Category: pasta

Pasta Primavera


This is the first time for me to make Pasta Primavera and my husband and I absolutely LOVED it! My husband especially liked the white sauce and penne pasta, and I loved the fresh vegetables, especially the mushrooms. I added some chicken to this recipe since I figured my husband would want some “meat” to this dish. The Pasta Primavera recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman. You definitely need to try this… and its a good way to get your veggies in! Enjoy!

All the vegetables you need: zucchini, broccoli, onions, bell peppers, carrots, and mushrooms.

Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook onions and garlic over medium high heat for about a minute or two.

Add the carrots and broccoli and cook for about a minute more.

Transfer the mixture to a plate and add the red pepper strips to the skillet. Cook for about a minute, then transfer them to the plate.

Add butter to the skillet and cook the zucchini for less than a minute, and transfer to plate. Cook mushrooms for a minute or two and again transfer to the plate.

To make the sauce add the chicken broth, and butter and cook until the liquid starts to thicken. Add whipping cream, half-and-half, Parmesan cheese, basil leaves and stir.

Dump veggies and mushrooms into sauce along with frozen peas.

Add the pasta al dente and stir. Top with Parmesan and basil and serve.

Pasta Primavera
Ingredients
1 cup bite-sized Broccoli Pieces ( up to 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 whole Onion diced finely
3-4 cloves Garlic, chopped finely
2 whole medium to large Carrots, sliced on the bias (diagonally)
2 whole medium Zucchini, sliced on the bias
1 whole medium Yellow Squash (optional)
5 oz. Button or Baby Porcini Mushrooms, roughly sliced
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, sliced in strips
4 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Penne Pasta

For the Sauce:
1/4 cups Dry White Wine (I used additional Chicken Broth instead)
1/2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 cup Whipping (heavy) Cream
1 cup Half-and-half
1/2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top
5 leaves Basil, plus more for garnish
1/2 cups Frozen Peas

Directions
1. Prep the vegetables. Chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ cups worth. Dice half an onion. Chop 3 to 4 cloves of garlic. Slice carrots on the bias (diagonally), and do the same for the zucchini and yellow squash. Roughly slice the mushrooms and slice the red pepper (seeded) into strips.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic together and cook for a minute or two, until they start to turn translucent. Then throw in the broccoli. Stir, and add in the carrots.
3. Transfer the veggies to a plate. Add the red bell pepper strips to the skillet and cook for about a minute. Transfer them to a plate.
4. Add pasta to boiling water and cook to al dente.
5. Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet and cook squash and zucchini for less than a minute, then transfer to a plate. Cook mushrooms for a minute or two and again transfer to the plate.
6. To make the sauce, pour 1/4 cup dry white wine to skillet (or chicken broth). Add 1/2 cup chicken broth, a tablespoon of butter and scrape the bottom of the skillet to pull up the flavor of left behind by the veggies. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the liquid starts to thicken.
7. Add whipping cream, half-and-half, and Parmesan to skillet and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in fresh basil leaves.
8. Dump veggies and mushrooms into the sauce along with frozen peas.
9. Add pasta al dente and stir.
10. Top with more Parmesan and basil to taste and serve.

Serves 4-6

Emeril Lagasse’s Shrimp and Linguine Fra Diavolo

This was the first dinner I ever made my husband (when we were dating) and he absolutely loved it! Actually the first words out of his mouth were, “This is a lot better than I thought it would be!” For those of you who don’t know, my husband is not big on seafood, so he didn’t want to tell me that when I was about to cook our first dinner. What is crazy is that he loves sushi, and he likes cold shrimp cocktail. He will only eat salmon from Houston’s (a restaurant in Dallas), and he only likes crab legs from some exclusive restaurant in Atanta. My husband says he hates seafood, but it sounds to me like he kind of likes it!

For this recipe, I sometimes use the curly, corkscrew pasta from Williams-Sonoma instead of linguine because it holds the sauce really well and it is fun to eat. I love this dish; its spicy, simple, and fast to make. Plus I would consider it quite healthy!

Cook the onions in olive oil for 3-4 minutes.
Add the crushed red pepper flakes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.
Now add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes.
Finally add the drained pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir all ingredients together and cook another 3-4 minutes.
Garnish with Parmesan cheese (unfortunately we were out…) and serve immediately.

