Tag Archives: Pasta

I love all things Buffalo Chicken.  If you can “buffalo chicken” a recipe, I’ve probably done it, and if I haven’t, I want to know what I’m missing.  My new favorite recipe is for Buffalo Chicken Lasagna.  It’s loaded with buffalo wing sauce, tender rotisserie chicken, plenty of cheese, and soft noodles.  It’s got some heat but isn’t too spicy in my opinion.  If it is too spicy for you, cut the heat with some blue cheese or ranch dressing.  It’s an easy recipe to prepare and comes together, start to finish, in about 1 hour. The recipe can be found here. Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Add the ricotta, 8 oz shredded mozzarella (or sub with blue cheese), egg, parsley, salt, and pepper to a mixing bowl and mix until well combined.  This is the yummy cheesy filling. Add the chicken, buffalo sauce … Continue reading

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Philly Cheesesteak Pasta is a great one-pot weeknight meal the whole family will love!  It tastes just like a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich and if you aren’t familiar, it’s thin sliced beef with sautéed onions and peppers on a hoagie that’s smothered with cheese.  In this case, the bun is being replaced by noodles.  It’s cheesy, melty, and the perfect comfort food. The recipe can be found here. Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare your ingredients – slice the onion and bell pepper and mince the garlic. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and 1 tsp of salt and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onions are soft and starting to brown.  Add the bell pepper and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the peppers start to soften.  Add the garlic and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium.  Add the ground beef, … Continue reading

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Fettuccine Bolognese is a wonderful winter recipe when you are looking for something hearty and with lots of flavor.  If you aren’t familiar, a Bolognese is a slow cooked sauce that typically contains beef or pork.  In this case, I used beef.  This dish is similar to spaghetti and meatballs in flavor and is great for picky eaters.  I truly think it’s something everyone will like.  It does take about 2 hours to make (including prep time) because you must simmer the sauce (remember, this is a slow cooked sauce), but it’s worth the wait and your house will smell incredible.  It’s also not a spicy dish, very mild flavors, but we can talk about spicing it up later. The recipe can be found here.  Now let’s walk through how to make it! Start by doing all your prep work.  This makes cooking and assembly MUCH easier.  Chop the onion and celery, mince the garlic, open the canned goods, … Continue reading

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Smoked Macaroni & Cheese is a wonderful comfort food that is sure to be a hit!  You essentially take a recipe for macaroni and cheese but enhance the flavor by smoking it vs baking it.  A few things I’d like to point out: The smokey flavor is well developed – you can taste it in each bite but it’s not overpowering. It’s pretty effortless to make – you assemble, smoke, add some toppings, and dig in! It’s smoked in a foil pan so it’s easy to cover and transport to another location. It can be a full meal, served as a side, or shared at a potluck or party.   The recipe can be found here.  Let’s walk through how to make it. Start by preheating your smoker to 250 degrees F and add hickory wood chips.  I think this recipe tastes great with hickory but feel free to experiment with another wood chip flavor. Bring … Continue reading

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Shrimp Scampi is a classic seafood dish that is widely popular.  It’s considered Italian-American cuisine and consists of shrimp that is cooked in a butter, garlic, and white wine sauce.  It’s wonderful to eat on its own or can be paired with rice or pasta.  It can be served as an appetizer or can be a main course.  I love how effortless and simple it is to make.  You can whip it up for a quick weeknight meal or impress guests at a dinner party because it looks like an elegant meal.  It requires few ingredients to make but the sauce is the key because that’s where all the flavor blend together and give you the lemony, garlicky, buttery combination. The recipe can be found here. Start by marinating the shrimp.  You can use frozen or fresh but if you do use frozen, make sure it is completely thawed, and drain any liquid from the packaging before … Continue reading

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Pimento Mac & Cheese is an easy weeknight skillet meal the whole family will love!  It’s packed with flavor and combines 2 of my favorite things….mac and cheese and pimento cheese.  I personally think pimentos are underutilized in recipes, so this is a great recipe for them to shine.  I can’t wait to make it again! The recipe can be found here. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F and use 1 Tbsp softened butter to grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles until al dente.  You don’t want to overcook and make them mushy.  Drain the noodles and set aside. While the noodles are cooking, make the cheese sauce.  Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the flour, paprika, and salt, and whisk to combine.  Continue to cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly.  The mixture will start to turn a … Continue reading

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Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is my newest weeknight recipe that your family will love!  It’s a filling and delicious pasta that comes together in about 30 minutes.  It’s rich, creamy, a little spicy, and packed with wonderful ingredients.  I will admit…when I was originally working on this recipe it was going to be soup, not pasta, but plans changed, and soup just wasn’t in the cards that night.  I blame the noodles for absorbing so much of the liquid that would have been yummy soup, but the recipe still turned into something great, and we had a lovely pasta dinner.  One thing I love to do is play around with recipes so even though my original plan didn’t work out, I was able to recover and still serve dinner.  Has that ever happened to you? The recipe can be found here. Start by seasoning both sides of the chicken tenders with Cajun seasoning.  I like to use tenders because … Continue reading

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Caprese Ravioli Salad is the pasta salad of summer…. or winter…. whenever you are looking for something light and refreshing.  It’s ready in about 20 minutes or less and is packed with fresh flavors of basil, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and balsamic glaze.  This recipe can be served as a side dish or main course.  If serving as the main course, add a garden salad or some fresh veggies and hummus on the side. The ravioli is coated in a wonderful oil and herb dressing.  You can use cherry or grape tomatoes.  I recommend cheese ravioli or perhaps cheese tortellini (if you can’t find ravioli).  Use fresh basil, it’s way better than dried basil.  And use mozzarella pearls or fresh mozzarella slices that are cut into smaller chunks.  The keyword here is FRESH!  You will really notice a difference in the taste and texture of the dish if your ingredients are fresh. The recipe can be found here. Start by … Continue reading

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Sun Dried Tomato & Scallop Pasta is an easy to make yet incredibly delicious weeknight meal.  It’s a recipe that sounds like you ordered if from a local restaurant when in fact you whipped it up in no time at home.  I think scallops pair well with a cream sauce and pasta so it’s the perfect combination.  The pasta is tender and coated in a lovely mozzarella, sun dried tomato sauce.  The scallops have a nice sear and good texture.  And there is good heat from the red pepper flakes. The best way to cook scallops is to sear them on the stovetop in a skillet with some oil or butter.  You want a golden crust on the top and bottom and the inside to have a soft texture.  You can use fresh or frozen scallops.  I tend to use frozen so I don’t have to worry about cooking them so soon after purchasing but you will have to ensure … Continue reading

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Creamy Tomato Gnocchi with Burrata is the ultimate weeknight meal!  It’s quick and easy to make, uses simple yet fresh ingredients, and highlights some popular summer flavors.  Think fresh tomatoes and basil (possibly from your garden), creamy burrata, and soft gnocchi.  It’s a game changer! The recipe can be found here. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the gnocchi according to package instructions.  Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water and drain the rest of the water.  Set the gnocchi aside.  You can prepare homemade gnocchi if you prefer but store-bought works well for this recipe. Heat oil in a large skillet over low heat.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 60 seconds. Add the tomatoes (unsliced, you want whole tomatoes), red pepper flakes (add more if you like a lot of heat), and salt.  Stir to combine.  Increase the heat to medium … Continue reading

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