Shrimp Fajita Pasta

An easy and tasty weeknight dinner. I recommend making the fajita seasoning shown on the recipe - quick, easy, and less sodium than the store-bought brands. Substitute chicken if you're not a seafood fan!

Shrimp Fajita Pasta

Mexican Pasta Salad

Very tasty, very easy, perfect for a summer party. Use a chunky salsa if you can't find pico de gallo.

Mexican Pasta Salad

Baked Ravioli Caprese

Save this recipe now. It is a simple, delicious recipe fit for a crowd, a dinner party, or a weeknight dinner. The better your ingredients, the better it will be. Enjoy!

Baked Ravioli Caprese

Chicken, Spinach, and Noodle Casserole

Delicious and makes lots of leftovers! If you don't want to make your own breadcrumbs, just substitute about 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs.

Chicken, Spinach, and Noodle Casserole

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Chuck saw this on my weekly menu I hang on the fridge and got very excited. It's pretty much covers his favorite food - pasta and chicken in a spicy sauce. This was VERY spicy - tone down the red peppers flakes if you're not up for a lot of heat.

This halved very nicely for the two of us (yes, we eat a lot). I would recommend using a pound of chicken for the full recipe though, and 8 ounces for half, if you enjoy meat in your meal.

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese Lasagna

This was AMAZING. I would serve this for a brunch/light lunch or as a side dish with dinner for company. Even Chuck loved this, which is big because it A. contains lots of green vegetables and B. does not contain meat.

I subbed in four green onions for the leek.

Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese Lasagna

Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Orzo

Another fantastic dish, I would even serve this to company! I ate the leftovers for days afterwards, couldn't help myself from taking a forkful everytime I passed the fridge. Leftovers may be a little dry - add some olive oil as needed. We used broccoli.

Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Orzo

Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes, and Arugula

I saw this on one of Giada's shows and thought it would be good over pasta instead of served on bruschetta. This was really very good, and easy enough for a weeknight meal. One batch of the topping covers half a pound of pasta very nicely.

Other changes I made include omitting the tarragon (don't like the flavor), using a can of drained diced tomatoes instead of the Romas, and substituting the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme for the mascarpone cheese.

Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes, and Arugula

Lo Mein with Pork

Quick and easy for a weeknight. I left out the mushrooms and used double the amount of snow peas. Definitely needs more soy sauce while serving.

Lo Mein with Pork

Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake

A good freezer-friendly meal. You can also use shredded chicken.

Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake

Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

Lasagna Casserole

Lasagna Casserole

Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad

Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad

Spinach and Turkey Stuffed Shells

Another fabulous weeknight pasta meal! These take a little bit longer than some other pasta bakes, only because you have to take the time to stuff each shell; but it's worth it. A creamy mix of ground turkey and healthy spinach make a delicious filling for these shells. I adjusted the amounts from the original recipe beacuse I wanted to make some for dinner and then freeze some. I also used ground turkey instead of sausage because I wanted to make these a little healthier (well, except for all the cheese!).

Otherwise, Molly's recipe was perfect and I will definitely be making them again soon!

Spinach and Turkey Stuffed Shells

slightly adapted from The Rookie Chef

makes 6-8 servings

10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

olive oil

1 or 1.25 pounds ground turkey

8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

about 25 jumbo pasta shells

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups marinara sauce

shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9 dish with cooking spray, set aside.

In large skillet, brown ground turkey, drain fat and set aside. In same skillet, heat a little bot of olive oil and add onion. Saute until softened and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add spinach and cream cheese and cook until combined. Add ground turkey back in and stir to heat thoroughly. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and separate on a cutting board so they don't stick together. (A fabulous tip from The Rookie Chef.)

(The following directions are for preparing half of this mixture. I froze the other half - of just the stuffed shells - but if you wish to bake them all at once, just prep two dishes to bake.)

Spread some marinara sauce over the bottom of prepared baking dish. Stuff each shell with a tablespoon or two of the meat mixture. Place the shells in the baking dish and cover with another layer of sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover dish, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad

I wanted to post one last pasta salad before the cold weather overtook us for good. This recipe was in an article of Everyday Food that discussed making big batches of food and using it for several different dishes. This was a good weeknight pasta salad, and I liked the technique of salting the zucchini to drain the excess water out of it.

