Marie's Pasta Salad

This amazingly delicious recipe comes to us via my mother in law, Marie.  Pasta salad is one of the best meals for summer time.  When my mother in law brought this to me on my birthday, she topped with some tuna that had been mixed with mayo - and that was even better!  You should try it.  Really.  It's yummy.

Marie's Pasta Salad

Just cook, drain and rinse the pasta.  Add whatever veggies you want and toss in this dressing:

2/3-1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 Tbsp salt

1/2cup vinegar

1/4 tsp onion juice or 1/2cup finely chopped onion

1 cup salad oil

1/2 Tbsp celery seed

The recipe suggests marinating it all together overnight so the flavors can mix.  Then, if you choose to use fresh tomatoes, add them just before serving so that they don't dilute the dressing.

More New Recipes

Here are two more delicious recipes.  They are also my variations of recipes found in the All Recipes cookbook (which is based on the website).  These are both really fabulous, easy meatless meals.

Spinach & Tortellini Salad
1 (9 oz) pkg cheese-filled tortellini
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
1 c Parmesan cheese
6 c cherry tomatoes, halved
bottled Italian dressing
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta according to pkg directions.  Rinse under cold water and drain.
2. Combine tortellini, spinach, cheese, and tomatoes in a large bowl.  Add enough Italian dressing to coat.  Toss and season with salt and pepper.

Linguine with Broccoli and Red Peppers
1 (16 oz) pkg linguine
1 lb (or so) fresh broccoli, chopped
3 T olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
a pinch of garlic salt
Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to pkg directions.  Drain.
2. Steam broccoli on stove top in covered pan for 10-15 minutes, until desired tenderness.
3. Heat oil in saucepan over low-medium heat and sauté garlic and peppers.
4. Drain broccoli and add to skillet. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt and sauté until peppers and broccoli are soft.
5. Serve over hot pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Pasta e Fagioli (with carne)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground turkey (optional)
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• splash of red wine
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 pound seashell pasta (or macaroni or whatever)

Directions

1. Heat oil in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
2. Add ground turkey and stir occasionally until browned. Stir in the tomato paste until blended.
3. Add undrained tomatoes, undrained cannellini beans, chicken broth, oregano, basil and pepper to Dutch oven and bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil for approximately 1 minute and then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.
4. Add pasta to Dutch oven and simmer approximately 10 to 12 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve immediately and enjoy.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it a bit (above is the tweaked recipe). It's one of those recipes that you can really play with and add or take away what you don't have. The most traditional form of this soup is just beans and pasta with some tomatoes and herbs, but sometimes even the tomatoes are optional. I added the ground turkey, because I had that I needed to use up, but if you leave it out it would be a perfect Friday meal. I also added 1/4 cup or so of red wine after I stirred in the tomato paste and it really added to the flavor. It was a really delish and filling dinner. All of my finicky eaters gobbled it up.

More Chicken

I ought to have at least tried to take a picture of this one for you all because it really is a pretty dish, but my food pictures always turn out really poorly. I don't have a photographer's touch unfortunately.

I made Chicken and Penne with Basil Sauce from the new book last night. We all liked it, even Charles (it's dairy-free!), but I will still do things differently next time. I might skip the sauce all together and just throw the basil in with the chicken and vegggies. I don't like the taste or texture of so much cornstarch. Can you substitute flour for cornstarch? Will it thicken in the same way?

Also the recipe cautions not to replace the fresh basil called for with dried basil. It apparently will not taste as good.

Chicken and Penne with Basil Sauce

from Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter's Cookbook

1 1/4 c chicken broth

4 t cornstarch

1/8 t black pepper

2 c dried penne pasta

1 medium red sweet pepper, cut into thin strips

1 medium green sweet pepper, cut into thin strips

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T oil

12 oz chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 c lightly packed fresh basil leaves, cut into thin shreds

2 T Parmesan cheese

garnish - fresh basil

1. Stir together chicken brother, cornstarch, and black pepper. Set aside

2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Cover; keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, spray an unheated large skillet with nonstick spray. Preheat over medium heat. Add sweet peppers and garlic. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until crisp-tender. Remove from skillet. Add oil, increase heat to med-high. Add chicken; cook 3-4 minutes until no longer pink. Stir broth mixture and add to skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return peppers to skillet; add basil shreds. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Toss with hot pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan and garnish with additional basil as desired.

