Pasta with Feta Cheese, Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cups sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 bag baby spinach, about 7 oz.
1 pound pasta
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper



Directions:

In large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add chopped onions. Saute onions, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add red pepper flakes and tomatoes, give a quick stir. Then add spinach, cooking until spinach is wilted. Set aside.



Cook pasta as instructed, drain and place hot pasta in large bowl. Add feta and parmesan cheeses and mix well, allowing cheeses to melt.



Fold in spinach mixture, pepper and salt, to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with parmesan cheese.



Verdict:

Laura - Thumbs Up - This pasta was great. I love the feta and the sweet, chewy tomatoes. I will make it again.

Randy - Thumbs Down - Randy doesn't like pasta.

Nathan - Thumbs Down - Nathan wasn't interested in pasta tonight.

Leftovers: The leftovers were good. I ate it for lunch for several days. I just heated it up in the microwave.

Baked Lemon Pasta

Ingredients:
1 pound thin spaghetti
1/4 cups butter
1 ounce olive oil
1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 pint sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup parmesan cheese



Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente. In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over low heat. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into pan. Turn off heat. Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary.

Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.



Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then, remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don't bake too long to the pasta will dry out.)

When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Verdict:

Laura - Thumbs Up - I love this pasta. It's very light and crisp.

Randy - Thumbs Down - Randy doesn't like pasta.

Nathan - Thumbs Up - Nathan likes this pasta. It's a bit hard for him to get the pasta noodles on his fork, but he manages. He also loves it leftover.

Leftovers: I reheat it in the microwave and it's great the second time around.

Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage

This is one of my personal recipes.



Ingredients:
1 pound penne or ziti rigate
Course salt
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 jar pasta sauce
1 pound bulk turkey sausage



Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and salt the water. Cook the pasta al dente, with a bite to it.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the EVOO and brown the sausage.



Layer the remaining ingredients in 13 X 9-inch pan. Start with sauce in the bottom of pan. Add half of the pasta, then 1/3 of the cheeses. Repeat layers ending with cheese on top.



Heat in the oven on 350 F for 30 to 45 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted and browned.



Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Verdict:

Laura - Thumbs Up - There is nothing like a big bowl of pasta.

Randy - Thumb Down - Randy doesn't like pasta.

Nathan - Thumbs Up - Nathan ate a plate of the pasta. He enjoyed the sausage.

Leftovers: Nathan and I ate the leftovers for lunch for several days. They were delicious.

Pronto Saucy Pasta Skillet

This recipe is quick and simple.



Prep:5 minutes Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 lb (8 oz) your favorite uncooked bite-sized pasta
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 jar (4 1/2 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained (I used fresh mushrooms.)
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese



Directions:

Cook pasta as directed on package.

Add tomatoes to skillet.



Add mushrooms.



Add broccoli florets.



Add beans.



Stir in the ranch dressing. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.



Top with cheese; cover.



Let stand 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Stir in pasta.



Makes 4 servings.

Verdict:

Laura - Thumbs Up - I like this pasta dish. It's fast and simple. The next time I make it, I'll add more veggies and use less pasta.

Randy - Thumbs Down - I don't like pasta or the tomatoes.

Nathan - Thumbs Down - Nathan is not a big pasta fan. He ate all the beans and broccoli off his plate.

Leftovers: This reheated greatly. I had some leftovers for breakfast one morning. It was great!

Smarter Fettuccine Alfredo & Simple Southern-Style "Unfried" Chicken

Today you are getting two recipes.

Prep: 15 minutes Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
Fettuccine Alfredo -
8 oz fettuccine, uncooked
1 1 /4 cups chicken stock
4 tsp flour
1/3 cup cream cheese (I used fat-free cream cheese.)
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I didn't have any parsley, so I used a little dill.)

Southern-Style Chicken -
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (I cut mine into nuggets.)
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1 pkg Shake 'N Bake Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix



Directions:

Place chicken in resealable plastic bag. Pour dressing over chicken in bag. Seal bag, turning to coat all chicken pieces well. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to marinate.



Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place contents of seasoning packet in plastic bag provided. Put about 1/2 of the chicken in the bag with seasoning and shake to coat lightly. Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet.



Coat the remaining chicken and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle any remaining coating over the chicken.



Bake chicken 25 to 30 minutes or until cooked through.




While chicken is baking, cook pasta as directed on package.



Meanwhile, combine broth and flour in medium saucepan.



Stir in cream cheese, 2 Tbsp of the Parmesan cheese, the nutmeg and pepper.



Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with wire whisk until mixture boils and thickens.



Drain pasta.



Toss with sauce.



Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and parsley.



Chicken - Makes 6 servings.
Pasta - Makes 4 servings, 1 cup each.

Verdict:

Simple Southern-Style "Unfried" Chicken
Laura - Thumbs Up - This chicken was great. I will make this again. The chicken was juicy and the coating was crispy.

Randy - Thumbs Up - Liked the chicken and the crusty coating. Couldn't taste the ranch dressing.

Nathan - Thumbs Up - Loved the chicken. He ate all on his plate and then had three more pieces. Yummy!!

Leftovers: We ate the chicken for leftovers on Monday night. I reheated it in the microwave and it was not crispy like the first night. Reheating it in the oven may return the crispiness. Even though it was not crispy, we enjoyed it.

Smarter Fettuccine Alfredo
Laura - Thumbs Down - I didn't like this pasta. I won't make it again. The sauce seemed to get really thick as it cooled down and the pasta just clumped together. I also think there was too much nutmeg used.

Randy - Thumbs Down - Only ate one bite and didn't like this at all. Did not like the cream cheese or nutmeg in the sauce. Doesn't want to eat this again.

Nathan - Thumb Sideways - I was very surprised that Nathan ate this. I did notice that he drank a lot of milk as he ate this pasta, so it may have been too rich or he didn't really like the taste. Not too sure.

Leftovers: I threw out the leftovers, so I don't know how it reheats. If you reheat this pasta, let me know how it does.