Quick fresh tomato sauce for pasta

4 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt
lots of freshly cracked black pepper
rounds of goat cheese (optional)
fresh basil

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic gently for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for five minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over hot pasta with fresh basil and goat cheese.

Pasta with pesto rosso

A quick pasta dish that I love.

1 cup of your favorite pasta (mine is fettucine), cooked
1 Tbsp pesto rosso (sun-dried tomato pesto)
1 Tbsp feta cheese, crumbled
a couple black olives, sliced (optional)
fresh basil, snipped

Toss together and voilà!

Empy-the-fridge pasta

Okay, so maybe I could have come up with a more appetizing name for this dish. But at least you know how it came about! Really great way to use up bits of veggies, and the dressing gives a good kick. I usually eat this in a wrap sandwich, but we didn't have wraps... so over pasta it went!

1-2 sliced smoked, sausages Italian sausages, or chipolatas
1 medium carrot, cut into thin rounds
1 large zucchini, cut into thin rounds
1-2 sliced red bell peppers
1 sliced onion
2 crushed garlic cloves
¼ c Italian dressing
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
goat or feta cheese (opt)
hot pasta

Heat a non-stick skillet to med-high. Cook sausage and carrot slices in Italian dressing for 3-4 minutes. Add remaining veggies and sauté until tender crisp. Sprinkle on vinegar or lemon juice. Serve over pasta, with cheese if you want.

Garlicky sardine and tomato pasta

This recipe is for fish-lovers, like myelf. It is not for people who only like 'fish that doesn't taste like fish'. The sardines, tomato and lemon are beautiful together. And did I mention the sauce is ready in the time it takes pasta to cook?

1 small can sardines in olive oil
5-10 Tbsp tomato paste
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp hot sauce (opt)
green olives (opt)
lemon slices
hot pasta

In a small frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp of the sardine oil over medium heat. Cook the garlic for two minutes, turning down the heat if it starts to brown. Add5 tbsps of tomato paste and turn heat up to med-high. Dilute with 1/4 cup water. Add the sardines and stir gently. Once heated through, taste and add more tomato paste/water if desired. Add hot sauce and/or olives if you want. The squeeze of lemon just before serving is not optional. It's delicious.

Serve over hot pasta.

Fish with tomato, olive and Tuscan lemon sauce

To be completely honest, the lemons don't have to be from Italy. But my friend just came back from a lemon grove in Tuscany and it sounded so much cooler as a title!

2 firm white fish fillets
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 16oz can crushed tomatoes
Pinch of oregano
about 12-15 green olives, cut in half
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
Hot pasta or rice

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a skillet over med-high and brown one side of fish. Don't cook all the way through - just until over half is white. (You will finish steaming it in the sauce.) Set aside.

Add another tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add onions and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until translucent. In the same pan add chopped tomato with liquid. Add green olives, oregano, a little salt and pepper. Scrape bottom of pan to get flavorful brown bits mixed into sauce. Place fish fillets on top of sauce, browned side up. Cook over low/medium heat about 10 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half. Squeeze lemon over top and serve with pasta or rice.

Broccoli & pasta alfredo

I like my pasta alfredo to be about half pasta, half vegetable - all lightly covered in sauce.

1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 small handful spaghetti noodles
3/4 cup light cream (15%)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
3-4 cups frozen broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1-2 tsp olive oil

Start boiling water for pasta.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, broccoli, garlic. Cook until broccoli is super bright green. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.

Stir the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy pan to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Cook the pasta in boiling water until tender, then drain. Pour the alfredo sauce over the pasta and toss. Stir in the chicken and broccoli... et voilà!

Marinara sauce with vegetables

1 box tomato purée / pomodoro (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup carrot purée (optional)
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 cup button mushrooms, quartered
4-6 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tsp olive oil
5-10 basil leaves, sliced thinly
parmesan

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add zuchinni and cook 5 minutes or until soft and bright green around the edges. You may need to add a little water to keep it from sticking.

Add tomato purée, carrot purée, mushrooms, sugar, thyme and rosemary. Simmer on low at least 15 minutes.

Serve over hot pasta with basil and parmesan on top.

Eggplant parmesan, direct from the Italian sister-in-law

This recipe came from my sister-in-law's grandmother. It's so rich and... wonderful. The marinara sauce is fantastic with fresh chopped tomatoes rather than canned. And fresh basil is a must. Buon appetito!

Eggplant

Peel 2 eggplants and slice thinly.

Beat eggs and milk (quantity depending on how much you are making – but about 2 eggs and 1 cup milk for 2 eggplants). Add a little salt, pepper and garlic powder to egg mixture.

Put a few cups of flour in a bowl. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture and then in flour.

Fry eggplant in hot oil. Brown eggplant on each side and let eggplant sit on paper towels.

Tip: The fried eggplant freezes well. If you are not ready to make parmesan, place eggplant on cookie sheet to freeze (so they don’t stick) and then store in container or plastic bag.

Sauce
Cover bottom of large pot with 4 Tbsp olive oil and 6 cloves garlic. Brown garlic in oil and add 2 large cans crushed tomato and almost one can of water. Be careful – oil spits! Add a large handful of fresh basil, 1 Tbsp oregano and a little bit of salt and black pepper. Simmer one hour.