4 servings

Tonight's dinner: Spinach Lasagna Rolls from the same book. I'll let you know.

Broccoli-Sausage Sauce

When my husband and I moved from Indiana to Missouri almost a year ago, I couldn't pack up all my food magazines; there were just too many. So I went through them all and torn out the recipes I liked. They were supposed to be organized neatly in a binder, but they still lay in a stack. I finally got around to looking through them and I found this recipe.

It's a pretty simple sauce, but delicious. The amount of sauce it makes is enough for 1 pound of pasta. I used rotini shaped pasta, but any short pasta will do - bow tie, shells, penne, etc.


Source: Family Circle - September 2004
Servings: 8

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (28 oz.) can of diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bunch of broccolli or broccoli, cut in 1-inch pieces

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions and cook 5 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally. Add garlic, sausage and mushrooms; cook 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add wine; cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, paste, salt, oregano, nutmeg, pepper. Bring to boil. Lower heat to low and cooked, covered, for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broccoli during the last 5 minutes.

Chicken Cacciatore

Cacciatore is Italian for "hunter." Food prepared hunter-style traditionally includes mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and herbs.

This is a pretty good recipe. I think it's something you can make year round. Yes it's a warm meal, but the sauce is thin, so it's not a heavy dish. My husband and I are just crazy about cooked fresh mushrooms, so it was right up our alley.

I got this recipe from annie's eats.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 slices turkey bacon, chopped (I used regular bacon)
2 chicken breasts, butterflied in half (4 pieces total)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
12 oz. white button mushrooms, cleaned and halved
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 sprigs fresh oregano (I used dried)
3 sprigs fresh thyme (I used dried)
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and herbs

Directions:
In a deep saute pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon; set aside.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and brown on both sides, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a platter. Add the onion to the pan and cook until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the bacon, chicken, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, thyme, red wine, chicken broth, and tomatoes (including juices) to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Williams Sonoma

**I may try and add some cornstarch next time to the sauce so it's just a tad thicker.

Spring Recipes

Spring has arrived, and here is a fantastic way to take advantage of the fresh veggies. Serve this at your next barbecue!


Spring Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Asparagus and Mozzarella

*1 lb penne pasta
*1/2 lb fresh Mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
*1 large bunch of scallions, about a dozen, sliced into thin rounds
*2 dozen ripe cherry tomatoes, cut in half and drained for 20 minutes in a colander to remove excess liquid
*1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
*zest and juice from 1 lemon
*1/2 lightly toasted cup pinenuts
*large handful fresh basil leaves, lightly chopped


1. Put up a large pot of salted water for cooking the pasta and bring it to a boil. Add the asparagus and blanch it until just tender, about 3 minutes. Scoop the asparagus from the water with a large strainer spoon and place in a colander. Run cold water over it to stop the cooking and to preserve the bright green color. Drain well and slice into small pieces on the diagonal, leaving the tips whole.

2. Bring the water back to a rapid boil and cook the penne until just al dente (tender but slightly firm to the bite). Run the pasta under cold water and drain very well.

3. In a large serving bowl, add the pasta, the blanched asparagus, and all the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, and toss well until all the pasta is well coated with dressing. Taste for seasoning. This is best served at room temperature. Serves 4 to 5 as a main course, or 6 to 7 as a first course or side dish.

4. Note: Another lovely addition to this pasta is about 3/4 cup freshly shelled spring peas. Blanch them for 1 minute in the boiling pasta water after you blanch the asparagus. Drain well and add them to the bowl along with the other ingredients.

Grilled Chicken Fettuccine

I've always thought regular Alfredo sauce was a little plain tasting. Here's a new twist on Fettuccine Alfredo. You add some chicken and some jarred pesto and Voila! This homemade sauce is so good, you'll never go back to the jarred stuff again. This recipe is from Better Homes and Garden's New Grilling Book.

