Tag: pasta

Posted in Recipes

Crab Pasta

Posted on by Sherri
Thanks Mike!

A friend gave us some crabmeat already picked out and ready to go into a recipe!

I looked up a couple of recipes online and checked to what I have, if you know me you also know I sort of go by a recipe.

2- Tablespoons Butter

1- Tablespoon Olive Oil

Garlic 6 cloves chopped or in my case 1/4 jar chopped garlic and garlic power.

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup dry white or rose wine (I used Mead)

It called for chicken broth, I used chicken soup base and water

Let this simmer and reduce.

Boil pasta according to directions. I didn’t have penne so I used elbow. It’s what I had!

Back to sauce.

Chopped up roasted red pepper and used a little of its vinegar.

Added in 1 cup crap meat.

Added a little Cajun seasoning.

Drained pasta

Added pasta and parmigiana cheese to sauce. Hubby said more parm!

More Parmigiana!

I fixed me some spinach to go with it.

Tomorrow I will turn the leftovers into crab macaroni and cheese!

Posted in Recipes

A Twist on Traditional Spaghetti

Posted on by Sherri

1 pound ground Turkey

1 pound Italian sausage

2 Tablespoons Italian Salad Dressing

1 can White Kidney Beans or Cannellini Beans

1 Can mushroom soup

1 bag frozen spinach

1 can crushed tomatoes

2-3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup chopped Onion

1/4 cup roasted red pepper

Italian seasonings (oregano, basil and rosemary) to taste, I’m heavy-handed

Spaghetti noodles cooked

Parmigiana cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Cook meat, crumble and drain grease.

Cook pasta according to directions, al dente

In same pan with meat sauté onions and garlic. Add tomatoes, mushroom soup, beans, spinach and seasoning.

Cook about 30 minutes. Finishing with salad dressing and parmigiana cheese.

Top with mozzarella to serve or bake for baked spaghetti.

Posted in Recipes

Easy Pasta-Laya

Posted on by Sherri

3 Pork chops

3 Chicken breasts  

1 stick Butter  

Creole seasonings (I use a lot)

8 ounces Pasta shells or bow ties

1-can crushed tomatoes

½ cup salsa or picante sauce

4 teaspoons flour

¼ cup milk

It’s a bit of work to make but if you do it in stages it’s not too bad. I start by cooking my pork chops, I double what I need so I can eat the chops one night and chop up the other for later. I sauté the pork chops in butter and Creole seasoning saving the cooking liquid.

Chop up pork chops and add cut up chicken breast to slow cooker with left over cooking liquid, tomatoes, Creole seasoning and picante or salsa. You can serve this over rice one night or go ahead and make the pasta-laya.

Boil pasta in salty water, when cooked, strain. Save some of the salted pasta water and set aside. In a separate pot, melt four tablespoons of butter add flour making a roux. Stir in milk, add in soup from slow cooker until flour roux is loosened. Stir until smooth. Add in meat once it is well incorporated you can add in pasta. If needed add a little pasta water to loosen.

It’s really great with cheesy jalapeno cornbread.

Posted in Recipes

I’ve not been cooking much lately

Posted on by Sherri

My husband is surviving on leftovers and peanut butter. Y’all should feel sorry for him. This is what happens when you are married to an author who is trying to publish more than one book a year and take classes on writing and marketing, still work a full-time job, and oh yeah, co-chairing a conference and helping with a fundraiser. Did I forget anything? My head is spinning. I thought NaNoWriMo and the holidays were bad but I’ve pulled four 1 am nights and a couple of midnights recently. Boy, what was I thinking? I’m too old to keep this up.

We went grocery shopping today and hubby decided we needed a couple of frozen meals. I’m not sure if he’s trying to make me feel guilty or help me out. I’m going to say he’s being considerate of my busy schedule. I did come home and cook though, so maybe it worked both ways.

Cheese Ravioli and White Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen cheese ravioli

1 block of cream cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Basil Pesto

Roasted Red Peppers

Minced Garlic

Onion Powder

Italian Seasoning (mixture of oregano, basil and rosemary)

Salted water

1/2 bag of Spinach

Mozzarella Cheese

I use an electric frying pan so I can do everything in one pan. I cheat that way. First bring about two quarts of water to boil. Make sure the water is well salted before adding frozen ravioli. Cook just a few minutes, I prefer about 2-3 minutes or when the pasta starts to look a little darker in color. From almost white to a creamy yellow. I then spoon up the ravioli into a bowl, I save a cup of the salted, starchy water in the pan as well as an extra cup on the side just in case I need to loosen my sauce.

In the cup of water left in the pan cut up cream cheese block and place in pan to melt. Stir. Add in Parmesan cheese. Let the cheese melt before adding frozen or fresh spinach. If you are using canned spinach put that in last. When spinach is nearly cooked add in roasted red peppers, basil pesto, and other seasoning. If your sauce is too thick add more of the leftover water before adding your ravioli into your sauce.

Top with mozzarella cheese and serve.

Posted in Recipes

Spinach Basil Pasta

Posted on by Sherri

Ingredients:

2 rolls of ground turkey (Italian seasoned or season your own with Italian blend seasons)

1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon corn starch diluted in 1/4 cup water (I use pasta water)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup Italian Blend cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

fresh or frozen spinach 8 ounces

Fresh basil

Roasted red pepper

garlic

mushrooms (I didn’t add mushrooms because my husband doesn’t like them but I do, and often add them when he’s not looking).

1 pound elbow macaroni boil according to directions stop when the pasta is still firm.

Bring water to boil in large pot (approximately 6 quart pot 3/4 way filled with water). Salt liberally, add pasta.

In separate pot or electric frying pan, heat oil, add ground turkey, cook until nearly done. Add corn starch. Stir well. Add water from pasta and cooked pasta.

Add chopped spinach, basil, roasted red pepper and garlic. Stir in cheeses.

I like this recipe because I can add tomatoes or tomato sauce, chop up pepperoni, add Romano cheese or other vegetables for a change. Pasta is blank canvas.