Wild mushroom and basil pasta

I have one plant that is growing, and that is my basil!! Yay for basil. So I'm looking for any basil recipes. And since I always need pasta recipes, I was excited to try this one. I loved the addition of soy to this one. It was very tasty for dinner, and tasty the next day when I ate left overs cold for lunch. I found the recipe at food.com.

• fresh pasta, enough for 4
• 2 medium portabella mushrooms, in 1/4 inch thick slices
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, capped and quartered (button mushroom works too, go wild with your choice :-)
• 1/2 cup of packed fresh basil leaf
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• extra virgin olive oil (use the good quality one you've been saving)
• 1/2 cup sherry wine or 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 -2 teaspoon soy sauce
• shredded parmesan cheese
• salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. 1 For sauce, heat heavy skillet.
2. 2 Saute garlic cloves in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil until coated and beginning to brown (about 1 minute).
3. 3 Add mushrooms and sautee until juices begin to emerge.
4. 4 Add wine or sherry (more or less depending on how juicy you want it to be) and soy sauce.
5. 5 Coat mushrooms and cook for another minute or so.
6. 6 Add basil and cook until leaves are slightly wilted.
7. 7 Remove garlic cloves.
8. 8 Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. 9 Toss cooked noodles with a little bit of olive oil (the amount depends on how juicy your mushroom mix is).
10. 10 Transfer to plates and top with mushrooms and grated parmesan.

Upside Down Ravioli

( 4-6 servings)

8oz Jumbo Shells

1lb ground beef

2T EVOO

1 bag baby spinach, chopped

1 c finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 t salt

1/4 t ground black pepper

1 egg

1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1 jar tomato and basil sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook jumbo shells according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

3. While pasta is cooking, cook ground beef in large skillet over medium high heat for 4 minutes or until no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Drain grease. Stir in oil, spinach, onion and garlic; add some of the reserved pasta water until blended, adding more water as needed; continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add seasonings and blend well. Let mixture cool. Stir in eggs and parmesan cheese.

4. Pour 1 cup of Tomato and Basil sauce into13x9 baking dish.

5. Fill jumbo shells with meat mixture; place in dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells; cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

from somebody fabulous

Baked Mac and Cheese

( 6 servings )

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 (8 ounce) package processed American cheese, cut into strips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion for 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, salt, mustard and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until mixture boils and thickens.

3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

4. To the milk mixture add the Cheddar and American cheeses; stir until cheese melts. Combine macaroni and cheese sauce in a 2 quart baking dish; mix well.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

-from somebody fabulous

Country Pasta with Mozarella

(a great side dish for the Chicken BBQ or the Cream Cheese Hamburgers) - 6 servings

8 oz. rigatoni pasta

8 slices bacon, cut into 1 in. pieces

2 C broccoli florets

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Cook rigatoni according to package directions and drain.

In a 10 in. skillet cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned. Add the broccoli and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is slightly tender.

Stir in the cooked rigatoni, mozarella cheese, parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Spaghetti Carbonara

(Adapted from Ruth Reichl’s book Garlic and Sapphires)

1 lb spaghetti
½ lb bacon
1-2 TBS minced garlic
2 large eggs
Black pepper
½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for table

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti, which usually take 10 minutes to cook, just enough time to make the sauce.

Cut the bacon in to ½ inch pieces, put them in a skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes until the fat begins to render (soften?). Add the garlic and cook a few more minutes until the edges of bacon just begin to get crisp. Do not overcook; if they get too crisp they won’t meld with the pasta.

Break the eggs in to the bowl you will serve the past in, and beat them with a fork, at some pepper.

If it looks like too much fat to you, discard some, but you’re going to toss the bacon with most of its fat into the pasta. (I usually drain of at least half).

When it is cooked, drain the past and immediately throw it into the beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly. The heat from the spaghetti will cook the eggs and turn them into a sauce. Add the bacon with its fat, toss again, add cheese and serve.