Since this recipe was for a big batch (calling for one pound of orzo, which, since orzo seems to multiply in magical fashion, is a LOT) and I only wanted to use it for a side dish and then some lunches, I only made a third of the original recipe, which was still a lot. Other notes I have about the recipe:

• Red onion seems to lose it's color when mixed into a dressing after awhile. If you need to make this over 12 hours in advance, I wouldn't add the red onion until right before serving.


• For the small amount of jalapeno that was added, it contributed a big flavor to the salad. Not a spicy one, but one that I didn't really enjoy, so next time I will leave this out.

Here's the link...and good-bye summer!!

Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad

Lemon and Crab Linguini with Feta

As I type this the sun is peeking out from behind the clouds and we have survived the hurricane/tropical storm here on the East coast. Hopefully everyone else has as well and doesn't have too much drying out to do!

This recipe caught my eye because I had some extra feta in the fridge. This uses imiation crab meat, which I enjoy, but if you really have a problem with it, the pasta would be delicious with some fresh crab as well. I really recommend using fresh herbs to garnish at the end because the dried ones I used didn't really do the trick. Fresh lemon is also a must; and the end result is a light, delicious pasta!

Here's the recipe from Simply Satisfying:

Lemon and Crab Linguini with Feta

Penne with Grilled Summer Squash, Sweeet Corn, and Shrimp

I think it's pretty obvious that we love pasta in our house. This recipe from a recent issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray used delicious summer vegetables and one of my favorites - ricotta cheese. I made it into a main meal by adding some shrimp to the mix. Chuck and I both agreed that this dish needed more flavor. The original recipe did not call for cooking the tomatoes, but my version below suggests sauteeing them a little with the garlic to add a little more depth.

Penne with Grilled Summer Squah, Sweet Corn, and Shrimp
adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray
makes about 3 servings

1/2 pound penne pasta
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 yellow summer squash (just under a pound), halved crosswise and then cut into 3 thick slabs
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tomato, chopped
3/4 cup corn kernels (1 ear or use frozen)
1/2 of a 15-ounce contained ricotta cheese
1 clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon chopped thyme

Preheat a grill to medium-high or a grill pan on the stove over medium-high heat.

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water according to package directions. During last 3 minutes of cooking, add shrimp. Drain pasta and shrimp, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Brush the squash pieces with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt. Grill, turning once, until charred, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly, then coarsely chop and put in large bowl.

In small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, cook until fragrant, then add chopped tomatoes and cook until slightly softened, 3-4 minutes. Add to squash, along with ricotta cheese and thyme. Add the pasta and stir in some cooking water if needed.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Mother's Day Dinner 2011

This year for Mother's Day, Chuck and I had our families over for dinner to celebrate. I enjoyed spending my second Mother's Day with Abbie as well as with my fantastic mother and fabulous mother-in-law. I wanted dinner to be easy to put together beforehand and asked all the siblings to help with appetizers and dessert. Everyone brought something delicious and we all had a good time eating, drinking, and blowing bubbles with Abbie. :)

Mother's Day Dinner 2011

Appetizers

• Brie-stuffed mushrooms


• Spinach artichoke feta dip with pita chips


• Bacon appetizer crescents


• Assorted cheese and cracker platter

Dinner

• Grilled chicken with barbecue sauce or honey dijon marinade


• Cavatelli salad with artichokes and goat cheese


• Southwestern layered cornbread salad (without the chicken)


• Zucchini and yellow squash gratin
  

Dessert

• Bakery cupcakes


• Cookies and cream cheesecakes


• Assorted cookies

Baked Pasta with Turkey Meat Sauce

My father-in-law so nicely comes once a week to watch Abbie so that I can go to a late afternoon class at the gym. Since the class is so late in the day, by the time I get home, it's a rush to get dinner on the table. Baked pastas are perfect for these evenings because I can prep all the way up to the baking stage while Abbie naps earlier in the day, then I just pop it in the oven when I get home from the gym.

This recipe caught my eye because I had a lot of these ingredients already on hand. The original recipe calls for only 3/4 pound of ground turkey and I thought I would stretch the meal a little by using the regular package of 1.25 pounds turkey. Well, the outcome was a little dry, since I used the same amount of sauce and cheese to cover more meat. So I am going to recommend you follow all the amounts of the original recipe for a nice, quick weeknight dinner. :)

Baked Pasta with Turkey Meat Sauce