1/2 of lemon

Sauce

4 oz butter

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more if you want

a few fresh mushrooms sliced

juice of 1/2 of one lemon

pinch of salt

Start sauce melt butter in large sauce pan add everything but mozzarella cook till thick stirring constantly till sauce is thick enough to drip instead of run off from spoon (by the way use wooden spoons) This may take a while so start cooking the shrimp. When ready add mozzarella and stir till smooth.

Saute garlic,onions in butter till tender then add lemon and shrimp and cook till heated. (do not cook shrimp long as it will get rubbery, just till they start to turn pink)

When sauce is ready add drained tortellini and shrimp and coat serve immediately.

Mona's Spaghetti

This is a recipe from my mother in law and wife cooked this the other day and it was very good with a salad and bread.

1 lb beef or can use chicken,smoke sausage, meat balls.
1 onion chopped or 1 cup to 1 1/2 cup
1 cup celery
1/2 cup bell pepper
1 can stewed tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste
3 large garlic cloves chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
2 bay leaves
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1 can broth use beef with sausage, meatballs and beef ,,,,,chicken broth with chicken
one can mushrooms or fresh.
Cook spaghetti to directions

brown meat and set aside
in pot use about 2 - 4 Tablespoons of olive oil and sweat onions till clear, add celery and bell pepper.
Add can of tomatoes (we used can of stewed tomatoes with garlic and basil), mushrooms.
add tomato paste, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, oregano and bay leaves and broth and meat.
If it looks like you need some water add. bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and let cook at least an one hour. The longer it cooks the more concentrated the sauce becomes.

Chicken Parmesan

Can you believe I have never made this dish. For some reason I guess I thought it would be real complicated. It was nothing like the chili rellenos we cooked. We got some chicken breast on sale and thought we would give this a go. We had some spaghetti sauce put up and used that.

2 boneless and skinless chicken breast pounded flat

Salt and pepper

Cook spaghetti for two.

1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 egg beaten

2 teaspoons butter

1 cup spaghetti sauce

2 slices mozzarella cheese

1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Flatten chicken and salt and pepper to taste

Dip chicken in egg and then in bread crumbs

Fry in butter in hot skillet, turning and browning for about 10 minutes

or till cooked

remove from skillet

add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat

Add chicken and place mozzarella on top of chicken

Cover and cook till cheese is melted.

Place over spaghetti and sprinkles parmesan cheese on top.

Italian Sausage,Tomatoes,Pasta one skillet dish

It is so hot that just looking at the stove makes me break out in a sweat much less turning on the oven. We have been eating more sandwiches like ham and swiss and tuna fish salad. We did have this one that was cooked on top of the stove and it had rained (Thank you Lord) and we were a little cooler so I gave it a go. What is every ones favorite dish when its so hot the roads are buckling from the heat?

By the way this was ok it might be better with hot Italian sausage.

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 sweet Italian sausage links casings removed and crumbled

1/4 red pepper flakes

1/4 cup onion diced

1 1/2 cloves garlic

1 14 oz can Italian plum tomatoes drained and coarsely chopped. (we used our own tomatoes)

3/4 whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 6 oz pasta any we use the spiral

1 1/2 parsley

Parmesan grated

we also threw in a little fresh sweet basil since we have so much.

Cooks pasta... aladenta. you want it to finish cooking in the sauce.

Heat oil in large heavy skillet

add sausage and red pepper cook till no longer pink about 7 to 8 minutes

add onion, garlic and cook till onion is tender

add tomatoes cream and salt and cook on simmer till mixture thickens a little

add drained pasta (cook it aladenta) then add to sauce and simmer serve with Parmesan cheese

Shrimp,Crab, Squash Pasta

We had some left over imitation crab meat and was looking for something to cook with it but we didn't have quite enough for any of the recipes we had. So we just kind of threw this together with some stuff we had left over and it turned out pretty good.

Pasta for two cooked and drained. (We really had enough for my honey to have for lunch the next day)
1/4 cup onion diced

1 one stalk celery diced

a few mushrooms sliced

1 or 2 squash (one per person if small or one larger sliced or cubed)

one or two cloves garlic we use 2 because we like garlic

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less per your preference

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary ( we have a bush out side the kitchen but you can use dried)

2 sweet basil leaves if small or one large( our basil plant is growing like gangbusters we have got to use more)

salt and pepper to taste

one tomato

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese with extra for topping

about 1/2 pack of imitation crab meat

about 12 medium shrimp

a little water about 1 Tablespoon

1 Tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon butter

Combine oil and butter in large skillet on med high heat. When hot add onion,celery,mushrooms and squash. Kinda stir fry for a few minutes till squash is starting to get tender about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add 1 Tablespoons water and the garlic and cook till squash is tender.

Add chopped tomato, red pepper flakes,rosemary,basil.

Add 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup water stir and bring to a boil. then reduce to a simmer to thicken.

Add salt and pepper to taste

Last add shrimp and crab after pasta has been cooked and drained.

