Pasta – Page 25 – Fun Foodie Family

Chicken and Noodles

Hey guys! Happy Saturday! Earlier in the week I made pan roasted chicken legs with mushrooms. They were very easy to make. I just browned them in a pan, took them out and added 1/2 an onion and mushrooms. I cooked them down for about 6 minutes, then added The chicken back in and a bit of stock. They cooked for about 45 minutes on the stove. I could have sworn I took a picture, but I cannot seem to find them. Oh, well! They were delicious, but we had a bunch of leftovers. My throat has been a bit scratchy the last couple of days, so I wanted to make something comforting. I decided to make this chicken and noodles dish. Not quite a soup, more of a thick stew. It is so good! Here is how I made it.

Ingredients
leftover chicken shredded, about 2 cups (you could add any shredded chicken you have…breasts, thighs, rotisserie etc.)
3 tablespoons butter
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 container sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon of thyme (dried, but fresh would be better)
handful of sage, sliced (you could add any herbs you like)
chicken broth/stock homemade or your favorite boxed variety
noodles of your choice- I used chinese noodles =)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of water
Splash of half-and-half
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot, add the veggies in 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Then add the salt, pepper, thyme, and sage. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add your stock. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, add in the chicken and noodles. Make sure the noodles are covered with the stock. Stir occasionally.

Mix the flour with 1/2 cup water until smooth. Add it to the pot, then stir. Cook all together for another 10 minutes of so until it begins to thicken. Taste your delicious creation. If you need to add more salt and pepper, do so. If I had some parsley, I would have chopped some up and added to the top of this dish for some extra freshness. So comforting!

Corkscrew Pasta with Creamy Veggie Tomato Sauce

Pantry Raid, Pasta, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

Leftovers for dinner tonight. Gotta eat up some food instead of wasting it. I still have to use us a bunch of veggies, so I decided to make this pasta for lunches and quick dinner if needed. Pretty quick vegetarian dinner. You could add some grilled chicken to this for a healthy protein if wanted. Very creamy but still uber healthy with all those nutrient rich veggies.

Corkscrew Pasta with Creamy Veggie Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
corkscrew pasta
a jar of creamy spinach tomato sauce (Classico brand- on sale)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 container of cherry tomatoes
1 container of mushrooms
1/2 stalk of chopped broccoli (florets)
1/2 chopped each of yellow and orange peppers
1/2 bag of snap peas
1 handful fresh herbs, chopped- basil, oregano, and marjoram
salt and pepper

Directions

Add all chopped veggies in to a large pot. Cook down for about 15 minutes. Add pasta sauce. Cook down further while you make your pasta. Add in your cooked pasta. If thick, add a bit of the starchy cooking water. I added a bit at a time and had about 1 cup leftover. Everyone in this house loves eating the leftover pasta right out of the pan. This was a great pantry raid dish.

Pasta Frittata and a quick meal plan

Breakfast and Brunch, Eggs, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, One pot meal, Pasta, Vegetarian

Evening everyone! I know this week I have been a little AWOL. It has been crazy busy! It has been one of those weeks that seems like it is taking forever to end, yet it seems like you can’t keep up and everything is moving too fast! You know what I mean? Anyways, on to the food…We ate most all of my meal plan from last week, minus the hotdogs and shrimp alfredo. Instead we had leftover night Wed, random pasta night Thursday (hence the pasta frittata), and Friday was Marco Pizza (thin crust hawaiian and one 1/2 cheese 1/2 black olive and mushroom). Tonight, the girls ate leftover pizza and a bowl of cereal. Random! I choose to make the most of my leftover pasta and veggie tomato sauce by making this leftover pasta frittata.

This coming week looks to be extremely challenging…school functions, cheerleading, gymnastics, and lots of early mornings. Meal plan is going to be using what we already have; Sunday- something with shrimp (maybe with some yellow rice?) Monday- Grandpa is taking cooking duty making tuna noodle casserole. Tuesday- Hotdog and baked beans night Wed- Fish and mac and cheese TH- Ummm…clean out the fridge Friday- Mexican Please???? Margaritas????? PHEW! Nothing too exciting unless I come up with something better…

Pasta Frittata

Ingredients

Cooked pasta (I had whole wheat spaghetti), sauce (I made a sauce that consisted of onion, garlic, halved cherry tomatoes, 1/2 each of yellow and red pepper chopped, sliced black olives, broccoli florets, 1 can diced tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste).

8 eggs- whisked

cheese- I used some shredded cheddar, mozzarella, and parm, enough to cover the top, maybe 1 cup in total.

Directions

In a large cast iron skillet or oven safe dish, start warming your pasta and sauce. Whisk your eggs with some salt and pepper. Add them to the pasta. Stir around. Top with cheese. Let cook for 5 minutes or so. Put the pan in a 375 oven and bake for 25 minutes or until your cheese turns golden brown. Set out of the oven and cool a bit. Great way to have pasta leftovers!

Fridge Raid- Pasta Salad

Pantry Raid, Pasta, Salads, Vegetarian

Evening guys! I was thinking of a way to use up some leftover pasta from the other night. It was plain rotini pasta, so I thought of making a cold pasta salad I could take for lunch tomorrow. I came up with this concoction. It is so pretty that I couldn’t help but take a bite. Delish!

With every fridge/pantry raid- sub in what you have and use your imagination!

Fridge Raid Pasta Salad- This is about 1 large or 2 small servings

rotini pasta
kalamata olives
sun-dried tomatoes
cherry tomatoes sliced in half
blue cheese crumbles
olive oil- 2 tablespoons

I mixed everything all together in a large bowl with a small bit of pepper. The olives are super salty, so no need for salt.

Sausage and Rigatoni

Pantry Raid, Pasta, Pork

I needed to take a trip to the grocery store today, but instead I opted to spend the day at the pool. Summer is almost gone for us, so I need to soak up all the last summer fun I can. Instead, I raided the fridge and pantry and decided to make this delicious dish. Sausage and rigatoni with a quick homemade marinara sauce. Family approved!

Sausage and Rigatoni

Ingredients

Sausage- I had kielbasa in the fridge. I think Italian sweet or spicy sausage would have been great with this. Even a ground sausage would be fine.
Rigatoni- use whatever pasta you have- bowtie, spaghetti, penne, etc.
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 small can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons sugar
fresh herbs- basil, sage, oregano, and, marjoram
1 cup of mozzarella cheese

Directions

Use a large heavy pot. Add in a bit of oil. Cook your sausage. Take out of the pan and slice in to bite sized chunks.
Add in your diced onion. Cook for 3 minutes or so, then add in your garlic. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add in your tomato paste and mix for a minute or so. Then add in your cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix together. Add back in your sausage. Simmer on low.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta. Drain and add in to your sauce. Add the cheese to the top and place in the oven under the broiler for 5 minutes or until your cheese begins to become bubbly and brown.