Quick Easy Pasta

Tradition in our house is that every Sunday we enjoy pasta. I make a fresh pot of red sauce, salad and good hearty bread to dip into salt & peppered olive oil. It is delicious and easy.

This past Sunday, I went to take out of the freezer what I thought to be sauce, only to open the container and see that it was yogurt! I did not have sauce to serve on Sunday! What was I to do??

No worries...I made a quick easy pasta with tomatoes, basil, beans, garlic and onion....a few shaves of Romano cheese and we had dinner!

The Recipe:

1 box Linguini (or any pasta you like)
1 can Cannelinni Beans (White Kidney Beans), drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
5 fresh plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Olive oil
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. Parsley, dried or fresh
5 large leaves fresh basil, chopped

In pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions. Reserve about a cup of the water for pasta bowl.

Meanwhile, in fry pan, cook onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add canned diced tomatoes and all spices. Cook for 10 minutes. Add beans. Heat through. When pasta is done, add reserved liquid to serving bowl. Add drained pasta. Top with frypan ingredients and toss in fresh tomatoes. Top with a couple of basil leaves and shaved Romano cheese.

                                                      

Easter Greetings!

I have been juggling schedules and unfortunately, the recipes have not been added as I would have liked! So, I am going to try a few different ideas, and hopefully a more consistent entry will be found a few times a week rather than once a month! It also will help that dad returns from Florida soon and Sunday coffee will resume. Yay!

One thing, well, actually a few things, I missed from Easter dinner today were ham, roasted sweet and regular potatoes. My kids are boycotting the meat and you can't cook one without the other (at least the meal I was missing) so we ate lasagna instead. I haven't made this dish in a while because the kids didn't like it, but yesterday after cleaning up there was only a half tray left after hearing "yeah, pretty good mom. Didn't think I would like it." Ah, there is hope for the return of ham on Easter!

So, today I will share the lasagna recipe that was the meal that turned the taste buds of some finiky eaters!

The recipe:

3 Cups sauce
2 lb. Ricotta cheese
2 eggs
4 Tbsp parsley ( I used dried)
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1/ 4 C grated Romano cheese (Locatelli)
1 pkg no-boil lasagna noodles ( I used Barilla)

In bowl, mix all ingredients except sauce and noodles. In 10x13" glass pan, layer 3-4 noodles on bottom of pan. Spread about 1 Cup of cheese mixture over noodles, being sure to go to edge of pan to seal in noodles (otherwise they won't cook). place another layer of noodles. Top with another cup (or more if needed) to cover the noodles. Top with sauce. Then remaining cheese mixture, and final layer of noodles. Top with sauce and sprinkle a light layers of grated cheese on top. Cover with foil and cook 50-60 minutes in 375' oven. Let pan sit for about 20 minutes before serving so the lasagna can set.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!
 

Broccoli & Spaghetti

This past Sunday, I revived the "Sunday Coffee" with Dad. I started this weekly ritual when my husband and I first moved back to the area. One: to catch up on family goings-on and two: to take a small break from the craziness of two young toddlers. An hour, cup of coffee and a story or two was just what I needed to get me through the day.

As the kids got older and our family got busier, "Sunday Coffee" started to drift until it stopped all together. I think my dad and I both missed our weekly visits.

One common subject that my father and I can talk endlessly about is food. Where to find the best supermarket deal, what secret ingredient to add to this or that, etc. That is why this blog was started; to share what we enjoy.

So, first recipe up from my childhood is Broccoli & Spaghetti. I ate this ALL the time as a kid and I'm surprised that I haven't made it for my kids because they love broccoli.

I don't have pictures yet, but when I make this dish, I will take some and add to the post.

Recipe for Broccoli & Spaghetti:

2 boxes frozen chopped broccoli
1 box spaghetti
Olive oil
Locatelli Pecorino Romano Cheese

Boil water in stock pot with a touch of olive oil (my father only uses Bertolli). Add spaghetti and broccoli and cook together until pasta is finished. Drain pot making sure to leave about 5% of water in pasta. Add generous amount of olive oil (about 1/4 C.) salt & pepper. Heavy on salt, very light on pepper.

Place in bowl and add generous sprinkle of cheese.

My father likes Bertolli oil and I tend to use Fillipo Berrio, but we both agree that there is NO other cheese to use in ANY dish other than Locatelli. The flavor is salty and a little nutty and is divine on any dish calling for grated cheese.