Add pasta to sauce after shrimp have cooked (turned pink) if cooked to long shrimp will be rubbery.

Heat till warm serve immediately and top with Parmesan cheese.

Asparagus and Ham roll ups

My wife made this for me before we were married and it may be the first time I remember really eating asparagus. I grew up in the country and if we didn't grow it we didn't eat it.

Glad my views have changed as I love asparagus and a whole lot of other foods now. I just read an article on how our taste has changed and I know I can eat more spicy and hot stuff (thanks to wife) than I did 20 years ago. Any way this is a really easy and impressive dish.

She can't remember where she got the recipe and she tore the house up looking for it but it was easy to remember. You can make as many or as few as you want. We used the last of the lasagna noodles we had from the lasagna the other night.

Lasagna noodles cooked to directions on pkg

heat oven to 350.

sliced deli ham

asparagus steamed or cooked till tender about 3 to 4 per role

Swiss cheese slices.

We also had some ricotta cheese we used but its not necessary.

hollandaise sauce.

salt and pepper to taste

Take one noodle and smooth layer of ricotta cheese place slice of swiss cheese, ham slices and 3 to 4 spears of asparagus role up and place in baking dish. seam side down.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes covered.

Cook hollandise sauce. We cheated and used Knorr pkg mix.

Place roll up on dish and pour sauce over and serve.

Lasagna

This is our first time to make a Lasagna. And of course we did tweak it a bit.But it turned out ok not great but quick and easy compared to more involved ones.

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic minced

2 Tablespoons oil

1 lb ground beef (this is a tweak.... we added a link of Italian sausage, casing removed)

2 caned stewed tomatoes 14 oz (we used diced tomatoes)

1can tomato paste 6oz

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pepper(tweak we also added 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and mushrooms)1 cups cottage cheese 1 cup ricotta cheese (combine these two together)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese divided

1/4 cup fresh parsley

8 oz wide lasagna noodles1 cup mozzarella cheese

Cook and stir onions and garlic in oil till soft push to one side and add beef and sausage.

Drain if needed.

Add tomatoes with juice and tomato paste,basil,oregano,sugar,pepper,red pepper, mushrooms. Simmer 30 minutes.

Combine cottage and ricotta cheese with parsley and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Cook noodles according to package.

Heat oven to 350

Place thin layer of meat sauce in bottom of 13x9x2 baking dish.

Add half of noodles half of cottage cheese mixture sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup of mozzarella then thin layer of sauce.

Repeat noodle and cheese layers, top with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese.bake 45 minutes.

Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Spaghetti Pie

This is one my wife made and it was pretty good we both thought it was a good quick meal and of course would be better with our homemade spaghetti sauce but a jar will do in a pinch.

4 oz spaghetti

1 Tablespoon butter

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pam

1 cup cottage cheese

8 oz ground beef

1/2 cup onion

1/2 cup bell pepper

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 bottle spaghetti sauce

can add crushed red pepper and Italian seasonings

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 350.

Cook pasta according to directions, drain and return to saucepan and add butter stir in egg and Parmesan cheese. Spray Pam into 9 inch pie plate. Press spaghetti into bottom and sides forming a crust. Spread cottage cheese over spaghetti on bottom and up sides.

While spaghetti is cooking saute onion,bell pepper,garlic with ground beef till cooked. Drain off fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce and adjust to taste. Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes. Place over cottage cheese and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over sauce.

Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or till bubbly, cut into wedges and serve.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp

My mother in law gave me a pasta machine a few months ago but I have not used it till now. I have been wanting to use it but I always thought of it when I didn't have the time. Well I had last Wed off and the wife was out of the house at her painting class. I had the house to myself and the machine started calling my name. Actually it was pretty easy and it made a good bit. Now to find the perfect recipe for it. Giada came to the rescue. I have her book Every Day Italian and page 114 had a recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo. In her words this dish called for fresh pasta as dried could not stand up to the creamy rich ingredients. Of course we did add shrimp. Yummmmm A good bread and salad completed this as it is so rich.
Wife really liked the lemon flavor I felt it may have been a little much so if you don't like it real lemon tasting cut back on it a little.
1 ½ cups heavy cream
¼ cup fresh lemon juice( about one lemon)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest
pinch of grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
9 oz fresh fettuccine
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (we love this stuff)
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
In a large heavy skillet stir in 1 cup of cream and the lemon juice to blend.
Add butter and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally, just until the butter melt about 3 minutes.
We add the shrimp here.
Stir in the lemon zest and nutmeg. Remove from heat.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally about 4 minutes. Drain Add to the skillet of cream with the remaining ½ cup of cream, cheese salt and pepper. Toss over low heat until sauce thickens about 1 minute, add more salt and pepper if needed. ( We also added a little red pepper just because we like it)Serve immediately

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This recipe has been on several sites but we saw it first on My Kitchen Cafe back in July and have fixed it twice now. You can get her recipe by looking at July 27 2009. We fixed it just like she has it laid out except for one thing we like to add some cauliflower as we like how it seems to adsorb the flavors and adds a vegetable to our dinner.

