Tomato Basil Pasta–What You Do With All Those Tomatoes

If you grow tomatoes in your garden, you know you always end up with some amount at the end of the season. When you’ve canned or frozen most of them, there’s still the last stragglers. Well, this tomato basil pasta is exactly the dish you want to use up what you have. Incidentally, it’s great off-season too.

This recipe also has the benefit of being totally vegan. It’s nice served with a bit of grated Parmesan or Romano but then it’s vegetarian instead of vegan. I love grated cheese with tomatoes and pasta, but I’ll tell you this–you don’t need the cheese.

Totally Vegan

Made as is, this meal is meatless and totally vegan. Don’t let that fool you–you won’t miss the meat here. It’s a good recipe to keep in your arsenal to make when you have vegan or vegetarian friends over for dinner. It’s also great for folks who want to go meatless a day or two each week because the cost of meat is skyrocketing. You don’t have to make this with the last of the home-grown tomatoes. Off season, make it with grape tomatoes you can get at your supermarket.

For the vegetarians in your list, this also works when served with grated cheese. The cheese adds a bit of oomph to the taste but it’s really good without it. I’m a cheese lover but I find it’s great without it.

Pasta

The best pasta shape for this is good old spaghetti. It just makes a nice presentation.

As an aside, if you also have a bumper crop of zucchini, why not make some “zoodles” with that. That way, this will be a very low-carb meal but satisfying nonetheless.

The Recipe

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Tomato Basil Pasta

Use those end-of-season tomatoes

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pasta with tomatoes, using up end-of-season tomatoes

Servings: 2

Calories: 704kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 8 oz spaghetti style pasta uncooked
• 3 cups assorted tomatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Pinch of sugar
• 1/4 cup basil roughly chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. add garlic, salt, pepper and sugar; stir well.
• Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes rust and release their juices. Cook until the liquid is slightly reduced. Add the pasta and basil. Toss well. Serve immediately.
• Serve with Parmesan or Romano cheese if desired. It’s still vegetarian with the cheese but no longer vegan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 704kcal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Sodium: 1182mg | Potassium: 805mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2023IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg

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Versatile Fire Noodles

Fire noodles is one of those dishes that can wear a couple of hats.

It’s a great main dish that you can also serve to any vegetarian guest because it’s really flavorful and filling. It’s also a good choice for a salad if it’s chilled. Now that we’re on the cusp of summer, delicious salads are a thing to be considered. Don’t forget picnics either. These noodles are just great no matter how you serve them.

Making this totally vegan is also an option. Any eggless pasta or rice noodles can be substituted. As far as the honey, that can be left out or a vegan syrup or sugar can fill in.

Why “Fire”

The “fire” comes from the colors of the peppers. There’s no heat in this at all. The chili paste adds no real heat; just a touch of flavor.

Since all bell peppers essentially taste the same, you can use whatever you have or what’s cheapest. If you do splurge and buy the red, orange and yellow, dice or slice what you don’t use and freeze them for later use. That’s what I do but bear in mind that they will be too limp after freezing to add to salads, so reserve those for cooking.

Best Noodles

In these types of recipes–or anything Asian with noodles–I always opt for lo mein noodles.

The reason for this is that it obviously makes Asian-style dishes more authentic. However, these noodles are a bit chewy so it makes the dish more satisfying. Lo mein noodles are available fresh in most big supermarkets, but you can also find the dry ones in the International aisle at the market. I buy them in bulk because I use them a lot.

If you can’t find them in either style, good old spaghetti will do nicely. Regular, #8 is best.

