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Tag Archives: pasta


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Shrimp Fra Diavolo

This was a week of “firsts” for me.

  • I tried boxing for the first time. Loved it! What a great stress reliever. I thought I was in shape since I work out 6 days a week between running, biking, strength, and Pilates, but I was not prepared for the oh-man-kill-me-now feeling I got during the boxing workout with Mike. Bring on the pain!
  • I did my first speedwork run. I ditched the half marathon training schedule I painstakingly wrote for myself and decided to try the FIRST program instead. I re-wrote my runs and incorporated my data from the McMillan Running Calculator to give me a training plan that spells out my training paces.
  • I drove in snow for the first time this winter. Ok, maybe it wasn’t the first time, but the other snowfalls didn’t count because they didn’t even stick for longer than a day. What’s up with that, WI?
  • I watched my first episode of Dance Moms: Season 2. I love bad TV.
  • My last “first”? I participated in my first recipe swap! Read on for more info about it…

Usually the participants just gets another blogger’s recipe, but they shook it up a little this week: we each got a blog and had the freedom to make whatever we wanted from that blog! I got Fried Ice and Donut Holes and she has so many great recipes to choose from!! I spent over an hour looking at her blog before finally deciding on the dish I wanted to try. The luck recipe? Shrimp fra diavolo! It’s been on my “must cook” list for a while and I figured this was the perfect time to try it.

The dish turned out pretty darn good. Mike loved it; I think it could have been a little (ok, a lot) spicier. But hey, I’m weird and I love major heat in my food. Next time I’ll be crankin’ up the spiciness by adding a few more sprinkles of red pepper flakes to my portion!

Shrimp Fra Diavolo
recipe slightly modified from Fried Ice and Donut Holes

1 pound whole wheat pasta
1 pound large, uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1-28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Fresh basil, for garnish
Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive on in a large skillet over medium heat.
  3. Season shrimp with  salt and pepper. Add to skillet and saute for 1 minute. Turn shrimp and saute the other side until shrimp are cooked through and no longer translucent. Transfer shrimp to a separate plate.
  4. Add onions to pan and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for an additional minute. Add wine to pan to deglaze and allow to simmer for 1 minute.
  5. Add tomatoes, red pepper, and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low and let sauce simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, until reduced to your desired consistency.
  6. Return shrimp to sauce and stir to coat.
  7. Toss cooked pasta with sauce and shrimp. Garnish with basil and Parmesan cheese, if desired.


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Penne with Tomato Sauce and Baked Ricotta

After making spanakopita, I was left with a mostly full container of ricotta. I had bookmarked this recipe a while ago and decided to give it a try. After all, I needed to use the rest of the ricotta up! I loved the way this dish turned out. It’s a sweet tomato sauce and the creaminess of the baked ricotta goes perfectly with it. Give it a try – it won’t disappoint!

Penne with Tomato Sauce and Baked Ricotta

1 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta, drained
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound whole wheat penne
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
fresh basil, torn
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place ricotta in 9″ cake pan and press down to a 1-inch thick disk. Rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes and then set aside to cool.
  2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  3. Meanwhile, heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 3 – 5 minutes.
  4. Add tomatoes to onion and garlic and let simmer for 15 minutes. . Season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.
  5. Top cooked pasta with sauce, ricotta, basil and Parmesan cheese.

adapted from Cate’s World Kitchen


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Tortellini with Basil and Tomatoes

I am so excited to share this dish with you guys because I finally got to use basil from my garden!! I am still so proud of myself for keeping something alive. This dish is a wonderful summer dish. It’s light and requires minimal time in front of the hot stove. In fact, it requires minimal time cooking, period. I can’t wait to try it again with tomatoes from our garden! I have no idea if we have any cherry tomatoes growing back there, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Tortellini with Basil and Tomatoes

18 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 ears of corn, cooked and kernels removed
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup basil, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

  1. Cook tortellini according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, combine olive oil, Parmesan, lemon juice, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce in a food processor and blend until smooth.
  3. Toss cooked tortellini with sauce and remaining ingredients.
  4. Serve immediately.


