Tortellini with Snap Peas and Lemon-Dill Cream

1 lb refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 cup sugar snap peas, cut into thirds on an angle
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 oz pancetta, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 shallot, finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tsp finely chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/3 c grated parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add tortellini and cook according to package directions, adding the sugar snap peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking.  Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet set over medium high meat, heat the oil.  Add pancetta and cook until crisp, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a small bowl.  Pour off all but 2 tbsps. of fat from the pan.  Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown around the edges, about 2 minutes.  Add the heavy cream, chicken broth, dill and lemon zest.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.  Add the tortellini, peas and pancetta to the sauce and toss gently to coat.  To serve- sprinkle with parmesan cheese and more dill.  Serves 4-6.

fettucini with artichoke hearts and tomatoes

Recipe: Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes
Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes | Servings: 6 Ingredients
■2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
■2 Tablespoons Butter
■3 cloves Garlic, Minced
■1/2 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
■1 can Artichoke Hearts (14.5 Oz. Quartered Or Whole) Drained
■1 can Diced Tomatoes With Juice (14.5 Oz.)
■1 cup Heavy Cream
■1/2 cup Chicken Broth (More As Needed)
■1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
■Salt And Pepper, to taste
■1 pound Thin fettucini or whatever noodle you like
■1 cup Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated
■2 Tablespoons Fresh Chives (or Other Herbs) Chopped
sliced browned seasoned chicken breasts
one bunch of basil chopped up.
2 cups of mushrooms

Preparation Instructions
Cook noodles till al dente. Drain and set aside.

Melt olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Stir and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not undersalt!) Cook over low heat until heated through, then turn off heat.

Place drained pasta in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 cup Parmesan. Pour sauce over the top. Add chives. Toss lightly to combine and coat; add a tiny bit of reserved pasta water if sauce seems too thick.

Delicious!

Family Favorite (All six kids eat it!!!)

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce
1/2 c butter
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
2 tsp garlic powder
2 c milk
6 oz grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

I also like Lisa's chicken (from her sandwiches) with this, or just plain chicken and broccoli. Lisa's chicken is just a thin chicken breast cooked in a frying pan with olive oil and Italian seasoning sprinkled all over, mmmmm.

The Spaghetti Sauce that isn't quite as famous as James Dashner but almost.

James Dashner was my very first date and honestly he has always been more like a brother to me than anything else. In fact I think after he took me to TCBY for our date, he went on another date with the girl he really liked. Which I'm sure was fine with me. But Jamie, as I remember him as, is now the most famous person I have ever dated. He is the author of "The Maze Runner" and the sequel to that book- "The Scorch Trials" comes out this week. So I thought it only fitting that this recipe carry his name this week. Because this is one of my most requested-"famous" if you will- recipes. And although it isn't as famous as James, it is more tasty.

The Spaghetti Sauce that isn't quite as famous as James Dashner but almost

22 cups raw, peeled blended tomates- To peel tomatoes, bring water almost to a boil in a large pan. Submerge tomatoes for a few minutes. Then remove and let cool or put in a bowl of cool water. The skins should come off easily. Put tomatoes in a blender, puree and then put into a large pot. Repeat this process until you have 22 cups. Also I usually use roma tomatoes. They make the thickest sauce.

4 onions chopped or 1 c. dry onions

4 cans tomato paste- the small ones.

2 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar

4 tbsp. oregano

4 tbsp. basil

4 cloves of garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder

2 bay leaves

After you have 22 cups of blended tomatoes in a large pot, add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and ccok for 30 minutes. Then put sauce in pint or quart jars. Wipe off lid of jar and put new lids on. Then put your rings on. Process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes in a boiling water bath. This recipe makes about 6 quarts or 12 pints.

You can use this sauce wherever you would use a marinara or spaghetti sauce... for regular spaghetti, pizza, lasagna, meatball subs, chicken parmigana, etc. One trick Eric taught me with this sauce is when you are warming it up to add to your dishes add about a tsp. of sugar and a tsp. of either balsamic or red wine vinegar. (If you are using a full quart add a TBSP of each.) The sugar softens the acidity of the tomatoes and the vinegar adds a depth of flavor. Doing this will make your sauce even more famous than James Dashner!