The Recipe

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Fire Noodles

Great meatless main or chilled as a salad

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course, Main/Side, Salad

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: cold noodle salads, fire salad, meatless asian main dishes, salads for picnics

Servings: 4

Calories: 283kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 each of red orange and yellow bell pepper
• 3 green onions sliced
• 8 oz lo mein noodles or spaghetti
• 2 tbs oil
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 tbs sesame seed optional, for garnish

Sauce:

• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp chili paste
• 1 tsp honey

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook noodles as per package directions; drain and set aside.
• Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the garlic and bell peppers. Stir fry until peppers are crisp-tender. Discard garlic.
• Add the cooked noodles and the sauce. Toss to coat.
• May be served hot or chilled.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 283kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 677mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 557IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

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Bucatini Carbonara–Quick And Easy

This delicious pasta dish is so easy to make, it qualifies for a quick mid-week meal. There’s really nothing to it.

If you can fry bacon and boil up some pasta, you have it made. Bucatini carbonara is one of those meals where meat is purely a condiment. And as luck would have it, that meat is everyone’s favorite; bacon. OK if you want to get technical and be a true gourmet, bacon is standing in for pancetta here. However, I don’t know many people who have pancetta on hand but most of us have some bacon kicking around.

About The Pasta

Bucatini is a thick strand with a hole in the center–sort of a very thin elongated elbow. You won’t find this is store-label pasta. You will in premium brands.

If you want to get adventurous, you can make your own pasta. What you see here is my own homemade bucatini. The disk to make this comes with the KitchenAid extruder so I figured why not. I love making my own pasta because the difference in taste though subtle is better in my opinion. If you don’t have a bucatini disk, thick spaghetti will do very nicely and most pasta machines come with a thick spaghetti disk.

My basic formula for an extruded pasta is a mix of semolina, all-purpose flour and water. I will give the recipe in the card below. FYI–when it comes to making pasta, I always weigh the ingredients. Weighing is important for consistent great results. My recipe is European so the weights are in grams. Don’t be put off–all modern kitchen scales weigh in both systems so just choose grams.

About The Eggs

The type of eggs you use here is important.

Since the heat of the just-cooked pasta is what is going to “cook” the egg, it’s important to use organic or pastured eggs. I get my fresh pastured eggs from a neighbor who keeps chickens, so I don’t have to worry about salmonella. If you don’t have that kind of access to eggs, then either get what I mentioned before or so-called pasteurized eggs. Cage-free eggs are OK too.

The Recipe

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Bucatini Carbonara

Quick and easy delicious dinner

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: extruded pasta, extruded pasta dough recipe, pasta carbonara, recipes with bucatini

Servings: 4

Calories: 829kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbs bacon drippings
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 12 oz bucatini cooked per package directions
• 1/2 cup pasta water
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt & pepper to taste

Pasta Dough (if making your own)

• 200 g semolina pasta flour
• 50 g all-purpose flour
• 90 g water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Sauté garlic in the reserved bacon drippings; set aside.
• Drain masta but reserve 1/2 cup of the water. Place the hot pasta in a large bowl. Add the beaten eggs and toss to coat.
• Mix in the reserved pasta water, grated cheese, bacon, garlic with bacon drippings and chopped parsley. Add salt & pepper if required.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

If making your own pasta, my recipe will yield approximately 12 oz

Bacon called for is streaky bacon.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 829kcal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 490mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 555IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 162mg | Iron: 5mg

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Great One-Skillet Meal

Shrimp and zucchini with orzo is one of those quick one-pan meals that comes together easily.  Since it tastes so good, it’s sure to be on your dinner rotation permanently.

In fact, you’re not limited to shrimp here because any leftover meat will go great with the pasta and veggie combination. Chicken would be a natural choice, at least for me. So remember this recipe the next time you have any leftover rotisserie chicken.

Orzo

I remember the first time I discovered orzo. So many possibilities for its use went through my head. Orzo is truly a versatile pasta shape.

Of course it’s really not meant to be used in the usual pasta fashion and that’s the nicest part of it.

Orzo can take the place of rice in so many things. However, unlike most rices, orzo has a silky texture which makes it a great “extender” for any dish that has a sauce.

