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Tag Archives: pasta


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Couscous Salad

When it’s hot outside and you have no air conditioning at home, the last thing you want to do is have the stove or oven running for a long period of time. The beauty of this recipe? It takes just minutes to make on the stove, and you can use the microwave if you want! This couscous salad is extremely quick and easy to make and the leftovers taste great!

Couscous Salad

Couscous Salad
serves 8

2 cups couscous
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cucumber, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 cup feta, crumbled
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the water with the butter and salt. Once boiling, add couscous and stir quickly. Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stir with a fork to break up the clumps and set the couscous aside to cool.
2. Mix the cucumber, tomatoes, and onion together in a bowl. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar, to taste. I used about 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar.
3. Pour the veggies and dressing over the couscous. Stir until evenly coated. Continue to add balsamic vinegar and olive oil as desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I love the taste of vinegar and will add copious amounts of it to whatever I’m eating. If you don’t like the taste as much, please feel free to use less of it!!


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Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce

One of my favorite things to do is cook for my friends. The more people there are and the more food I make, the happier I am. I think that this is a trait I got from my mom who loves to have elaborate dinner parties that never fail to amaze people. I hope that one day I can be as good a cook as she is.

I stumbled across this recipe on allrecipes.com and decided that it would be a good dish for a dinner I had with Mike and two of our friends.

Red Bell Peppers

Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce
adapted from allrecipes.com

12 ounces fettuccine
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 red bell peppers, julienned
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon cayenne – adjust more or less depending on spice tolerance
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Fettucine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to directions and drain.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet and saute red bell peppers, onions and garlic for 3 – 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and cheese.
  4. Toss pasta with sauce and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.


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Greek Chicken Pasta

This is Mike’s favorite dish ever. He is always asking me to make it. I’ve made this so many times I don’t even need the recipe any more. Lucky for him, the recipe makes a huge amount of food. Unlucky for his stomach, he eats all of it in 48 hours.

Greek chicken pasta

Greek Chicken Pasta
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 pound uncooked penne, fusilli or any other short pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red onion, chopped
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cut into bite-size pieces
1 (14 ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano

  1. Cook pasta according to directions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the artichoke hearts, tomato, feta cheese, parsley, lemon juice, oregano and cooked pasta. Stir until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes.


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Pasta with Asparagus

I love buying produce from the farmers’ market and the market is located only blocks from my apartment. I loved this dish so much that I made it several times over the course of 2 weeks. Thank goodness I have a tolerant boyfriend…

asparagus

Pasta with Asparagus

1 lb asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces, using only the tips and tender parts of the stem
1 lb dried pasta
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1/2 cup heavy cream
nutmeg, salt, and black pepper
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan, plus additional to serve

pasta with asparagus

  1. Cook asparagus in a pan of boiling, salted water until just tender – about 3 – 5 minutes. Drain and plunge into cold water until completely cooled. Drain and reserve.
  2. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, until al dente.
  3. While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a skillet. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally over medium heat, until soft, 5 minutes.
  4. Add asparagus and cream and simmer gently until the cream is just thickened, 1 – 2 minutes.
  5. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.
  6. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Add pasta with Parmesan to the hot sauce and toss gently, adding reserved water as needed.
  7. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan.


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Lemon, Basil and Marscapone Pasta

This pasta dish is cheap, quick and refreshing. It’s great for when you’re a super-busy student 🙂

lemon basil marscapone pasta

Lemon, Basil and Marscapone Pasta

1 lb dried pasta
5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 cup marscapone
salt and black pepper
1 handful torn fresh basil

  1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, until al dente.
  2. While pasta is cooking, place the marscapone, with 2 – 3 tablespoons of pasta water, in a skillet over medium-low heat. When the marscapone is melted and smooth, slowly add in the lemon juice an zest. Warm gently, stirring constantly, until heated through – about 4 minutes.
  3. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Add pasta and basil to the sauce and toss well to coat, adding reserved water as needed.