With the gorgeous weather we're getting, it's a great time to do some springtime grilling (you can cook you chicken on the stove as well). I usually make this with the cherry tomatoes, but they didn't look very good the store last week.

Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
12oz. dried fettuccine
1/4 cup purchased pesto
Dash black pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
Toasted pine nuts (optional)
Snipped fresh basil (optional)

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, heat whipping cream and butter until butter melts. Gradually add Parmesan cheese, stirring until combines. Cover and keep warm over low heat.
2. Salt and pepper the chicken; grill for 12 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.
4. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with 1 tablespoon of the pesto.
5. Add remaining pesto and Parmesan mixture to the hot cooked fettuccine. Add tomatoes.
   
6. Arrange fettuccine on a serving platter; sprinkle with pepper. Top with grilled chicken. If Desired sprinkle with pine nut and/or basil.
   

Perfect Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe from: The Old Farmer's Everyday Cookbook Almanac

I normally detest homemade mac and cheese and love the box kind. Well then pregnancy cravings hit and I changed my mind. I still like the box kind but I really wanted the homemade kind tonight so I tried it and it turned out really yummy.

Recipe
1 pound uncooked macaroni

Topping:
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter

Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups (1 pound) shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat over to 350 F. Grease a 3-quart casserole dish (I used a 2 1/2-quart dish).

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.

For topping: In small skillet, melt the butter, add the bread crumbs, and saute for 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside.

For sauce: In small skillet (I used the same skillet as above to save on dishes, aka we are a no dishwasher household), melt butter over low heat. Stir in the flour with a whisk and cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally. In a separate saucepan, heat the milk to almost boiling, and add to it the butter and flour mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

Put one-third of macaroni in bottom of casserole dish. Cover it with one-third of cheese, then pour one-third of the sauce over the cheese. Repeat, making two more layers. Spoon buttered bread crumbs over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Tips after making: I didn't not use a whole pound of macaroni. I'll make half the pasta next time, the whole amount of sauce the recipe calls for, and then half of the shredded cheddar cheese.

Penne with Sausage and Spinach

I’ve been making this for Mike for the past 2 years. I was tweaking it every time, but now I think I finally have it. Mike asks for it at least once a month in the fall and winter. It's also a pretty cheap meal! It comes from my favorite magazine that was discontinued which was made into a book, Fast Fix, family foods by Better Homes and Gardens.

Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 pound cooked smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into ½ inch thick slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped (or 2 teaspoons of jarred garlic)
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 32oz. of reduced-sodium chicken broth or stock
1 cup of water
1 pound of penne
1 6-9oz. package of fresh pre-washed baby spinach
¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup whipping cream

Directions

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook sausage, onion, and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat until onion is tender and sausage is lightly browned.
2. Add broth and the water; bring to a boil.
3. Add pasta; cook until tender, stirring frequently.
4. Add spinach and pepper; cook about 1 minute or until spinach is wilted.
5. Stir in cream and serve.

Note: When you’re cooking the pasta, it may look like there isn’t enough liquid; there is, but if you need to, you can add water at ½ cup increments. You want a thick (not soupy) finished product.

P.S. The leftovers are delicious!

White Bean & Artichoke Pasta

Sorry I've been neglecting posting! I have an awesome and SUPER simple recipe to make up for it.

Anne, you can make this for charles if he can eat any of it just yet, because it's a pasta dish but, get this folks, has NO cheese! And trust me, it doesn't need it. Not even to sprinkle on top. Mom pulled this out of a Simply Recipes magazine. And Erin, to the best of my knowledge this is also vegan, I know you cook like that sometimes, hopefully you can use this!


White Bean & Artichoke Pasta

Cook 3/4 lb fettuccini pasta using the directions on the box. Don't forget to make your boiling water "salty as the sea"
Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water

In a pan over the stove, heat 1/4 cup EVOO and saute one can of chopped artichokes, one can of white beans (Canelloni) and 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Heat all items through, don't let garlic brown. (Heat everything together at once instead of sauteing the garlic first and burning it to death like I did).