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Pad Thai

It’s just like take-out. But better. I seriously can’t get enough of this stuff. I never bothered making it at home because I thought Mike hated it. Boy, was I wrong. I’m not sure why I ever thought that, but I tentatively brought up making Pad Thai for dinner and he enthusiastically agreed to it. I was thrilled. And disappointed that I hadn’t brought this up sooner. Like, 4 years sooner.

I purchased a large portion of these ingredients at the local Asian grocery store. I was able to find the tamarind concentrate, palm sugar, fish sauce, rice stick noodles, cilantro and mung bean sprouts there. I love the Asian grocery store because everything is so dang cheap. I can buy bean sprouts at the normal store for $2 or pay $1 at the Asian store for 3 times as much.

I opted to use shrimp for this, but I think I’m going to try chicken or tofu next time. Feel free to use whatever protein you want!!

The best part (other than the leftovers, that is)… I was able to cross of the first dish on my 11 for ’11 list!!

Pad Thai
serves 4

For the sauce:
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup tamarind juice concentrate
4 cloves garlic, minced

For the noodles:
14 ounces dried rice stick noodles
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups shrimp
2 eggs
2 cups carrots, match stick
1 cup green onion cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1 cup cilantro, optional
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges, optional

  1. Combine sauce ingredients in small saucepan over medium high heat. Cook until sugar has dissolved. Taste, and add more sugar if you would like. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Boil noodles 5 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and immediately run around cold water. Cut noodles in half with scissors.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoons oil in wok or large pan and cook shrimp. Remove to small bowl.
  4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil to pan and scramble eggs. Remove to small bowl.
  5. Heat remaining  oil and add garlic and onion to pan. Stir fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add noodles and cook for an additional minute. Add 5 tablespoons Pad Thai sauce, stirring mixture until noodles are well coated.
  6. Add shrimp to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add egg and 3/4 of the following: carrots, green onion, and sprouts to pan and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  7. Taste noodles and add more sauce, if desired. Cook until all additional sauce has been absorbed.
  8. Remove from heat and plate. Garnish with remaining carrots, green onion, and sprouts. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and garnish with lime wedge and cilantro, if desired.
Recipe adapted from savory sweet life.


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Israeli Couscous Salad

Ah yes, another couscous salad. As much as I loved this recipe with grilled vegetables, I wanted to try something else. I wasn’t quite sure what to make, and I really didn’t want to go to the grocery store. I used this as an opportunity to use up some pantry and fridge items. Mostly, I wanted to get rid of the million limes I had left over from Mike’s birthday bash.

Have I mentioned that I love Trader Joe’s Israeli couscous?! Come to think of it, the chickpeas and olive oil were also from Trader Joe’s. I should just name this Trader Joe’s Israeli Couscous Salad!

See? I wasn’t kidding…

For being as random as this dish is, it turned out pretty darn tasty. I love that it requires so little cooking. I have 2 more boxes of couscous left and I really want to make more of this salad. But the thought of using up more of this couscous makes me want to cry. It’s hard to use up “valuable” food when you have to travel 2 hours to get more. Why oh why can’t we have a TJ’s in Appleton!?

Israeli Couscous Salad
serves 4

1 box Trader Joe’s Israeli Couscous*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 3/4 cup vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 tomatoes, diced
1 medium cucumber, diced
3 limes, juiced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

  1. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in couscous and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until couscous is lightly browned.
  2. Add in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool.
  3. Toss cooled couscous with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight, if possible. Serve cold.


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Cajun Chicken Pasta

I’ll admit it – I’m kind of absentminded. I make food, take pictures, and forget about them. By them time I find the pictures again, I have a hard time remembering what the dish was and what I put in it.

Today, I realized just how many of these dishes go un-posted and now I’m making an effort to be more diligent. Mike helped me identify this particular dish from 3 months ago.

