Lemon Spinach Penne
Whether it’s for getting more veggies in your diet or the color – spinach pasta can’t be beat. The Baby proclaimed it “Slytherin” pasta and proceeded to eat the whole bowl. Hey, whatever works…
ingredients:
16 oz spinach penne
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
fresh ground pepper
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup pasta water
1-1/2 cups rotisserie chicken, cooked
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Boil the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of liquid before you drain it.
Toss the pasta in with the lemon mixture, then add the zest. Add the reserved pasta water a little at a time, you may not need all of it, you just don’t want the pasta to be dry.
Toss in the cooked chicken and serve!
Mac ‘n’ Peas
This is an old French recipe called Macaroni ala Reine – “Macaroni for the Queen.” Since I’m the Queen around here, I proclaim this to be the tastiest dish ever.
A white mac ‘n’ cheese, studded with bits of rotisserie chicken and lovely peas that pop in your mouth. The perfect dinner. So says me, the Queen.
ingredients:
1 package (approx 14 oz) macaroni
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper
nutmeg
3/4 cup Swiss Cheese, shredded
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
2 cups roast chicken, cooked
1 cup peas
salt
pepper
You know those rotisserie chickens that you can buy at Costco or your local market? They are easy to cut up and keep in the freezer, perfect for meals like this.
Boil the pasta according to the package. Drain – do not rinse! Set aside.
In a large pot melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook down for about 2-3 minutes, then add the milk and the heavy cream.
Whisk continuously. Add the Swiss and the Parm cheeses and whisk until melted. The Swiss makes this a little stringy – I love the chees-i-ness of it. Simmer 5-8 minutes and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Stir in the pasta, roast chicken and peas. Toss until combined and season with salt and pepper.
This is a hearty meal all by itself!
Mac ‘n’ Cheese
This is my basic Mac ‘n’ Cheese recipe. You can put it in a big pie or even mini pot pies, but all alone as is, well that’s pretty good too.
ingredients:
1 pound small pasta (elbows or shells)
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 cups cheddar or jack cheese
In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to package. Drain. DO NOT rinse.
I use the same large pot – melt the 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat, add the flour and stir constantly until combined – cooking through for about 2 minutes.
Add the milk and heavy cream and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes, take off the heat and add the mustard, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the cheese and stir until thickened and combined.
Mix the pasta with the cheese sauce until fully coated. Serve immediately!
Ricotta Bake
This is one of my favorite meals. Why? Because I have the kids do most of the work.
If your kids are old enough (and you have the right mindset of letting go of mess) why not let the kids mix and stir and pour? It’s a big help in the kitchen and by getting involved – I know my kids are more likely to eat something that they’ve proudly helped with. Now to get them to learn to use the deep fryer…
ingredients:
1 package penne pasta
5 cups marinara
1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg
zest of half a lemon
salt
pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9×13 pan by greasing it with melted butter. Set aside.
In a large pot, boil the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, do not rinse.
Now here’s when you get the kids to do all the work. Mix the pasta with half the marinara and pour into the prepped pan. Then pour the rest of the sauce on top.
My kids being children born in the 2000′s have never realized that you can actually grate your own cheese, it doesn’t just come in a bag pre-done. HELLO. That was one of my jobs as a kid, my mom always made me grate cheese and I always thought, why don’t they just sell it pre-grated?? I was a child genius ahead of my time, obvs.
To come full circle I decided to enforce child labor and make the kids do all the grating of the cheese. As you can tell by the pic it takes two people to grate mozzarella cheese, apparently.
Sprinkle the well-grated-child-labor-cheese on top of the pasta and sauce.
Then, in a medium bowl combine the ricotta, parmesan, egg and lemon zest. Stir together well, season with salt and pepper. Again, this is something the kids can do easily since it’s just mixing.
Drop the ricotta by dollops, almost like biscuits, on top of the penne.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes and serve.
While you’ll have to do the pasta boiling and oven part – the rest can be done by the kids, which is nice. Getting them involved in the kitchen makes them want to try new foods and frankly, it’ll give YOU a much needed break.
Mac n’ Cheese Pot Pies
When I made the Mac ‘n’ Cheese Pie it was for a party and I kind of wanted to make something along the same lines for dinner, but not in such a large serving. I love to miniaturize things. Someone grab my ray-gun.
The obvious step was to use ramekins and make mini pot pies! I freeze them ahead, and whenever I don’t have a meal plan or need a side dish, I simply bring them out and bake them up! Perfectly cute and comforting.
ingredients:
1 pound small pasta (elbows or shells)
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 cups cheddar or jack cheese
Pie dough
In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to package. Drain. DO NOT rinse.
Ready the ramekins buy buttering the insides so the mac n’ cheese doesn’t stick. Set aside.
In the same pot you cooked the pasta in, melt the 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat, add the flour and stir constantly until combined – cooking through for about 2 minutes.
Add the milk and heavy cream and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes, take off the heat and add the mustard, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the cheese and stir until thickened and combined.
Mix the pasta with the cheese sauce and spoon into the prepped ramekins.
Now for the tops – you can make your own dough of course, but if you’re short on time, frozen dough works well too. Just defrost it, roll it out and cut it fit the top of the ramekin. I like to have overlap of about 1/2 and inch.
Cover the filling and press the edges onto the sides of the ramekin. Cut vent slits on top. Cover them with plastic wrap and freeze for later.