In a food processor, pulse 1 cup of toasted bread to make breadcrumbs. Add 1 tsp of dried oregano. While pulsing, add one tablespoon of EVOO. In the pasta pot, mix drained pasta with the bean/garlic/artichoke mixture and the breadcrumbs. Toss to serve.


The flavors are immense in this, you won't believe it and don't skimp on the EVOO when mixing the beans/artichokes/garlic. You don't even need to sprinkle cheese on top.

yum! (i'm having leftovers for lunch today at work).

Fast and Easy Veggie Skillet

I love summer food, especially the vegetables that are abundant and cheap. This is a little meal that I kind of pulled together at the last minute, but I had gone to the store that day and picked up all the vegetables. It's yummy and easy and you can basically use whatever vegetables you want. If you want you can even skip the pasta and add some grilled chicken or shrimp.

Easy Veggie Skillet

2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion (you can use the whole onion if you want)
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 box penne or rotini pasta
1/2-1 cup Parmesean cheese

Dice up all the vegetables and saute them (all except the tomatoes) in the oil for about 5 minutes until they're soft. Add the tomatoes toward the end of the 5 minutes. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and stir to coat the vegetables. Meanwhile cook pasta and drain. Preheat oven to 350. In a quart baking dish combine the cooked pasta and vegetables, sprinkle generously with Parmesean cheese (as much as you want) and stick it in the oven for about 20 minutes to warm everything up and melt the cheese.

Some Spaghetti with Meat Sauce on a cold day

Well, this is my first post on here. Thank you so much for inviting me. I was cooking one of my winter favorites today and thought I would share. It is my grandmother's meat sauce recipe. Measurements are not exact, but it is delicious and very yummy on a cold soggy winter day.

Meat Sauce

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
one handful parsley
1-2 TBS oregano
28 oz. can crushed OR diced tomatoes
14 oz. can of tomato sauce
6 oz. can of tomato paste

Dice up onion and garlic and put in a pan. Add ground beef and brown. Switch to a large pot and add all the rest of the ingredients and turn down to low and let simmer. I feel the longer you simmer, the better it is. Sometimes, though, just for 20 minutes will do if you are in a pinch. Today, I got it done early, and it will simmer for 2 hours.

Pesto Pasta

I made a very simple recipe last night and it was delicious! It’s also a good recipe for Friday’s. It's from my Cooking Basics book by Betty Crocker.

1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts (I didn't add nuts because I didn't have any)

1. Place all ingredients in blender or food processor.

2. Cover and blend on medium speed about 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth.

3. Pour over 8oz (1/2 a box) of cooked Rigatoni

Guests for Dinner

We had Laura and Dan over for dinner last night. I should say we had them over for a main course, as I didn’t really provide any side dishes or salads – no time or ingredients! But I did make this recipe:

Penne with Bacon, Peas, and Ricotta
½ pound penne
4 slices bacon
½ cup frozen peas
15 ounce carton of ricotta cheese
generous grinds of black pepper
salt to taste

Cook pasta according to package. Cut bacon into one-inch pieces. Put in cold skillet. Turn the heat to medium and fry the bacon. Pour off most of the bacon fat, reserving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Return the bacon to medium heat and immediately add the peas. Stir and cook until the peas are shiny green, about 1 ½ minutes. Put the hot pasta in a serving bowl. Mix in the cheese, then the bacon and peas. Add black pepper and salt to taste.
Serves 4
Source: Now You’re Cooking by Elaine Corn

Now this is what I will do differently next time: Use about double the bacon and at least ¾ cup of peas. Use only ½ or ¾ of the ricotta cheese, and add some milk to see if that will make it creamier. And then salt, salt, salt! It’s not a bad meal…and very easy to make…it just needs some adjustments. But I provided the original recipe because I once heard somewhere that you should always make something according to the recipe the first time and then play around with it!

P.S. Welcome, Joannie!!! Glad to have you in the kitchen! I hope we hear from some other contributors soon... :o)