Submitted by Kammy T

mac and cheese

1 lb favorite pasta (author uses bow tie)

4 Tbl butter

4 tbl flour

2 C milk

2 C cheese (mild cheddar and mozzarella)

Submitted by Kammy T as found from the site Friends and Food

Cook 1 lb. of your favorite pasta in a large pot(we like bow tie) don't forget to salt the water when you add the pasta. While it cooks make the white sauce (or roux)

In a small sauce pan (with tall sides) melt 4 TB butter over medium heat, or just a tad warmer. Then whisk in 4 TB flour until it's smooth. Slowly, while whisking add 2 cups milk (we use 1%). Continue to check on it and give it a stir while you prepare the rest of the meal, it will start to thicken up, when it's just barely thickened, turn heat to low. Grate about 2 cups, give or take, of your favorite cheese (we use mild cheddar and sometimes a combo of that with mozzarella too), set aside.

When the pasta is done drain it off and put it back into the pot. Stir in the white sauce,toss in the cheese and stir until all the pasta has cheese on it, then cover with the lid. The cheese will melt up and be ready to serve. I usually bake mine in a casserole dish, but discovered if you let it sit in the pot for a few minutes it's just the same as if you bake it essentially except for a golden crust on the top, but time is too precious!

Thai Curry with Noodles

This recipe was submitted by Kammy T. She got the recipe from Our Best Bites. And they report that "[this] recipe heavily adapted from The Colorado Connection. So see, when it comes to recipes it ok to beg, borrow, and steal. As long as you give credit;)

1 lb. linguine or rice noodles (if using rice noodles, soak in hot water for about 1/2 hour and then drain and rinse)

1 12-oz. package of frozen stir fry vegetables or 6 oz. frozen broccoli and 6 oz. frozen julienned carrots

1/2 c. green onions

1 medium red, orange, or yellow pepper, thinly sliced

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 Tbsp. fresh, minced ginger

1 Tbsp. fresh, minced garlic

1 Tbsp. curry paste

Juice of 1 lime, plus more limes for garnish

2-3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 can of lite coconut milk

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2-3 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce (available at Asian markets)

Black sesame seeds for garnish

Cook pasta according to the package directions. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, curry paste, and lime juice. While the pasta is cooking, microwave the frozen vegetables according to the package directions, but only cook them for 1/2 the time–you still want them to be quite crunchy. If you’re using fresh veggies, blanch them in boiling water for 1-2 minutes or until they’re tender-crisp.

In a large non-stick skillet or wok, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the green onions, mushrooms, ginger, and garlic and cook until the mushrooms are tender and the garlic is fragrant. Be sure to continue stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from burning.

Add the sliced red peppers and the half-cooked (formerly frozen) vegetables. Stir fry for about 1 minute and then add the coconut milk mixture and cook until it begins to boil. Remove from heat and add the cooked noodles. Toss to combine and then allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes. Toss again and serve with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds and 2 lime wedges per person (squeeze the lime juice over the noodles before eating). Serves 8 very generously, so if you can find an extra use for the other half of that can of coconut milk, I say go for it…:)

Noodle/Chicken in Peanut Sauce

Noodle/Chicken in Peanut Sauce

½ cup Chicken broth

¼ cup chunky peanut butter

¼ soy sauce

3 Tbs. brown sugar

2 Tbs. rice vinegar

2 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger

2 tsp. chile sauce or Tai sauce

4 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz uncooked rice noodles

1 lb. cooked chopped chicken

1 cup chopped green onion

1 cup shredded carrot

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until smooth,

stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Cook pasta in boiling water until soft. Add chicken, onions, and

carrot in noodles and then drain. Place pasta mixture in a large bowl. Add peanut sauce and toss gently.

I (Rachel) double for my family.

-Rachel Freeman

Ravioli Casserole

1 jar (28oz) spaghetti sauce

1-2 pkg. (25oz.) frozen cheese ravioli

2 cups (16 oz) small curd cottage cheese

4 cups (16oz) shredded mozz .cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Spread ½ cup of spaghetti sauce in an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Layer with half of the ravioli, 1 ¼

cups of sauce, 1 cup of cottage cheese and 2 cups of mozz. cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with the

Parm. cheese. Bake uncovered at 35 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 min

before serving. Serve with salad.

