Pasta

[LostnFound]

I love pasta and I am looking for new pasta dishes to serve for dinner. Does anyone have any good pasta recipes. Please share. Thanks.

[Big_Sissy]

do you like alfrado (sp???)

5d has a great white sauce recipe that she got from her ninja cook book. If you like it it's worth getting, as I love it.

I would also suggest getting the French bread recipe as well as the two together are HEAVENLY!!

[Dia Minha]

I rarely use recipes. So I don't have an actual, formal, recipe for you. However, I do have some ideas.

When we have spaghetti with tomato sauce, I like to hide lots of veggies in it. My kids' favorites are shredded zuchinni and/or yellow squash, onions, mushrooms, and olives. They did not like the carrots.

I love stir fry on pasta. In the past I have used Ramen noodles and instead of using the seasoning packet on the noodles, I sprinkle it over the assortment of vegtables and then top the noodles with the veggies. This could be done with regular pasta and using a stir fry seasoning instead.

[Meticulous madness]

Hey there LnF. I love pasta recipes, too. So, please share some of your "tried and true" as well.

Originally, I got the following recipe from meals.com. It's a great site, with customer reviews and the ability to change serving sizes. There are great meal planning ideas, and shopping guides, too. Fun to look around. I refer there often, when I'm bored of the same ol' - same ol'.

The following recipe feeds 4. It's a great "basic" recipe that can be altered according to tastes and preferences. I have found that every time I make it, it tastes a bit different - because I like to get creative. I'll put my own notes afterward.


Chicken shells with cheese.

8 ounces medium pasta shells

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

2 cups chopped cooked chicken meat

2 teaspoons crushed dried parsley


Instructions:

Cook pasta as per package instructions; drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to just boiling or until small bubbles appear around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add garlic salt, pepper, and about 3/4 of the shredded cheese; whisk until melted.

Combine sauce with chicken, parsley and cooked pasta in a baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling and browned on top.


M&M recipe notes:

** I tend to like a thicker sauce, personally. So, I mix a bit of flour with butter and heat that up before adding the milk (definitely not a 'light cooking' strategy, but it sure tastes good).
I like to use half Pepper Jack Cheese and half cheddar (which gives it just enough of a kick for our family). I also use fajita seasoning in addition to the seasonings they list.
I put mushrooms and green onions in my version, most of the time. But, I bet it would be great with broccoli, or sundried tomatoes or toasted almonds or whatever.

Try it out. Hopefully you won't be disappointed.

[Meticulous madness]

Originally Posted by Big_Sissy

do you like alfrado (sp???)

5d has a great white sauce recipe that she got from her ninja cook book. If you like it it's worth getting, as I love it.

I would also suggest getting the French bread recipe as well as the two together are HEAVENLY!!

I'm DEFINITELY interested in this 5D. Did you already post it and I just missed it somehow?

[5ft Diva]

No, if you're interested, I'd be happy to post it. You'll see it on here w/in the week.

[LostnFound]

Here is an Alfredo Sauce that I use and love. It is definitely not low fat or low in calories, but I think it is delicious. I also have a good recipe for Torellini and Sausage soup that is very good. I will look for the recipe.

Very Rich Alfredo Sauce

1 pint of heavy whipping cream
1 cup of milk
2 Tbs. of flour
1 stick of butter
2 Tbs. of cream cheese
3/4 cup of fresh parmesan cheese
1 tsp. of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Whip flour and milk. In a saucepan combine heavy whipping cream, milk and flour mixture, butter, and cream cheese. Simmer until all is melted, stirring occasionally to get rid of the lumps. Add parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer for 15-20 minutes on low. Season with salt and pepper. If desired add cooked vegetables and/ or meat. Pour over cooked noodles.

[Meticulous madness]

That sounds great! I love thick saucy Alfredo.

The tortellini and sausage sounds so good, too. I tend to over-use chicken in my household. It's because I'm a poultry-girl. But, my DH would absolutely love it if I could mix it up a bit.

Looking forward to all these great ideas, and also the french bread thing that BS was talking about, too. Thanks guys.

Oh...and also, I forgot to mention in the Chicken and Shells recipe that I use BOWTIE PASTA. It tastes the best to me!

[5ft Diva]

French Bread

1 1/4 C. Warm Water
1 T. Yeast (I use instant yeast, not to be mistaken for rapid rising yeast)
1 T. Sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. lemon juice
3 1/2 C. Flour

Mix all ingredients together until you can handle it w/ your hands and then knead - I just throw all of this in my kitchen aid mixer and mix it on speed 2 for 7-9 minutes. If you use regular yeast, you'll want to knead and let this rise til it's doubled in size and then punch down, knead and shape. If you use instant yeast you can skip the first rise just throw it on a lightly floured surface and knead, roll it out using your rolling pin, roll it up, tuck the ends in, and score the top and then throw it on your baking sheet. Cover w/ a towel, let rise for 30 minutes and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

**If you use instant yeast this takes about an hour from start to finish, if you use regular yeast it will take about 2 hours.

[Dia Minha]

Here is a recipe I got from the Canyon Creek Relief Society Cookbook. I changed it just a little to meet my needs. It is a great substitute for an Alfredo Sauce if you are trying to cut back on fat and calories.

Creamed Chicken

4 T. butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 c green pepper, chopped
6 T. flour
1 1/2 tsp. instant chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/4 c hot water
1 1/2 c milk
2c chopped chicken

Melt butter or margarine. Saute in butter chopped onion and chopped green pepper. Add flour, instant chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper. Stir together with butter then add hot water, milk, and chopped chicken. Serve hot over rice, mashed potatoes, toast, waffles or noodles. may also add cut up celery, carrots, mushrooms or anything you can think of.

I used 2 T olive oil instead of butter. I also used more fat free milk (about 2 1/2 cups) and cut back on the water (just enough to mix with flour to keep from clumping) to make it creamier. Using Fat Free condensed milk would make it even creamier. I also have used finely chopped brocoli and califlower and no peppers and loved it. This recipe doesn't work with beans, however, you can cut back on your meat and add more veggies. I have served it over rice and pasta. Of course brown rice and whole wheat pasta would be a healthier choice, if that is what you are wanting.

[Dia Minha]

Oh, and if you are looking for a way to increase your fiber in recipes such as bread, biscuits, pancakes, waffles or cookies (I wouldn't do this with my oatmeal chocolate chip recipe, because you are already using a ton of whole oats) you can substitute half of your white flour with oat bran. I have done this with my pizza dough and biscuits and my kids actually like it better. They say it's nuttier or meatier.