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Soba with Shiitake and Cabbage

A venture into something I’ve never tried cooking before – soba noodles! This was surprisingly good. I bought the soba at an Asian grocery store; if you can’t find them, spaghetti will probably work. However, they will have a different taste.

soba with shiitake and cabbage

Soba with Shiitake and Cabbage

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
5 tsp gochujang
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 lb dried soba noodles (buckwheat noodles – you can find them in an Asian grocery store)
1 lb shiitake mushrooms
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, minced

  1. Combine water, soy sauce, brown sugar and gochjang together until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
  2. Prepare pasta as directed.
  3. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet until hot. Take the pan off the heat and then add in the ginger and garlic. Return to heat and add in sliced mushrooms. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 – 7 minutes or until the mushrooms turn a darker brown color.
  4. Add cabbage, carrot and green onion, and saute until veggies become crisp-tender. Add the sauce and mix thoroughly, until heated through.
  5. Add cooked noodles to the vegetable mixture and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds for garnish. Serve immediately.


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Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta

I am a huge fan of cheese, so it’s very fortunate that I live in  Wisconsin where I am surrounded by it. This is a quick, delicious pasta dish that I don’t think I will ever get sick of!

tomato and goat cheese pasta

Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta
serves 4

1 lb of dried pasta, any kind. I used cavatappi.
Container of cherry (or grape) tomatoes
1 small – medium sized block of goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 a bunch of parsley, chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

  1. Cook the pasta according to directions on the package.
  2. Drain (reserve some pasta water) and then add the tomatoes, goat cheese, parsley, olive oil, and salt and pepper (to taste). If too dry, add some of the pasta water.
  3. Serve and enjoy!


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Eggplant Parmesan

For dinner tonight, Mike and I made eggplant Parmesan and some spinach pesto. We had a nice chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano leftover from Fromagination and we figured we should use it up before it dried out. I think we did a pretty good job. We have a little bit of the cheese left over and a huge piece of rind. The rind will be great in some soup though!

The recipe I used for the eggplant Parmesan is from Food Network – I cut the recipe in half and left out the capers. Even after I cut the recipe in half, it still made a lot of food! It’s supposedly four servings (after it was halved), but in my opinion it was more like eight. If you make the full recipe, you will need a pan much larger than your normal 9 x 13 Pyrex. I used that for my halved recipe and it was packed full to the top.

eggplant parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan
adapted from Food Network

1/6 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup black olives, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz.) can tomatoes, crushed by hand
4 basil leaves, hand torn
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
3 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds medium eggplant, trimmed and cut lengthwise into 1/2 – inch thick slices
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 pound shredded fresh mozzarella

  1. First make the sauce: Put a large saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the olives, red pepper flakes, and capers, and let that cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Toss in the tomatoes with their juices and bring to a low simmer. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  2. Combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, and oregano in a shallow bowl; season generously with salt and pepper and mix well. Crack 3 of the eggs into another shallow bowl; season with salt and pepper and beat with a fork to mix. Put the flour in another shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the eggplant, flour, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs on a work surface near the stove.
  3. Heat about 1/4-inch olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, dredge several eggplant slices first in the flour, then dip them in the egg, and finally coat them in the bread crumbs. Put as many eggplant in the skillet as will fit comfortably in a single layer and cook until tender and well browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Cook all of the eggplant slices this way, adding more olive oil to the pan as needed.
  4. Stir together the ricotta and 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano cheese. Stir in the basil and remaining 2 eggs, and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  6. To assemble the dish, first get yourself set up with a large, buttered baking dish. Have ready the eggplant, the ricotta mixture, the tomato sauce, the shredded mozzarella cheese and the remaining 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano. To start, spoon some of the tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Now add a layer of eggplant. Spread with half of the ricotta mixture. Spoon another layer of tomato sauce over and sprinkle with about one-third of the mozzarella. Repeat with a layer of eggplant, the rest of the ricotta, tomato sauce, and another third of the mozzarella. Finish with the rest of the eggplant, the rest of the tomato sauce, and the rest of the mozzarella. Sprinkle with the 3/4 cup Parmigiano.
  7. Put the dish in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, until golden and bubbling. Let stand for about 20 minutes before cutting.