Shrimp and asparagus in white sauce

We both love shrimp and asparagus is in the stores now. This calls for a shrimp and asparagus dish.
I would like to thank Deborah's blog Taste and Tell (April 26 2007) for this one and we will be making it again as it was fairly easy. We may try adding some onion and red pepper flakes next time. A nice salad and a crusty bread to get that last bit of sauce. Yum Yum

Shrimp Pasta in White Sauce

1/2 cup butter
c cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 onion, diced
1 lb shrimp
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 c cream or evaporated milk
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
dash of nutmeg
1/4 garlic powder (we used fresh garlic)
3/4 cup steamed asparagus
12 oz pasta noodles
Cook noodles in sauce pan till al dent a
Steam asparagus
Melt 1/4 cup of butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Slowly cook onions,(we added garlic here) and then add mushrooms and cook till tender. Add shrimp and cook till shrimp have changed color.
In another sauce pan melt 1/4 cup of butter add flour and stir till combined for about 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, cream and pepper to taste. Add garlic powder here if using the powder along with nutmeg to taste. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until it thickens. Stir in mushroom shrimp and asparagus into sauce. Serve over pasta.

Garlic chicken and broccoli Pasta

1 lb penne pasta
1 ½ cup broccoli
1 ½ to 2 cups cooked chicken
1 Tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic can add extra (we did)
2 Tablespoons flour
¾ cup chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons parsley flakes
Red pepper flakes (to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 to ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (can add extra we did)

Cook pasta according to directions
Melt butter and add garlic in medium sauce pan
Cook over med heat for 1 min.
Add flour and cook for another min stirring constantly
Stir in broth and milk and cook stirring until sauce boils and thickens
Add chicken and broccoli and stir
Add parsley, salt, pepper, pepper flakes and cheese
Stir till cheese is melted.
Add pasta and toss till covered.
Serve with extra parmesan on top.


This was very yummy and fairly easy to make we would add more pepper flakes next time or some white pepper to kick it up a little more.
Our taste buds must be getting accustomed to the heat and need to add more.

Pasta with Ham, Asparagus and Asiago Cheese

I know everyone out there is tired of turkey right about now so for those who have left over ham here is a very good and quick recipe.
This was good but next time we will add some red pepper flakes we felt it needed a little more kick.
I must say we used a bottle of SPY VALLEY Sauvignon Blanc. 2006.That was just great with this.
We were in the wine store the other day to see if we could find another bottle. (Ms. Does not allow you to buy wine on line and when you do find a good one, it is not guaranteed it will be there the next time you go to get a bottle.) We did find a 2007 that was given a high rating by one of the magazines so we hope it is as good.

1lb bow tie pasta (could use other but the bow ties made a pretty presentation and held the sauce nicely).
1-2 lb thin asparagus
1 ½ dry white wine
1 cup whipping cream
1cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup thinly sliced green onion.
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook pasta in salted boiling water for 10 min.
Add asparagus and boil until crisp-tender stirring occasionally about 3 min longer. Both should be tender but still a little firm. Drain pasta and asparagus in colander.
Will pasta is cooking in large heated skillet add ham and cook just brown stirring frequently about two min.
Add wine boil until reduced by half about 2 min.
Add cream bring to simmer, stir in cheese and 3/4 cup of the green onions.
Add pasta and asparagus and toss with sauce to coat.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with remaining green onions.

Pasta with Asparagus and Shrimp

Been working out of town this week and glad to be back home. Looks like we are set for another round of rainy weather. Looks like I will not get the grass cut this weekend. Still with out a refrigerator so to speak so this is a quick and easy dish for two.


Pasta with Asparagus and Shrimp

12 large shrimp (we use more)
Pasta of choice, linguine spaghetti or angel hair. (we used spaghetti)
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of garlic (we use a little more)
1 teaspoon chopped shallots ( we used a yellow onion and of course added a little more)
10 stalks asparagus cut in 2-inch pieces.
½-cup mushrooms or small can.
¼-teaspoon salt
1/8 dry crushed red pepper (we add a pinch more because we like it spicy)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil (this is one herb we were able to grow fairly well this year)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (this is another we were able to grow fairly well this year)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 Tablespoon freshly grated parmesan cheese ( We love cheese and this is no way enough so we extra after it is served.)
½ cup dry white wine. Save rest to drink with meal.

1. Cook pasta and ser aside.
2. Heat large skillet about 10 inches or larger. Add olive oil garlic onion and shrimp cook 2 3 minutes stirring constantly until shrimp turn pink.
3. Add asparagus and mushrooms salt and red pepper.
4. Stir in wine scraping bottom of skillet to loosen any partials (the good stuff.)
5. Add pasta, basil and rest of the herbs and cheese.
Serve with crispy bread and enjoy.