And just like rice, when there’s a sauce involved, you want to serve it immediately. Reason is since it’s like rice, it absorbs liquid rapidly. Wait too long and the dish is dry.

Add What You Like

I kept it simple here and used zucchini by itself. However, you can add lots more veggies to this dish to extend it. Adding more vegetables also will add interesting textures, not to mention adding more fiber which many of us are lacking.

If you have a child who’s not big on their “greens” it just may encourage them to eat more of what’s good for them. This will work especially if you vary colors so it looks pretty. My mother used to do this so my sister would eat more of them. My only vegetable phobia was eating the stalks of broccoli. Go figure it’s my favorite part now.

The Recipe

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Shrimp & Zucchini with Orzo

Quick and easy dinner.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: budget meals with shrimp, one pan shrimp dinners, orzo and shrimp skillet dinner

Servings: 4

Calories: 370kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 large zucchini cut in half lengthwise and into 1/4-inch slices (about 2 cups)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
• 1 lb uncooked large shrimp peeled deveined
• 2 tbs butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves chopped
• 1 tbs finely chopped parsley

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
• Add zucchini and salt; cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Remove with slotted spoon; reserve.
• Heat same skillet over medium heat; add garlic and pasta.
• Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant and pasta is lightly toasted.
• Add broth; cover and simmer 10 to 11 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed.
• Stir in shrimp, butter and zucchini; cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp are pink and pasta is tender.
• Stir in cheese, lemon, and thyme; garnish with parsley.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 309mg | Sodium: 1307mg | Potassium: 407mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 473IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 262mg | Iron: 4mg

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Simple Ricotta Meatballs

We all have our own favorite recipe for meatballs, myself included.

However, sometimes we just get tired of the same-old-same-old and want to try something a bit different. That’s what happened to me a few months ago. Since I was on a kick making my own ravioli, I had plenty of ricotta on hand so I figured why not when I saw a recipe that included it in meatballs.

These meatballs are so good that they can stand alone. They don’t need to have pasta and sauce.

Serve Them Traditionally–Or Not

As I said before, these don’t need the usual sauce and pasta. They’re good enough to be the main meat attraction for dinner.

But if you want to serve them the traditional way, that’s really good too. And now for some tips.

Who remembers Catherine Scorcese; Martin Scorcese’s mom? This tip came right from her; a true Italian cooking expert in my opinion. She never browned her meatballs before finishing the cooking in the sauce. She’d form them and toss them right in the sauce to cook. Not only will the sauce be more flavorful, but the meatballs don’t get hard. That’s the way I do these if I’m doing spaghetti and meatballs.

To serve them by themselves, then cook them your usual way. Oven, skillet and air fryer are your option and each one produces good results.

The Onions

Normally, I don’t saute onions before I put them in raw meat for meatballs or burgers. However, here you do saute them and the garlic too.

This really adds wonderful flavor to the meatballs. I didn’t think it would matter much, but I did it anyway. I’m not going to say it was a game changer, but it does give them a wonderful mellow flavor.

The Recipe

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Ricotta Meatballs

Tender and delicious meatballs

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: meatball recipes, ricotta meatballs, using ricotta cheese

Servings: 4

Calories: 395kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup onion finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped fine
• 2 tbs Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Remove from heat and cool.
• In a large bowl, mix the onion/garlic mixture (including the oil) ground beef, ricotta, parsley, Parmesan/Romano, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
• Shape into meatballs about the size of a walnut.
• If you're making tomato sauce, drop meatballs into simmering sauce and simmer for 1 hour.
• If you're not serving with sauce, in the pan you cooked the onion, brown meatballs on all sides and cook until no pink remains in the center.

Notes

Cook time calculated for cooking in sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 395kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 831mg | Potassium: 539mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 672IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 200mg | Iron: 4mg

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Classic Fettuccine Alfredo Is Easy

This is one of those classic Italian pasta dishes that never goes out of style since it’s easy to see why.