-from Rachel Freeman

Rigatoni with Shittakes, Artichokes and Peppers

I got this recipe from Ladies Home Journal which you can see here. We're into artichokes so we loved this pasta. I think you have to be into artichokes to like though, fyi.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
• 2 red peppers, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 pound shiitake or white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1-1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (12 to 13-3/4 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 pound rigatoni, cooked according to package directions
• 1 cup freshly shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 1 minute until lightly browned. Add peppers and mushrooms; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute more.

2. Add broth, artichokes, lemon peel and juice, salt, red pepper, and ground pepper to skillet. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in parsley

3. Toss hot pasta with sauce and Romano in large bowl. Makes 6 servings.

Italian Sausage creamy pasta

So this is the first of 14 recipes my fabulous sis in law sent today. I'm so excited, because some of my favorite recipes have come from her. . .now what to try first???

Package of Italian Sausage or Fresh Italian Sausage from Meat Dept.
Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup or more of Half & Half
1 Squash- Yellow & Green
1 Can of Fire Roasted Tomatos
1 or ½ of Onion (depending on how much you like onion, I usually do half)
Olive Oil
1 Garlic clove, minced
Linguine Pasta

Put Olive Oil in pan and cook Italian sausage until fully cooked inside and outside. Set aside.
Put Olive Oil in large pan, bring to medium heat and add onion and diced prosciutto. (Be sure to salt and pepper your sauce along the way!) (Meanwhile in pot, boil water for noodles.) Then, add your diced squash and grate in garlic to your prosciutto & onion that has been cooking until its all caramelized. Add Cooked Italian Sausage In pan now. Then… Add in half and half and bits of Mozzarella cheese until you get a thickish sauce…Just add enough to cover the veggies and sausage. Add a cup or more of Parmesan Cheese and your drained Fire Roasted Tomato’s (as much or little of the can as you want) Let sauce simmer for 5-10 min. Once your pasta is cooked, dump it in with your sauce and mix it all together in pan.
Great with French bread and Salad.

Alicia Warnock

Cheesy Spaghetti Bake

1 ½ lb Ground Beef
8 oz Sliced Fresh Mushrooms (optional)
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Cup Chopped Onion
1 (28oz) Can Crushed Tomato’s
1 (15oz) Spaghetti sauce
2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Basil Flakes
12 oz Spaghetti broken in half & cooked
8 oz Mozzarella Cheese grated
¼ Cup fresh Parmesan Cheese

Cook ground beef, mushrooms, onions, and garlic until brown. Drain. Add crushed tomato’s, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Simmer for 20-25 min uncovered. In a glass baking dish, layer half of the cooked spaghetti, half of Mozz. Cheese, and half of sauce. Repeat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top and bake at 375 for 30 min. Great with Salad and Garlic Bread!

Alicia Warnock

sun dried tomato and bowtie pasta

Again, cleaning out my recipe box I found this recipe. I thought I knew pretty much all the favorite recipes I had stored there, but I forgot about this one. Its very yummy-might be making it tomorrow!

1/4 bottle of pesto
or 2 tbl dried basil minced
1 1/2 tsp pine nuts
1 1/2 tsp oliv oil mised in blender

12 oz sun dried tomatoes
1 tbl olive oil
1 1/2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 lb fresh mushrooms sliced
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 pck bowtie pasta

In small bowl blanch sundried tomatoes for 30 sec in boiling water. Drain well and slice tomatoes into small pieces. Sautee garlic in 1/8 C olive oil on medium heat. Simmer for 1 minute-don't brown. Add pesto, salt, cayeene, and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and let mixture simmer. Mix w/ cooked pasta.

Tasty Toss Up

wanna see what i'm eating right now??

it's so yummy. It's my favorite pasta salad. I got it from my cousin Michelle's book club recipe book! The dressing it what makes it so delicious-so tangy. She adds tuna to hers which I love with it. You can hardly taste the tuna when you flake it and mix it in well (my kids are enjoying it right now totally blissful of the tuna factor). But if you are strongly opposed to it, leave it out, add flaked chicken or ham instead, or just skip meat all together!!