Putting it together in a casserole dish:
Layer of sauce on bottom
Layer of eggplant
Thin layer of sauce
Sprinkle oregano
Layer of fresh basil
Thin layer of mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese
Layer of eggplant
Thin layer of sauce and a little bit of oregano and grated parmesan cheese

Bake for approximately 30 minutes in preheated oven at 350°. It's ready when the eggplant browns and some of sauce gets absorbed (but don’t let it to get too dry).

Serve with pasta or, as we did, garlic bread.

Broccoli, red pepper and goat cheese pasta

Perfect for a quick, flavorful lunch

1 cup linguine, cooked
1 cup broccoli florets, steamed
1 red pepper, sliced
1 small yellow squash, steamed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 round goat cheese

Toss hot pasta with crumbled goat cheese. Stir in vegetables. Serve warm or chilled.

Mom's garlic bread

1 loaf French bread
butter
garlic powder
salt
dried parsley

Cut the bread into rounds. Place small pats of butter on the top side. Sprinkle (don't be shy!) with garlic powder and then a little salt and parlsey. Broil in the oven until the edges brown.



Goes gread with pasta.

Grandgarden pasta with summer vegetables

After a quick trip to the garden, I had tomato, basil, zucchini and its blossoms to go along with the goat cheese and garlic from the market and the Chipolata left from breakfast. This is the result. The very yummy, fresh result.



4 small zuchinni, quartered and sliced
1-2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp olive oil
1 Chipolata sausage, cooked and sliced (opt)
4 zuchinni flowers, rinsed and sliced (opt)
fresh goat cheese (chèvre), crumbled
fresh basil, snipped
salt
2-3 cups cooked pasta, hot



Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook crushed garlic for one minute, then add zucchini and sausage. Cook, stirring frequently, until zucchini begins to soften. Add tomatoes and zuchinni flowers. Stir to mix and cook one minute. Taste and salt as needed. Cover and remove from heat.



Serve over hot pasta and top with goat cheese and basil.

Pasta alfredo

Tonight we decided to make alfredo sauce. (Good thinking on our part.) I didn't want the meal to be heavy, so we made small servings of pasta and added broccoli and red pepper as part of the base for the sauce. We made it with chicken, but you could easily do it without and still have a complete meal.

1-2 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups vermicelli pasta (uncooked)
3/4 cup light cream (15%)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cup broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1-2 tsp olive oil

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cut chicken into small pieces and cook in skillet, stirring often. When chicken is almost done (white all over) add red pepper, broccoli florets and garlic. Keep stirring often and cook until peppers are soft and broccoli is bright green. Once done, remove from heat and cover to keep warm.



Start boiling water for pasta.

Stir the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy pan to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Cook the pasta in boiling water until tender, then drain. Pour the alfredo sauce over the pasta and toss. Stir in the chicken and vegetables. Warm over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, then serve immediately.

Zucchini pomodoro

1 box tomato purée / pomodoro (about 2 cups)
2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/2 cup carrot purée (optional)
4-6 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp sugar
5-10 basil leaves, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tsp olive oil
Optional: 1/2 lb ground beef, browned and drained

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add zuchinni and cook 5 minutes or until soft and bright green around the edges. You may need to add a little water to keep it from sticking.

Add tomato purée, carrot purée, sugar, thyme and rosemary. (If using beef, add now) Simmer on low at least 15 minutes.

Serve over hot pasta with basil on top.

Hamburger corn casserole

I used to request this on special occasions as a kid. It was a real shocker to me the day I figured out that it isn't fancy or expensive to make :)

1/2 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 small can corn
1/2 cup sour cream (crême fraîche), or more to taste
2-3 servings cooked pasta
1/ tsp beef boullion

Brown the ground beef and drain fat. Put meat to the side and brown onions in the same pan.

Toss together all ingredients. Pour into a baking dish and bake at 350° until hot all the way through.

Serve on fancy occasion plates.

Bulgur and wild rice pilaf

1 cup wild rice
1 cup long grain brown rice
1 cup bulgur
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup diced celery
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
6 dried apricots, coarsely chopped
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
3 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onions until soft and translucent. Add garlic, mushrooms and celery, cooking until fragrant. Set onions and garlic aside.

Heat another Tbsp of oil. Stir in the rices and bulgur. When rice grains become clear, pull off heat.

In a large saucepan, combine rices and bulgur with onions, mushrooms, celery, garlic and chopped apricots. Add water to cover, plus an additional 3/4 inch. Sprinkle in bouillon and herbs. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let cook, covered, until all liquid has been absorbed. Check for doneness once absorbed. If still a bit hard, add another 1/2cup water. Cook another 10 minutes, then check again.

Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Veggie pasta with goat cheese

2 cups tomato sauce
2-3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic (or more!), chopped
1 zuchinni
2 yellow squash
1/2 cup cooked carrot puree
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp sugar
5-10 fresh basil leaves, cut thinly
salt to taste
2 tsp olive oil
Goat cheese
Hot pasta

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Saute onions until translucent, then add garlic, zuchinni and squash. Cook over medium heat until squash is tender.

Add tomato sauce and paste, carrot puree, seasonings and sugar. Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes. Serve over hot pasta, topped wityh crumbled goat cheese.

Pot of pesto pasta

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 roasted red peppers
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cloves crushed garlic
3-4 heaping Tablespoons of basil pesto
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups cooked pasta

Saute the chicken and garlic in olive oil. When chicken is white all the way through, add mushrooms, red peppers and pesto. Heat well.

In a large bowl, mix pasta with sauce. All done!