First of all, it’s delicious and cheesy. Coming close on the heels of that is that it is also very easy to make.

Yes, there are some commercial sauces that just entail opening a jar or there are quickie alfredo versions that are homemade.

However, the real thing is also very easy to make, so why not do it right and have the classic?

Making The Custard

What you’re actually doing here is making a custard.

When dairy and eggs combine in a sauce, that’s exactly what you’ve got. The last time I made this, it occurred to me that it was just like making the custard for homemade ice cream. The only obvious difference was that one was sweet and the other on savory.

Any time you make custard, it’s important to “temper” the egg(s) so they blend in rather than get scrambled. This is done by heating the milk or cream then whisking a couple of tablespoons of the hot milk into the egg yolks. After that, you whisk that mixture into the hot milk.

There will always be a few little solid bits in the sauce so if you wanted to get it perfectly smooth, then just pour it through a mesh strainer. I don’t think it’s that important for Alfredo sauce. I only do this if I’m making ice cream custard because those bits are kind of gross in ice cream.

Store Bought Or Homemade

Store-bought fettuccine is fine in this. In fact, I’ve used it for years.

Earlier this year, my friend Lillian got me started on homemade pasta. It was an epiphany. I just can’t go back to the store bought. Making your own pasta is pretty easy so if you want to have a go at it, the recipe for the dough is in my asparagus ravioli post.

The Recipe

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Classic Fettuccine Alfredo

Who needs a jar when homemade is super easy?

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: classic alfredo sauce, fresh fettuccine pasta, homemade fettuccine alfredo

Servings: 2

Calories: 1308kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 6 oz fresh fettuccine or 4 oz dried (from the box)

Sauce:

• 3 tbs butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Romano
• 1 egg yolk
• Pinch of salt pepper and nutmeg
• 2 tbs finely chopped parsley

Pasta dough:

• 4 1/2 oz flour
• 3 oz whole eggs

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Using Store-Bought Pasta--cook according to package directions.
• Making your own pasta--mix the flour and the eggs to form a dough. Turn out on a well-floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Cover in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then run through a pasta roller to #4 or #5 depending on desired thickness. Then run through the fettuccine cutter, dust with additional flour so it doesn't stick together then set aside (or place in the refrigerator). Use the same cooking method as the kind you buy in the box except fresh pasta will only take about 3 minutes to cook al dente.
• For the sauce--melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the cream, Parmesan, Romano, salt, pepper and nutmeg then heat through. Lightly beat egg yolk then whisk in a couple of tablespoons of the hot liquid then whisk the egg yolk mixture into hot liquid. Cook and stir until the mixture reaches 160F/70C or until it coats the back of a spoon. Cover and keep warm while cooking pasta.
• Drain the cooked pasta and combine it with the sauce. You can add additional Parmesan or Romano if you wish. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1308kcal | Carbohydrates: 114g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 79g | Saturated Fat: 46g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 557mg | Sodium: 631mg | Potassium: 483mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3173IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 444mg | Iron: 6mg

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Asparagus Ravioli Is Easy

This delightful pasta meal has every gourmet earmark you can name. But unlike many “haute cuisine” or gourmet dinners, this one is ridiculously easy! Since you can take advantage of a convenience ingredient, it’s as easy as 1-2-3.

All that’s left is the filling to make and who can’t mix together a couple of ingredients. It’s so easy the kiddos can help here although you might want to reserve this for a date-night dinner.

Wonton Skins? Yep

That’s the big secret to making this asparagus ravioli or any ravioli for that matter so easy.

They’re readily available in the produce section of practically every supermarket so they’re quite easy to find. It’s just a matter of plopping in some filling and sealing them.

However, if you’re a real purest and wish to make your own pasta, they’re still very easy. This process does require that you have a pasta dough roller–either on a proper pasta machine or an attachment to your stand mixer. The only investment in time is the 30 minutes the dough requires to rest.