DJ's Sweet Lips Farewell No-Pasta Pasta Salad

DJ is 19 and I am 35 so it is chronologically impossible for me to have dated him 15 years ago during my dating years. But believe you me if I was a single 18 or 19 year old I would want to. And apparently there are several ladies who are 18 or 19 who share my same sentiment. Especially since the day before his mission farewell he was kissed by two different girls within 5 minutes and neither one of them were girls he was dating at the time. And, yes, you read right they kissed him, not the other way around. With no warning at all and without seeing the other one do it, two girls separately walked right up to him, planted a big one right on his sweet lips, said "See you tomorrow" and walked away. In my mind that story is epic and I didn't even see it. I only heard about it and besides this salad, it was the most talked about thing at his post farewell lunch which is where I took this salad. And since DJ's sweet lips will be having a 2 year hiatus you might as well put this salad to your sweet lips instead. It is a great, different salad you can take to gatherings such as these that will have all your guests talking about almost as much as ... well, you know!;) (Can you imagine how big that story is going to get in the MTC?)
DJ's Sweet Lips Farewell No-Pasta Pasta Salad
1 bag of Fritos Honey BBQ twisted chips
1 c. corn- in the summer I use two fresh corn kernels cut straight from the cob, but I'm sure you could use frozen. Just thaw-don't cook.
1 yellow, red or orange pepper- chopped. Just one-not all three!
1/2 red onion- chopped
2 medium tomatoes- diced
1 avocado- diced
small can of sliced olives- when I made this all I had was chopped olives and I just used 1/2 a can
Can of black beans, drained
8oz. bottle of Catalina or French dressing
Mix all above together. The chips will soften a little bit in the dressing so if you want them crunchy mix right before serving. What makes this salad so different and "buzz-worthy" is people dish it up thinking it is pasta salad but are pleasantly surprised when the "pasta" is actually crunchy... in a good way!

"BALS OUT" Chicken in a Crockpot

6-8 Chicken breasts
Pepper
Salt
Garlic Powder
3 cloves Garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
2/3 c. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 c. chicken broth
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried rosemary
1/2 t. dried thyme
Brown sugar
1 Large Onion, sliced
1 pkg. Mushrooms, quartered
Mozzarella
Parmesan cheese.

First season your chicken breasts (or tenderloins) with pepper, salt and garlic powder. Heat oil in saucepan and brown both sides of chicken. Put Chicken into crockpot and add garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, chicken broth, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and 3-4 T. brown sugar. Let chicken cook on low for 4-5 hours, until done.

While chicken is cooking in the pot, boil your favorite noodles. I used bowtie pasta and some corkscrew together....this was not on purpose, but turned out just fine.

When chicken is almost done, saute onion and mushrooms in 1 T. oil, til onions are transparent. Add about 1/2 t. of salt. Add 1-2 T. brown sugar to caramelize, stir. Then turn off heat and add a couple splashes of balsamic vinegar. Let onions and mushrooms mellow in the vinegar.
***If you want to skip this step, you can put the onions and mushrooms in the crockpot with everything else....but doing it separately REALLY makes a difference.

TO SERVE:

Place chicken and juices over pasta. Add sauteed mushrooms and onions. Then top with Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses. Try not to make sounds as you eat, its just embarrassing. Serve with Roasted Asparagus. (last time I did the roasted asparagus I did not use olive oil, but coconut oil....it was good)

Kari-Cotti

Karicotti
Kari Christensen

1 package Manicotti- usually has 14 shells
1 package, 10 oz., frozen chopped spinach
2 TBSP butter
12 small mushrooms, diced
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 small shallot, sliced
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese
½ tsp nutmeg
Salt & Pepper
1 jar marinara/spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese

Cook manicotti in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes. Let cool. You don’t want to cook them for the full time because they will cook later in the sauce. Pour marinara sauce into a saucepan and add sugar and balsamic vinegar. Simmer over medium heat while you are making everything else. Defrost spinach in microwave for about 3 minutes. Transfer to a kitchen towel. Twist towel around spinach and wring it out until it is very dry. Put in a mixing bowl.
Put butter, mushrooms, garlic and shallots in a skillet over moderate heat. Season with salt and pepper and sauté 5 minutes. Put mushrooms mixture in a food processor and pulse to grind mushrooms. Then put mixture in with spinach and add ricotta cheese, 1/2c. parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Stir to combine and then stuff into cooled manicotti.
Put 1/3 of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan then place the stuffed manicotti on top. Pour remaining marinara sauce on top and top with romano cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly and brown.
Makes 12-14 manicotti.

Thai Sesame Noodles

Thai Sesame Noodles
1 lb chicken or shrimp
16 oz. bottle Italian Dressing
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. honey
4 tsp ginger
2 tsp crushed red pepper
16 oz. angel hair pasta
2 T. sesame oil
1 C. chopped green onions
1/2 C. cilantro
peanuts

Marinate meat in 1/3c. dressing for 1 hour(if using chicken, cut in strips before marinating). In small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, ginger, crushed red pepper, and rest of dressing. Set aside. After meat marinates, prepare pasta and drain. In saucepan over high heat, heat sesame oil. Drain dressing from meat; add meat and onions to oil. Cook until meat is done. In large bowl, mix everything. Serve hot or cold.

