Rigatoni with Broccoli and Sausage

adapted from Emeril Lagasse

1 lb. Rigatoni
2 heads broccoli cut into florets (about 4 c.)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
Parmesan for serving

Cook sausage, breaking up into small pieces, until browned. Set sausage aside.
Boil pasta according to directions. In last 2 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli. Reserve 1 c. pasta water. While pasta and broccoli are in the colander, add oli, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the pot and warm until flavors come together. Add pasta, broccoli and sausage back into the pot and stir, add the 1 c. of pasta water. Salt and Pepper to taste and generously grate Parmesan cheese over top.
This was amazing and the children loved it too!!

Orecchiette With Spring Vegetables

1/2 lb. Orecchiette pasta

1/2 c. Peas
Asparagus
Zucchini
1 cooked chicken breast
Zest from half a lemon
Juice from half a lemon
2 T. olive oil (plus more for sautéing)
Fresh parmesan

Boil ½ lb. orecchiette pasta
Sautee sliced zucchini and asparagus (cut into 2 inch spears) with some olive oil and salt and pepper
Put 1/2c. frozen peas in your strainer and when you drain the boiling pasta over the peas, they defrost! Add the sliced cooked chicken, pasta and peas into the sauté pan with the zucchini and asparagus. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and toss to coat. Top with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh cracked pepper!

Creamy Pappardelle with Chicken

As usual, I don’t follow recipes too well!  But I modified this one to my own liking and it was wonderful!

2 chicken breasts

16 oz pappardelle pasta

2 T. olive oil

¼ c. minced onion

1 clove of crushed garlic

1 ½ c. heavy cream

¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for topping)

Directions: Salt & pepper the chicken. Brown up the chicken in a pan. When done, set aside. Add olive oil and onion into pan. Season with salt & pepper. Sautee until slightly brown and add garlic clove. Sautee another minute and add the cream. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to thicken. Chop up the chicken and add to the sauce. When pasta is done cooking add directly to the pan with the sauce, add the Parmesan cheese and toss to coat. Serve with more Parmesan on top.

Rachel's Fantastic Fettuccine

Another bloggy friend offered up this easy recipe! This one comes from Rachel at The Boni Bunch . I’m calling it:

Rachel’s Fantastic Fettuccine
1 lb Fettuccine pasta
1 26oz can Spaghetti Sauce
4-6 oz cream cheese (depending on preference)
1 lb browned ground beef/turkey cooked with 1 chopped onion garlic, salt, pepper, other seasonings as desired
Mix sauce, cheese, meat/onion, and seasonings & allow cheese to melt & mix with sauce... simmer then add to pasta...
I have to admit, everything is better with cream cheese! So I'm excited to try this one!

Mushroom Pasta

Thanks to some bloggy friends who shared some dinner ideas! This one is from Tania

1 medium onion
1 lb ground beef
1 (1lb) box of rigatoni pasta
3 cans cream of mushroom soup w/ 5 cans of
water added
seasoning to taste (salt, pepper)
(I will also add crushed garlic and diced mushrooms for extra flavor. But this is not necessary to originally recipe.)
Saute onion and add ground beef until browned; drain excess fat if desired. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cook until most of liquid is very thick/almost gone; roughly 45 minutes.
Sounds great! I can’t wait to try it.

Bolognese Sauce

This is one of my new favorite things to make – it’s hearty, healthy, comforting… yummy!
Chop a small onion, some carrots, celery and a clove or two of garlic (sorry, no exact amounts around here!)
Sautee them with some olive oil, S&P, in a stock pot for about 10 min (until some crust forms on the pan). Add some ground beef (and ground veal if you wish) and mash it up as it browns so it is in small pieces. Once meat is browned, add some dry white wine and simmer until evaporated. Add 2 cans of tomatoes with juice (I use tomato puree because I don't like chunks of tomato!), dried oregano, basil, 2 Tbs of milk (to make the meat more tender) cover and reduce to a simmer for about an hour. Stir the sauce, smashing it on the side of the pot to get rid of any large chunks.
Enjoy over your favorite pasta. I love to use large rigatoni because the chunky sauce gets trapped inside and it’s delicious!!

Hillary's Pasta

Hillary’s Pasta
(this is the new name I’ve given the dish although I know she got the recipe from another friend!)
Bow Tie Pasta
Shredded cooked chicken
Pine nuts
Chopped tomatoes
Julienned basil
Lemon zest and juice
Grated parmesan cheese
Heat some butter and olive oil, S&P on low and toss with everything.
Can be served hot, room temp or cold – it’s amazing!!
Also, check out Hillary's blog - it's one of my favorites!

Mommy Girl's Mack n Cheese

1 lb. elbow macaroni
1 quart milk
8 T. butter
½ c. flour
22 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (roughly 7 c. grated)
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
S&P to taste
Cook macaroni according to the box directions in salted water, set aside. Heat milk over med. Heat (don’t boil). Melt butter in a pan, add flour and cook until nutty. Pour in hot milk and take off the heat. Wisk. Add almost all the cheese (save some for the top) and stir until melted. Add the mustard, Worcestershire and S&P. Fold in the macaroni. Place into a large, buttered, glass baking dish and cover with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 30 min to get a nice crust on top. Enjoy!

Princess Bows with Chicken & Mushrooms

It’s amazing what happens when you change the name of food. Bowtie pasta becomes an object of a little girl’s desire when it is called Princess Bows!
I browned some chicken breasts in a pan, removed them and sautéed some mushrooms in the same pan with the caramelized bits from the chicken. I added some chicken stock to deglaze the pan, and added some heavy cream to thicken it up. S&P of course to taste. I returned the chicken (cut into small pieces after cooked) and mushrooms to the sauce and poured over Princess Bows with some grated Parmesan cheese, voila – delicious!