The above photos show the equipment and steps to make these ravioli with your own pasta. The recipe for the dough will be in the recipe card–and here it’s important to WEIGH the ingredients so the dough is successful. Follow your machine’s directions for the thickness to roll. On my KitchenAid roller, it’s #5 or #6 and on my manual Marcato Atlas it’s #4 or #5, depending on how thin I want the pasta. I’d recommend using the lower number until you feel confident enough working with a thinner sheet  As for the rolling process, there’s many good videos on YouTube that show you. It’s basically how I learned to do this.

No Mascarpone? No Problem

Mascarpone is readily available in Europe, but the US hasn’t caught up there. Oh, you can get it, but it’s outrageously expensive. I don’t recommend buying it even if you can find it–hint–it’s in the deli department or gourmet cheese area in some stores.

You can make a credible substitute with cream cheese (the standard kind–not fat-free nor “light”). All you need to do is mix 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1/4 cup of whipping cream. That’s it. And truthfully? The flavor or cream cheese is so close to mascarpone, I wouldn’t bother and just use ultra-softened cream cheese.

The Recipe

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Asparagus Ravioli with Almond Brown Butter Sauce

Ravioli are easy to make and these are totally gourmet

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy ravioli recipe, gourmet ravioli fillings, homemade ravioli

Servings: 4

Calories: 956kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 lb fresh asparagus
• 6 tbs mascarpone see post for substitute
• 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano
• 1 garlic clove finely minced or pressed
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Ravioli:

• 36 wonton skins or your own rolled pasta dough

Pasta Dough:

• 9 oz flour
• 6 oz eggs

Almond Brown Butter Sauce:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cut off the tips of the asparagus, then blanch them for 2 minutes in boiling salted water. Remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a bowl of ice water. Do the same for the asparagus stalks only drain them on paper towels. When the stalks are cool enough to handle, chop them finely and place them in a medium bowl.
• Add the mascarpone (directions for a substitute is in the post), ricotta, grated cheese and minced garlic; mix well, cover and refrigerate if you are preparing your own pasta dough. If you are using wanton skins, go to the next step.
• Lay out 18 wonton skins and place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center. Brush the edges with a little water and top with another wonton skin, pressing all 4 edges to seal. Cover with a damp cloth if you're not cooking them immediately.
• To cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil over high heat. Meanwhile make the sauce by melting the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and stir to coat and cook just until the butter just begins to get brown, then set it aside and keep warm. Place the raviolis in the boiling water. When they begin to float, cook for 1 minute, then remove them with a slotted spoon to a warm plate.
• Spoon sauce over ravioli and top with drained and reserved asparagus tips.
• Make with you own pasta--beat the pasta dough ingredients until a dough forms. Knead on a well-floured surface for 2 minutes; form into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• Divide dough into quarters. For each quarter, roll dough out very thin (if using a rolling pin) or using a pasta rolling attachment or pasta machine. Using the rolling attachment/machine, you will want to roll to #5 or #6 on the machine. You will want 6-8 sheets approximately 12-inches long and 4-inches wide.
• You can form the ravioli free style or use a ravioli tray. You will get LESS ravioli this way than using wonton skins because they will have more filling per ravioli. I formed these free style and got 13 ravioli.
• Cook the same as for wonton skins.

Notes

Nutrition info calculated with wonton skins.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 956kcal | Carbohydrates: 97g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 265mg | Sodium: 558mg | Potassium: 545mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2239IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 277mg | Iron: 9mg

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Versatile Shrimp

Much like ground beef, shrimp is one of the most versatile proteins around. You can do so much with shrimp and since they’re often on sale, that’s a real bonus.

Shrimp toss is basically a pasta primavera with some shrimp added. It’s a wonderful dish and I still can’t decide whether it’s the shrimp or the pasta that’s my favorite part of this. This is one of those childhood meals I’ve always loved. And since it’s a recipe my mother favored, I’m pretty sure that is quite healthy. My mother was into healthy eating long before it became a vogue.