When you are ready to serve them, say – a few days or weeks from now, just unwrap them, butter the tops and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, then serve. Be careful – the ramekins are hot!
My kids love these little pot pies!
Greek Tortellini Salad
When I lived in Italy (YEARS ago) I fell in love with different kinds of pasta, in America we just ate basic spaghetti and meatballs – who knew there was so much more?! One of my favorite pastas that I tried there was tortellini. The tiny little purses of soft pasta stuffed with such an array of different things, every bite was a surprise.
I like tortellini as a hot main dish, but sometimes it’s nice to change it up and since I love Greek Salad – using those flavors mixed with tortellini gives this cold salad the perfect bite!
ingredients:
1 package Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
salt
ground pepper
1 cup cucumber, cubed
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced and chopped
1 cup pearl tomatoes
1 cup black olives, sliced
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the tortellini, and cook according to the package directions. Drain well.
In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, parsley, oregano, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl toss the tortellini with the dressing. Set aside.
Add in the cubed cucumber, feta, red onion, tomatoes and olives. Toss and refrigerate. I like this dish served cold, right out of the fridge. The crunch of the cucumbers and the flavors of the dressing and feta go really well with the pasta. It makes a great main dish or a nice side to chicken!
Baked Mini Ravioli
By the end of the day I’m tired. Too tired to boil pasta?? YES. Hey, I’m a woman on the go – I AM THAT TIRED. So I decided to experiment with making baked dish where I didn’t even have to boil the pasta. If you get your kids to assemble it – even better – less work for you!!
My kids loved it and it gave me a little extra nap time. Zzz…
ingredients:
4 cups Mini Ravioli, frozen
4 cups marinara sauce
1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
Salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Butter 6 mini ramekins (so the pasta won’t stick when you bake it.)
Spoon a Tablespoon of marinara into each prepped ramekin. Here’s the kicker, add the FROZEN pasta – distribute evenly into the 6 ramekins.
Top with the rest of the sauce, then the mozzarella cheese. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Place the ramekins on a baking sheet (in case of spill over) and bake for 35 mins.
The ramekins will be hot, so be careful when serving.
BLT (Bacon, Lemon, Tomato) Pasta
It’s Lemon Week, still going strong! Check out the Food Librarian’s daily lemon posts too!
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Bacon, LEMON and tomato. Yep. Hey it’s not lettuce week! These are some of my favorite ingredients and I think they come together really well in this dish – fresh lemon, salty bacon, it’s a great combination.
ingredients:
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
6-8 slices bacon
2 cups tomatoes, diced
one package of pasta
Cut the bacon in small pieces so that you don’t have to crumble it later. Cook it until crispy, let drain and set aside.
Boil the pasta according to directions. I like these tiny farfalle, they are too cute, and just the right ‘bite.’ When draining the pasta, set aside 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water. Using this later will help the dressing stick.
While the pasta is boiling, in a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Toss the dressing (you may not need all of it) with the pasta, adding the reserved pasta water. Add in the tomatoes, bacon and lemon zest. Toss and serve.
Tortellini + Shrimp
This is the perfect dish because the Kid loves pasta and the Baby loves shrimp. And I love when no one complains. Winner all around!
ingredients:
1 pound tortellini
2 Tablespoons butter
1 shallot, chopped fine
1 pound shrimp
2 teaspoons lemon zest
salt
pepper
Little cheese filled tortellini are perfect in this dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the tortellini according to directions. Drain, do not rinse – and set aside.
Milder than an onion or even garlic, I love shallots because they bring out the best flavor in seafood, I think.
In a skillet, saute the shallot in the butter, then add the shrimp. Isn’t it lovely how just a few seconds will give you such a nice color of pink! Season with lemons zest and salt and pepper.
Toss the tortellini with the shrimp. Serve.
It’s much tastier with a heart shaped piece of toast, wouldn’t you agree?
Really, this is the easiest dinner ever – I like to keep frozen pasta and shrimp in my freezer for a super quick meal, again – no complaints!
Lemon-y Orecchiette with Bacon and Mushrooms
My kids LOVE pasta. They can’t get enough and I’m always trying to think of new ways to make it interesting.
The first time I had orecciette I was living in Italy, the concave shape is nice for holding sauce. I liked the fact that orecciette meant ‘small ear’. They look nothing like ears thank goodness, cause that’d be sorta gross.
ingredients:
1 package orecchiette pasta
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
zest of half a lemon
1 slab of bacon
1 package button mushrooms
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
Cook the orecchiette according to package directions. Drain, do NOT rinse – reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. VERY important! You will need this later. Never rinse pasta because your sauce won’t stick and you’ll be left with…a mess.
In a small bowl combine the olive oil, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Set aside.
I like to chop the bacon – THEN cook it. It crisps up much faster and saves you from having to ‘crumble’ it after the fact. Cook the bacon to crispy then set aside to drain.
In the same pan empty out most of the bacon fat and add the olive oil and the garlic. Saute for a minute then add the mushroom and cook down until softened. Mushroom retain a lot of water so let them drain out a bit before you mix them in.
In a large bowl toss the orecchiette, the lemon sauce, reserved pasta water, the crispy bacon and the mushrooms. Mix well and serve warm.
My kids LOVE this dish. It helps that the Baby loves bacon and the Kid loves mushrooms so it’s a perfect combo for dinner.