***I made this for a Sunday meal and it served 8 adults, 3 kids, and we had leftovers. So you may want to half it if you are feeding a smaller family.

E-Train's Turkey Broccoli Pasta Bake

Last Thanksgiving Eric and I made this recipe up to help use up some of our turkey leftovers. I thought it would be incredibly rude of me to name a dish Eric helped make up after an old boyfriend so I did a little shout-out to Eric's college days with one of his younger days' nicknames- "E-train". He was also a "hard guy" in high school- Some of you 1992 MHS graduates might know what this means but I didn't think "hard guy" lent itself well to the title of a pasta dish. Eric served his mission in Italy therefore we make and eat a lot of pasta in our house. And Eric is an excellent cook. When we first got married we took some homemade rolls that Eric had made to a family party and my Grandma pulled Eric aside and said, "Isn't it so nice to have a wife who can make homemade rolls." Eric didn't correct her but I sheepishly told her Eric had made them. She responded, "Well, even better." Needless to say Eric knew a lot more about cooking than me when we got married. But ahhh- the apprentice has become the master over the course of 12 years! Ok- enough chit chat- here's the yummy recipe if you have any turkey leftovers, left.

1 lb penne or ziti pasta- cooked

4 cups shredded turkey

2 cups steamed broccoli

1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 medium onion chopped

small can of mushrooms or you could use fresh - but we didn't have any.

2 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs butter

4 Tbs flour

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup cream

1 Tbs White wine vinegar

1 crushed clove of garlic

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil and butter together over medium high heat. Add onions, mushrooms and garlic. Saute until onions are soft- about 4-5 minutes. Add flour to make a roux- cook for a minute or two. (If you use fresh mushrooms you may have to add more oil to make the roux, because those babies just soak up the oil!) Add chicken broth and cream. Let thicken, then add vinegar, parmesan cheese, nutmeg and S& P to taste. Let cook for a few minutes. Combine pasta, turkey, broccoli, and roux. Pour into a 9 x 13 sprayed with cooking spray. Then top with Swiss cheese. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese is browned on top.

Tomato Mac

Comfort food at its best. Tomato mac and cheese used to consist of a can of tomato soup, macaroni or shells and cheese. But after living in Taiwan their lack of canned soup forced me to learn how to make my own tomato soup...HENCE...making this simple dish AMAZING. I never thought about posting this recipe cuz I just didn't think it was that exciting until last night. I made tomato mac only because I didn't have time to make anything better. But as each one of my family ranted and raved over it saying its one of their favorite dishes I decided it is VERY EXCITING after all. When DJ, our 17 year old, walked in and did that satisfied groan and said..."ahhh I love this meal", I knew it was time to post it.

Tomato Mac

Package of Pasta (macaroni or shells)

1/4 c. butter

2 T+ flour

1 1/2-2c. Milk

3 cans tomatoes (you may used diced, sliced or whole)

1 T. sugar

1/4 t. oregano

Salt and Pepper

Cheese

Begin by boiling water and adding pasta.

Make a rue with the butter and flour by melting butter in pot and adding flour. Whisk together. After it bubles a little add the milk. Whisk well and scrape the bottom of the pan to avoid burning or curdling the milk. While mixture is cooking on med. heat, put tomatoes in blender and blend till desired consistancy. Add tomatoes to the pot. Stir. Add sugar and oregano and salt and pepper to taste. simmer for 10 min.

To serve put noodles into individual bowl, add soup and top with Cheese.

Pasta al Forno

500 g Penne Pasta
Ragu Sauce
Bechamel Sauce
Mozzerela Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Dry Basil

Ragu Sauce:
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot finely chopped
1/4 onion finely chopped
1 bouillon cube
1 lb. lean ground meet
2 cans of tomato sauce (15oz. each)
salt and pepper
1 pinch of sugar
Saute the carrot and onion in the oil in a medium size sauce pan. Add the bouillon cube and ground beef. Stir well until beef is brown. Add the tomato sauce & 1/2 can of water (approx 1 c). Add salt, pepper, and sugar. Continue to cook on low heat for at least one hour, stirring occasionally.

Bechamel Sauce:
1/2 C. butter
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 pinch black pepper
1/2 C. of white flour
1 qt. milk (4 c.)
Place butter, nutmeg, & black pper in sauce pan and melt on low heat. Mix 1/2 of the milk with the flour in a blender and add it to the butter together with the rest of the milk. Stir continually on low-med heat until sauce thickens.