Tomatoes

My mother always used fresh. However, in winter, fresh tomatoes don’t have such a great flavor. The only divergence  from my mother’s recipe is that I use canned diced tomatoes–and fire roasted for a fuller flavor. I learned from Julia Child that canned tomatoes are all “summer” tomatoes and therefore are more flavorful. So I pretty much stick to the fire-roasted canned unless someone gives me tomatoes from the garden.

If you make this in the summer and you grow tomatoes, definitely use your home grown.

Pasta

This recipe is best with a straight long pasta. Regular and thin spaghetti work very well here and so does linguine and fettuccine. Because it’s a light dish, angel hair is good as well.

Try to avoid thick chewy styles such as bucatini or any tubular pasta. These are personal preferences, of course, but a thicker pasta would overwhelm the rest of the dish.

A little tip I picked up with pasta dishes such as this is always reserve a bit of the water you cooked the pasta in to toss in if necessary. A tablespoon or two seems to make these types of dishes a little oomph.

The Recipe

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Shrimp Pasta Toss

Simple but delicious pasta dinner

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lenten dinners, low fat pasta dinners, shrimp with pasta and tomatoes

Servings: 4

Calories: 488kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 8 oz uncooked spaghetti
• 1/4 cup butter
• 12 oz medium-large shrimp cleaned & deveined
• 1 small green pepper chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic finely minced or pressed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes drained fire roasted preferred
• 1 tbs fresh basil chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook spaghetti per package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Melt butter in a large skillet until it sizzles. Add onion, shrimp, green pepper, garlic, salt & pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until shrimp turns pink. Stir in tomatoes and basil.
• Place the cooked spaghetti into a large bowl and top with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and toss to combine.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 488kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 256mg | Sodium: 1692mg | Potassium: 512mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 725IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 323mg | Iron: 4mg

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Feta And Tomato

If you thought that feta and tomato was just for salads, you’re going to have a change of heart.

The part I found intriguing about this recipe was that it used feta–baked no less. The way I heard about this was from a cooking group I belong to on Facebook. Apparently this was something that was viral on TikTok. Lots of people made this and made it with many substitutions. Since most of the people raved about this, I decided I was going to try it as well.

Feta And Variables

The original rendition of this casserole uses feta cheese. Frankly, I was surprised by that due to the amount used and it’s baked no less. Feta isn’t a cheese I would think of baking because of it’s texture. Softer cheeses are generally baked so I found this a bit weird to say the least.

However, my group of foodies said that it changes character somewhat when it’s baked and becomes less crumbly. Others suggested substitutions that worked equally as well. Two of the top recommendations were goat cheese and cream cheese. It was pointed out that that the Spanish make a tapas dish similar (just the tomatoes, herbs and goat cheese) to this. I’d like to try that too.

Don’t be put off by the amount of oil. It’s necessary for the proper texture. This isn’t really a recipe for the calorie conscious anyway.

Pasta

The pasta can be any shape you have although I understand that initially, the recipe was done with plain old spaghetti.

Whatever shape you use, make sure to reserve about a cup of the pasta water. You probably won’t use all that, but it is a great addition to the sauce; it makes it a bit creamier. However, if the texture and consistency are good for you, you won’t have to use the pasta water at all’ reserve it just in case.

The shrimp wasn’t in the original. That was just the tomatoes, feta and pasta basically. This recipe does, however, lend itself to many additions. I thought shrimp would be great but chicken would work well too.

