Tag Archives: Pasta

In the midst of COVID-19 and the stay-at-home order, meals can be a little harder to plan.  Grocery stores are working hard to keep the shelves stocked but that doesn’t mean you will find every item on your list.  I think that creates a great opportunity to clean out the pantry and make some meal using existing items on home.  Maybe you have a lot of canned goods or items that are nearing expiration…use them! I created 5 different pantry meals last week that I’m going to share with you today.  I didn’t use a recipe for any of them.  They all resulted from items found in our pantry, fridge, or freezer.  It was a great way to use the food, especially from the fridge, before it spoiled and a fun way to create some new meals.  I highly suggest doing this at home.  Who knows, you might create something … Continue reading

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Spicy Chicken Rigatoni is hands down one of my top 5 favorite pasta dishes!  It has large pieces of tender chicken, perfectly cooked noodles, and a lot of heat (in a good way).  Should I go on?  There is as little or as much garlic as you would like, alfredo sauce, marinara sauce, and butter…. yes, butter…. for a wonderfully creamy sauce. This dish is so simple to make and tastes amazing.  You’ll think you’re eating at a fancy Italian restaurant.  Perfetto! The recipe can be found here. In a large skillet or deep pot, heat oil over medium heat.  You want the skillet or pot to be large enough to fit the sauce and noodles so you can toss everything together at the end. Add the crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper, and garlic.  Sauté just long enough for the garlic to caramelize and red pepper to release flavor … Continue reading

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Creamy Hummus Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes is something we tried recently.  We both like pasta and we both like hummus, so why not try them together, right? It’s savory, delicious, and light.  You’ll be satisfied without the heavy feeling of being too full.  The hummus replaces traditional pasta sauce, so you have a creamy and slightly nutty flavored sauce.  The sun dried tomatoes are roasted with garlic so they are tender and give off great flavor.  This recipe is a winner in our house! The recipe can be found here. Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and cooking the pasta according to package instructions.  Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining, then set the reserved water and noodles aside. In a large skillet, heat the sun dried tomato oil over medium heat.  Add the sun dried tomatoes and garlic, and sauté for about … Continue reading

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We’ve been eating a lot of meatballs at our house lately!  Our idea was to take traditional dishes and turn them into meatballs.  The idea is you get the same great taste but in bite-sized morsels.  The recipes I’m going to share with you today are easy to assemble, wonderful weeknight dinner options, crowd pleasers, and make great leftovers!  The fight at our house is no longer “what’s for dinner” but “which are we going to make first” 🙂 Orange Chicken Meatballs are everything you love about a classic takeout meal!  The flavor is incredible – you will think you are eating orange chicken from your favorite Chinese restaurant but with fewer calories and fat.  I like to serve the Orange Chicken Meatballs on top of Cilantro Lime Rice.  You could serve these with rice, noodles, or as is. The recipe can be found here. Start by preheating the oven … Continue reading

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We recently committed to a vegan diet for about 2 weeks and have to admit, it was delicious!  We had done this once before, but enough time had passed that we wanted to try some different foods and see how we could handle meals without any meat, once again.  We both lost weight, our bodies felt great, and we enjoyed creating recipes. It might be surprising, but some types of food you already eat are vegan, like pasta, if you skip the cheese and use a red sauce.  If you’re up for the challenge, I recommend starting with a week of vegan eating.  If it works out well, try for another week.  Baby step your way into it!  We don’t plan on going vegan by any means.  We love food too much and would miss some of our favorite meals!  BUT… we do plan on incorporating more vegan meals into … Continue reading

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National Pasta Day is today and what better way to celebrate than with homemade pasta!  If you haven’t had a cheat day yet this week, I highly recommend it be today 🙂 If you don’t mind putting in a little elbow grease and work, homemade pasta is the way to go.  If you’re on a time crunch or just not that interested in cooking, boxed noodles or a heat-and-serve pasta dish is just fine.  My preference is homemade pasta.  Yes, it can be time consuming, but the flavor is incredible, and it has a great texture! My go-to recipe is for Homemade Egg Noodles.  You do need a stand mixer and pasta attachment for this recipe to work.  You can also use this recipe with a hand cranked pasta maker, but I have yet to try that method. Start by adding your ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer.  … Continue reading

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Do you ever ask your family what they want to for dinner and no one can agree on the perfect meal?  That’s a common occurrence at my house too but recently I received a request for lasagna and thought it was a great suggestion…but what kind should I make?  Andrew is more of a meat eater so I knew he would want a traditional lasagna, but I would prefer something more veggie based.  Luckily, I have the perfect pan for the job, so I was able to accommodate both! ***Disclaimer – if you click on the link to any of the recipes listed in this post you will be directed to the full recipe.  The recipes posted are for use in a 9×13 pan.  Please reduce the recipe to 1/3 if you are using a similar 3-lasagna pan*** All of the recipes I’m going to share with you are delicious!  … Continue reading

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Lemon Orzo with Roasted Vegetables is not your typical pasta salad.  It’s packed with texture and flavor yet is very light and refreshing.  It works well as a side dish or as a standalone meal.  I think it’s best served warm but room temp or chilled is also fine, it’s all about your preference. The vegetables are delicious when roasted because they are slightly caramelized.  I like to use bell pepper, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and red onion but you can substitute any veggies you like – eggplant, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, etc.  You can really make this your own by using the veggies you crave. You can also top this salad with pine nuts for a little crunch or some crumbled feta cheese.  If you choose to skip the cheese, this is a great vegan based dish. Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees and lining a baking sheet (or … Continue reading

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Any meal with pumpkin in it is the definition of fall.  Some are skeptical of pumpkin being a pasta sauce and I used to agree with them…until I tried it!  Let me tell you, it was delicious!  It’s a great mix of unusual flavors that actually complement each other very well.  The recipe I would like to share with you today is for Cheese Ravioli with Pumpkin Alfredo. The sauce is creamy and luscious, and a great autumn flavor as opposed to traditional Alfredo.  I chose to use cheese ravioli, but you could substitute any flavor of ravioli or even use tortellini in this dish.  You could also made homemade ravioli if you have the necessary tools, and time.  Otherwise, store-bought ravioli will work just fine.  (Not only can I cook but I can also rhyme 🙂 ) The recipe can be found here. Start by boiling a pot of … Continue reading

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Zucchini noodles are all the rage and a low carb way of enjoying pasta.  If you have a spiralizer you can easily make your own “zoodles” but if you don’t have a spiralizer you can find pre-spiraled noodles at your local Festival Foods.  I think zoodles are a light yet delicious substitution for traditional pasta noodles.  They will fill you up but without the heavy, overly-full feeling, if that makes sense. My new favorite recipe is Zucchini Noodles with Pesto Chicken.  It’s super easy to make and only takes a few ingredients! The recipe can be found here. Start by marinating the chicken.  Place the chicken in a Ziploc bag with some pesto, salt, and pepper.  Shake to combine and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.  I think this is the best method if you are going to grill or sauté the chicken.  I prefer to bake the chicken, … Continue reading

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