This particular dish was super easy to make. I opted to make it “lighter” by using less butter and swapping out the heavy cream for half and half. The spices in this make it easy to cut fat without sacrificing flavor. Yum 🙂

Cajun Chicken Pasta
adapted from allrecipes.com – serves 4

8 ounces linguine
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
6 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
3 tablespoons butter
2 green bell peppers, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
8 ounces white button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3 cups half and half
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

  1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, sprinkle Cajun seasoning evenly over chicken on all sides.
  3. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and saute until chicken is cooked, about 5 – 7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, mushrooms, and green onions. Cook until peppers are tender-crisp, about 2 – 3 minutes.
  4. Whisk together half and half and corn starch until well combined.
  5. Reduce heat to low and add in half and half. Stir in basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne. Heat through.


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Greek Pasta Salad

Yum.

This pasta salad is one of my faves. It’s quick and easy and completely from scratch. That’s right folks, no bottled salad dressing over here. I think the hardest part of this was using a Swiss Army knife to open the can of olives…

One day we will find our can openers. I refuse to buy another one because I’m pretty sure we have at least 2, maybe even 3, lurking in some unpacked boxes. Until then, we’ll have to rely on good ol’ Mr. Swiss.

Greek Pasta Salad

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound short pasta of choice, cooked and drained
8 ounces white button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
4 ounce can whole black olives, drained and rinsed

  1. Whisk together olive oil, vinegars, garlic powder, basil, oregano, and pepper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta and vegetables. Pour dressing over top, mixing thoroughly.
  3. Cover and refrigerate several hours, or overnight if possible.
  4. Sprinkle with feta right before serving.


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Spinach and Feta Pasta

This dish is really similar to the penne dish I posted about last Monday here. The taste was completely different though. Funny how a switch in cheese and a couple additional ingredients can make such a big difference, huh?

Spinach and Feta Pasta

8 ounces whole wheat pasta of your choice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until onions are translucent.
  3.  Stir in tomatoes and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are tender. Stir in spinach until wilted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  4. Mix with cooked pasta and top with feta cheese.


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Lemon Chicken Piccata

Between working at the bank and working on the house , I find myself with little energy left at the end of the day. It was hard enough to find the energy and motivation to cook for Mike, but now I have my younger brother to feed, too! No complaints, though!* Except for the fact that he eats enough for 3 people. I made this dish thinking there would be plenty of leftovers. Boy, was I wrong. So, in my case, this dish fed 3. I think that you could easily get away with making this for a group of 4 or 5, though! But hey, at least it was easy to make!

Lemon Chicken Piccata

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Whole wheat all purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large lemon, juiced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound pasta of choice

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Butterfly the chicken and then cut in half. Tenderize the chicken and season liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge through flour and shake off excess.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.**When butter and oil start to sizzle, add chicken to pan. Cook until browned, flip and cook until other side is golden brown and chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken to plate. Cook remaining chicken in same manner, using more butter and olive oil as needed before each.
  4. Add lemon juice, broth and capers to pan. Bring to a simmer, scraping pan to release browned bits for more flavor. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Add 2 tablespoons butter and stir until melted.
  5. Pour sauce over plated chicken and garnish with chopped parsley.
  6. Serve immediately with pasta.

*Ok, I have one complaint – my parents didn’t take me to Italy with them. They get Italy, I get my brother.

**I have this Calphalon pan. I love love love it. It was big enough to cook 5 pieces of chicken at a time without over-crowding the pan.


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Goat Cheese and Spinach Penne

This dish is super filling and easy to make. I mean, what could be easier than cooking up a dish in less than 10 minutes? Not to mention it only used 2 pots (and one colander). Ever since it warmed up I’ve been craving dishes with fresh ingredients. I can’t wait to make this again with fresh tomatoes from the garden!

Goat Cheese and Spinach Penne
serves 4 

1 pound whole wheat penne
1/4 cup garlic extra virgin olive oil, or plain olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped or torn
1 pint grape tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces goat cheese

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes and spinach and cook until wilted.
  3. Add cooked pasta and goat cheese to vegetables in pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine. Serve immediately.