The Recipe

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Feta Tomato Pasta

This casserole lends itself to many add-ins

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time55 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked feta and tomatoes, baking feta cheese, tiktok pasta recipe, viral recipe from tiktok

Servings: 4

Calories: 593kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 32 oz cherry or grape tomatoes
• 8 oz feta cheese
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 8 oz pasta shape of your choice
• 1 lb shrimp cleaned and deveined
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tsp oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
• Place tomatoes in a large baking dish (I used 13x9-inch). Drizzle oil over tomatoes and toss to coat. Place the cheese in the center of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta per package directions; reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and set aside and keep warm.
• Melt butter and the teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the shrimp as dry as you can then add to the hot pan. Cook until it turns pink and begins to brown. Set aside and keep warm.
• Raise the oven temp to 450F/230C and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is golden brown on top and tomatoes have burst.
• Remove the pan from the oven and add the basil and garlic. Stir until sauce is well mixed. At this point, you may want to add a small amount of the reserved pasta water--maybe about 2 tablespoons if the sauce seems a bit thick.
• Add the cooked pasta and the shrimp. Toss so the pasta and shrimp is well coated. At this point you may wish to add some more reserved pasta water so the sauce coats everything better

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 593kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 344mg | Sodium: 1848mg | Potassium: 863mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2541IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 480mg | Iron: 4mg

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A Great Meatless Meal

Quite a while ago, a friend and I were discussing how much our eating habits and tastes have changed after reaching 50.

With me it was a case of not being able to eat huge meals anymore since too much food on a plate was actually intimidating. With her it was that she really didn’t want to eat meat every single night. That was in my top 10 as well. It really has nothing to do with any “cause,” it’s merely that your taste changes when you age.

Even if you have no age-related inclinations as my friend and I did, you surely won’t miss eating meat when you have this scrumptious mushroom and pasta dish placed before you. If you hate mushrooms, just skip this post LOL. I can’t think of an adequate substitute!

Mushrooms

In this recipe, the more “gourmet” the mushrooms are, the better it will taste.

It’s not really easy to find a good selection of gourmet-type mushrooms (i.e. Trumpet Royale, etc) in most food stores. But I’m sure everyone can find portabellas, baby bellas or cremini.

The mushrooms I used in this were re-hydrated ones I got off of Amazon. I generally prefer fresh, but that wasn’t a possibility here. The big surprise here is that since they are dehydrated, they last forever so I don’t have to worry about them going bad and having to throw them away.

Another good thing about dehydrated mushrooms is that the liquid you use to re-hydrate them can be used as stock. That’s a win-win the way I see it.

Pappardelle

I’ve never seen this pasta variety in the store brand or even a national brand. This is one pasta shape that you can only seem to find the imported variety. It’s also available in the fresh refrigerated pasta section.

Pappardelle is wide and thick so it’s good for hearty and rustic pasta dishes. It’s one of my favorites and I make sure I have it on hand when I make my bolognese.

However, if you can’t find it or if you just don’t want the extra expense. a regular thick spaghetti such as bucatini or a thick non-tubular shaped pasta such as gemelli is a good substitute.

The Recipe

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Mushrooms With Pappardelle

A hearty meat-free meal fancy enough for company

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: meatless dinners with mushrooms, using gourmet mushrooms, using pappardelle

Servings: 4

Calories: 612kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more as needed
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 1 1/2 lb mixed fresh mushrooms shiitake, oyster and/or cremini, trimmed and sliced
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 12 oz pappardelle
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
• While the water is heating, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil until shimmering. Add about half the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they begin to wilt and make space in the pan; then add the remaining mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until they give up their liquid; then increase the heat to boil the liquid away and caramelize the mushrooms, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the butter and let it melt. Stir in the garlic, rosemary, salt and red pepper flakes just until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the vegetable broth and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and cover to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, add the pappardelle to the boiling water, and cook until al dente, 1 to 2 minutes less than the package directions. When the pasta is ready, use tongs to transfer it to the sauce, reserving the pasta water. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the parsley and toss to coat, adding a little reserved pasta water if the pan seems dry. Remove the skillet from the heat, and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Toss and serve hot,

Notes

I used dried gourmet mushrooms that I re-hydrated.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 612kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 530mg | Potassium: 766mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 678IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 3mg

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