Cook and drain penne pasta, mix with ragu sauce and place in a 9x13 pyrex pan. Pour the bechamel sauce on the pasta. Generously sprinkle parmesan and mozzeralla cheese and add a touch of dry basil for color and taste. Cover with foil and place in a fridge or freezer until ready to eat. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees, remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer to melt cheese.

Beef Stroganoff

I love this recipe for Beef Stroganoff. Its quite easy and tastes gourmet.

Beef Stroganoff

2 lb. beef cut into strips (I like chuck roast)
½ t. salt
½ t. pepper
½ c. butter
4 green onions, sliced (white parts only)
4 T. flour
1 can beef broth
1 t. prepared mustard
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/3 c. sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Season meat with salt and pepper and any other seasoning you like on beef. Melt butter in large skillet and brown beef strips quickly. Remove beef from pan and cook onions in beef juices for about 3-5 min. Remove. Stir flour into juices and add beef broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and stir in mustard. Add beef and onions and cover and simmer for 1 hour until meat is tender. 5 minutes before serving stir in mushrooms and sour cream. Serve over bowtie.

Matt Pulley my leg - this is easy skillet lasagna.

My family loves all things pasta and we all enjoy lasagna but sometimes it can be a bit laborious- is that a word?!? Anyway I found this recipe where you can make a great lasagna that is easier and faster than the original.
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
water- such a specific ingredient!
1 TBS. olive oil
1 medium onion- minced
3 cloves garlic- minced
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 lb ground beef- the recipe I have says meatloaf mix- which is a mix of beef, pork and veal. But the only place I've found that is Snyder's and seriously who has time to go there for a week night meal. I'm sure it is very tasty- but ground beef works just as well.
10 lasagna noodles- broken into 2 inch pieces
1 can (8oz.) tomate sauce
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese- plus 2 TBS.
salt and pepper
1 c. ricotta cheese
3 TBS chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp of dried
Pour tomatoes with their juices into a 1 qt. liquid measuring cup. Add water until mixture measures 1 qt. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook until onion begins to brown- about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant- about 30 second. Add ground meat and cook until no longer pink- about 4 minutes. Scatter pasta over meat but do not stir. Pour diced tomatoes with juices and tomato sauce over pasta. Cover and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with heaping tablespoons ricotta, cover and let stand off heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and remaining parmesan cheese. Serves 4 to 6.

Penne Russo

So you might look at this recipe and FREAK out cuz you don't keep prosciutto on hand OR you don't know what the heck prosciutto is. As Kari would put it Prosciuttoeeee Whoeee? Kari's husband Eric actually gave me this recipe so she does know what prosciutto is. First of all you buy prosciutto in the deli department at the grocery store. I always buy 1 lb. But since this recipe only calls for 1/8 lb, I usually use a 1/4 lb. (cuz we like it so much) then freeze the rest till next time. Then I always have it on hand. This recipe is worth it. This is one of the simplest dinners I make. Easy Sneazy. I hope you give it a shot.
Penne Russo

1 pkg. penne pasta
1 t. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/8 lb prosciutto, chopped
½ t. red pepper flakes
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. parmesan cheese
½ c. fresh basil
Salt to taste
Boil pasta.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic, proscuitto and red pepper flakes for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, cook for 3 min. Stir in cream. Simmer for 15 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chopped basil. Toss with pasta until evenly coated. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

Basil Chicken over Angel Hair

Basil Chicken over Angel Hair
http://www.allrecipes.com/

Looks Gourmet, but extremely easy.

1 8oz package angel hair pasta
2 t. olive oil

1/2 c. chopped onion
1-4 cloves garlic
2 1/2 c. chopped tomatoes

2 c. cubed cooked chicken
1/4 c. chopped basil
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. hot pepper sauce
1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Cook Noodles till done.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken, basil, salt and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium, and cover skillet. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is hot and tomatoes are soft.

Toss Angel Hair Pasta and sauce till noodles are coated. Top with Parmesan cheese.

**On this recipe I put 1-4 cloves garlic. In my oppinion the more garlic the better so use your best judgement. Enjoy!!

Chicken Alfredo

Chicken Alfredo

4-5 chicken breasts
Cover with Italian Seasoning, garlic, salt and Pepper and Grill

1 stick butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. Heavy cream
1/8 t. garlic
1/8 t. black pepper
Melt butter and add flour and make a rue. Add cream, garlic and pepper. Simmer 10-12 min until thick, stirring constantly.
Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Serve with Chicken over bow tie noodles.