1/2 lb. pkg pasta curls

1-12 oz tuna drained and flaked

2 C thinly sliced cucumbers

1 large tomato seeded and chopped

1/2 C sliced celery

1/4 C chopped green bell peppers

1/4 C sliced green onion

1 C bottled italian dressing

1/4 C mayonnaise (i like miracle whip)

1 T prepared mustard

1 t dill weed

1 t salt

1/8 t. pepper

Make the noodles. Add the vegetables. Mix the dressing and add. I like to add parmesan to this btw. Cover and chill!!

(ps, I add whatever vegetables or pasta i have around)

(pps. what fabulous, summer recipes do you have??)

VODKA spaghetti

Did the title get your attention? ahem.

So when my sis in law said she was making spaghetti for me, I was a little underwhlemed. Usually she drums up something really fabulous and spaghetti sounded rather mundane. But then, I tried this stuff. Stunningly good. Trust me. Try it.

(warning, I got the directions for this while driving, so hopefully they are right. if not, i'm sure bust u up will correct me;)

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 white onion

1 pckg hot ground sausage

1 small conatiner half and half cream

1 bottle Bertolli Vodka Spaghetti Sauce

1 can diced tomatoes drained

1 pckg spaghetti noodles

Directions:

Cook 1 pckg of noodles as directed. Sautee peppers and onion. Add Sausage. Cook until browned. Drain grease. Add Half and Half. Simmer for a while (sorry-not very exact). Drain excess cream. Add Spaghetti Sauce and heat through. Add tomatoes and spaghetti. Enjoy.

Pasta with Shrimp Scampi

My still fabulous seattle friend kam made this for dinner last night. So yum and didn't seem like it took much time to make (no time for me since i was sitting on the couch)

Ingredients:
1 tbl salt + 1 1/2 tsp
3/4 lb linguini
3 tbl butter
2 1/2 tbl olive oil
1 1/2 tbl minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 lb shrimp (kam does 2 lbs fyi)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 c chopped parsley (kam just used dry parsley)
1/2 c lemon juice
1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes

Directions:
Drizzle some oil and 1 tbl salt into boiling water. Add linguine. Cook according to directions.

In a large, heavy bottomed pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium low heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add shrimp, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and black pepper. Saute until shrimp is hot (or until just turned pink if using fresh, we used frozen that was thawed). Remove from heat. Add the parsley, lemon juice, red pepper flakes. Toss to combine. When the pasta is done, drain linguine, put back in pot, then add shrimp and sauce. Serve and enjoy.

(also yum cold out of fridge!)

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

One of my VERY favorite side dishes or healthy lunch.

Ingredients:
1 1/2c quinoa
1 1/2c cooked black beans, rinsed if canned
1 1/2 T red-wine vinegar
1 1/2c cooked corn (1 can)
3/4c finely chopped red, green, or yellow bell pepper

Dressing:
5 T fresh lime juice
1 t salt
1 1/4 t ground cumin
1/3c olive oil

Cook quinoa as package describes (cooks like rice) OR you can boil some water, put the quinoa in it and let it boil for 10 mintues. Then I drain it in a sieve and let it sit in the sieve while I place it over a pot of boiling water with a towel over it for another 10 minutes. This makes the quinoa fluffy!

In a small bowl mix black beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer quinoa to another large bowl and mix with corn, beans and peppers.

Mix/whip all ingredients for the dressing together and drizzle over salad. Serve chilled.

I personally like this dish the following day best!

Baked Ziti with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes

I found this recipe posted here at stephmodo.com. Totally worth trying.

Ingredients

3/4 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 28-ounce can diced peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup purchased pesto sauce

10 ounces ziti or penne pasta (about 3 cups), freshly cooked (I used whole wheat)
8 cups ready-to-use spinach leaves (about 2/3 of 10-ounce package)
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)

Directions
Heat heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onion and garlic and sauté until sausage is cooked through, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices to pan. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in pesto. Season sauce with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly oil 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish. Combine pasta, spinach, mozzarella and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese in large bowl. Stir in hot tomato sauce. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese over. Bake until sauce bubbles and cheeses melt, about 30 minutes.