Shrimp and Linguine Fra Diavolo
Ingredients
1 pound linguine
1 cup diced onion
6 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp minced garlic
2-3 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 lbs. shrimp
1 cup cooking water (from drained pasta)
1 tsp salt; divided in pasta water and in the sauce (I omitted because I do not like a lot of salt)
fresh parsley
parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Cook pasta in salted water for 5 minutes and drain. SAVE 1 cup of cooking water!
2. On medium high heat, cook 1 cup diced onion with 6 tablespoons olive oil for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add 3 tablespoons minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add 2-3 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.
5. Add 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and 2 tbsp tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add 1 1/2 pounds of shrimp and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add drained pasta and 1 cup of cooking water and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Garnish with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley and 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Serves 4-6

Chicken Tetrazzini

This is one of my husband’s absolute favorites now, especially since the sauce tastes like alfredo. It was actually one of my favorite dishes growing up, and I remember dishing myself out not only seconds, but thirds everytime I ate this. It is super easy to make and even the pickiest of eaters should like it. I like to add mushrooms and peas to make it a little healthier.

Boil the spaghetti.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by melting the butter and adding salt, pepper, flour, chicken broth and heavy cream.
Bring sauce to a boil and cook 1 minute longer.
After the sauce thickens, stir in the cooked chicken, mushrooms, and peas.

Add the spaghetti.
Pour into an ungreased baking pan and bake for 30 minutes, uncovered at 350 degrees F.

Chicken Tetrazzini
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 package (of a 12 oz package) spaghetti, cooked and drained
  • 2 cups chicken, cooked, cubed and drained
  • 1 can (3oz) mushrooms, drained
  • 1/4 cup frozen peas (I didn’t measure, so you put in the amount you desire)
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Melt butter in a large pan. Add flour, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until smooth and bubbly.
  3. Remove from heat. Stir in broth, and cream. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 more minute.
  4. Stir in spaghetti, chicken, mushrooms, and peas.
  5. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
  6. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until bubbly. Place under broiler for a few minutes to brown.

Giada’s Shrimp Lasagna Rolls

I love shrimp and I love lasagna, so why not combine them? I have never heard of shrimp lasagna before, but when my mom and I saw it in Giada de Laurentiis’s cookbook, we just had to try them. They were very good, our only complaint was that we should have baked them longer in the oven for the cheese to melt more, but we were pressed for time.

Boil the noodles.

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and cook on the stove for about 4 minutes.

Make two sauces: the marinara and the ricotta/shrimp sauce mixture.

Lay out a noodle and spoon ricotta/shrimp mixture on it.

Roll up each individual lasagna and place in baking pan layered with marinara sauce and cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. We should have baked ours for about 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Giada’s Shrimp Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients
1 lb lasagna noodles
3 tbps olive oil
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large clove garlic, chopped
2 (15 oz) container whole-milk ricotta
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 cups marinara sauce
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still firm to the bite, about 6-8 minutes. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and garlic to the pan and saute until shrimp are cooked, about 4 minutes, stirring often.
4. Remove from heat and let cool. Coarsely chop the cooled shrimp and place in a bowl with 1 cup ricotta cheese, the parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
5. In another bowl, combine the marinara sauce with the remaining 1 cup ricotta and stir to combine.
6. To make lasagna, cover the bottom of a baking dish with 1/2 cup marinara mixture. Lay 4 noodles flat on a dry work surface. Spread about 1/4 cup shrimp mixture evenly over each noodle. Roll up and place seem-side down in a baking dish. Repeat to make 12 rolls total.
7. Drizzle the rolls with the remaining marinara mixture and top with mozzarella. Bake until the lasagna rolls are heated through and cheese begins to brown, about 25 minutes (we would recommend 40 minutes).

Bow Tie Pasta

This is a casserole that I have not made in years, but it is sooo good. The dried tomatoes add a unique flavor, and who doesn’t love chicken with pasta? I recommend making it the day of because if you let it sit in the fridge until the next day, the sauce soaks into the pasta and it is not as creamy when you bake it.

Bow Tie Pasta

Ingredients
10 ozs. pasta, such as bow ties or penne
2 shallots, chopped*
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cubed
1/4 c. dry white wine**
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1 T. chopped parsley
1 10 oz. container refrigerated light alfredo sauce
3/4 c. oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. pepper
Fresh basil (optional)

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook shallots and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add chicken. Cook and stir for 5 to 7 minutes or until no pink remains in chicken. Carefully add wine, basil, and parsley. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more.

In large mixing bowl combine cooked pasta, chicken mixture, alfredo sauce, dried tomatoes, milk, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, and pepper.

Turn into a 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until heated through and top is slightly golden. If desired, garnish with fresh basil.

Serving Ideas: Serve with French Bread or breadsticks and a green salad.

Notes: *I substituted onions for shallots. Shallots are much smaller than onions, so if using an onion, chop about 1/4 cup.
**I substituted chicken broth for white wine.
Instead of the prepared alfredo sauce, I prepare a dry packet of McCormick alfredo sauce according to package directions and use that in the recipe…it is less expensive.

Enjoy!