Pasta – Page 31 – Fun Foodie Family

Homemade Marinara 10/12/13

Hey ya’ll! I know you want a quick dinner. I know you reach for the prepared mixes and sauces. There are some great ones out there, but they cost you money. I know we are always trying to save some money, right? Here is a way. Make your own sauce. This is a marinara sauce. I have made my home made sauce tons of times, and they are always kinda different depending with what is in my fridge. This is tonight’s homemade marinara sauce…

1 onion chopped
1/2 garlic head; peeled, crushed, and chopped
1 whole stalk of celery roughly chopped
The rest of my trifecta of peppers chopped; red, yellow, and orange
Cook all these for 20 minutes
Add at least 3/4 of a bottle of red wine and a few tablespoons of tomato paste
Add 2 28 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes; 1 peeled, 1 crushed
1 can of tomato sauce
add oregano, basil, 2 tablespoons of sugar and Worcestershire sauce

Cook for at least 2 hours. The longer the better.

Spaghetti with Mushroom and Meat sauce

Beef, Pasta

Sunday was a nice relaxing day at home, so I thought I would make an easy slow cook home made sauce for spaghetti night. Fall is here, which means I will probably be making lots of stews, soups, sauces, chili, braised meats, etc. It also means that my dutch oven and crock pot are going to be my main kitchen tools for the colder upcoming weather. I love how I can put something in the crock pot in the morning and come home 8 hours later and dinner is already made! Weekend cooking also becomes all day cooking. I can braise some short ribs all day and have fall apart meat hours later with equally delicious sauce to dip my crusty bread in . The smell of all the flavors mixing together creates a deep intense smell and flavor that cannot be beat!

Mushroom and Meat Sauce:
This makes 3 batches for our family of 5.
First diced up 1 onion and 1/2 head of garlic. Cook that for a few minutes in a bit of butter and olive oil mix. Then add an entire 16 oz. container of mushrooms to your dutch oven. Cook that down for a bit. Add plenty of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, basil, marjoram). Then add 1 28 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, 1 28 oz. can of crushed plum tomatoes, 4 squirts of tomato paste, 1/3 bottle of red wine, and 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire, 2 pats of butter, and about 3 tablespoons sugar. The wine and Worcestershire just give it an extra layer of flavor, especially since you are making mushroom and meat (beef)in it. The butter and the sugar help to add a bit of sweetness to the sauce and mellow the acidity of the tomato a bit.

Cook for 2-4 hours. The longer the better. Add in browned ground beef and cook another 1/2 hour or so. Serve with spaghetti or your favorite pasta.

Pasta Carbonara and Oven Baked Chicken Fingers

Chicken, Kids, Pasta

Kids can be a tough group to please in the kitchen. Sometimes it is hard to get kids to eat what you want. There are a lot of “experts” out there who tell you what you should do to make your kids eat certain things. They were either lucky and got adventurous eaters, or they have no clue what they are talking about. I am lucky that my kids love to eat and will try most things. They are not perfect. My oldest used to LOVE blueberries; now she won’t touch them. When you see a willful child spit out a perfectly good blueberry more than once, you sort of just give in to the fact that maybe they just don’t like blueberries.

My husband and I have a few rules when it comes to food.
1. Try one bite. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat anymore tonight.
2. Dinner time is sacred. For the most part, we eat at the kitchen table every night we all can; we go around the table and tell what we are thankful for or something good that happened that day.
3. Dinner is what is on the table. I am not a short order cook. I make one meal. Eat it.
We have a few “whatever you want” nights where we can clean out the fridge and they can pick what they want.

What are some things kids like best? Chicken Fingers and Pasta.

Chicken Fingers- 350 for 40 minutes
2 chicken breasts cut in to strips.
flour, egg, and breadcrumb coating
Place on a rack on top of a baking sheet so all sides can get nice and crusty

Pasta Carbonara
Pan fry some chopped bacon, then add 1/2 onion diced until nice and translucent.
Cook your pasta of choice.
Mix 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk (room temperature)with 1/2 cup parm cheese.
Place frozen peas at the bottom of your serving bowl; they will heat up and cook through with hot pasta.
Add eggs and cheese mix well in to pasta. Then add bacon and onions and mix.

Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta

Chicken, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Pasta

Wednesday night is a late dinner night for us. R has gymnastics until 6:30, so dinner is usually close to 7. I stay home with the other 2 girls, and hubby takes R to class. I cook dinner and we eat when they get home around 6:45-7. Usually, I cook dinner and sometimes we have a clean out the fridge night or we get Chinese or something. Last night, my neighbors brought over about 8 tomatoes. They were just sitting on the counter begging to be used.

Hmmm. What to do… I cut them up and threw them in a pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil, 5 heads of crushed garlic, 1 finely diced onion, a bunch of dried and fresh herbs (oregano, rosemary, sage). Add one can of tomato sauce. I also added 2 tablespoons of sugar (cuts the acidity and metal taste of the can sauce) and a few squirts (tablespoons) of tomato paste (adds richness). I put a lid on it and cooked it for an hour. I strained it halfway and at the end. That gets rid of seeds, tomato skins, leftover garlic, and whole herbs. Take off the heat and add a tablespoon of butter. Then add your heavy cream; about 1/3 of a cup. Not a lot. I just want to add a touch of velvety creaminess to this sauce without taking away from the tomato flavor. Thinking this might make a great thick soup…

I had my 2 chicken leg/thigh quarters, so I browned them on both sides in a cast iron skillet them placed both in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. I took them out and cooled them to touch and hand shredded. Add to sauce.

Cook pasta to al dente. Mix with chicken and sauce. 10 thumbs up! Plus, more for leftovers!

Shrimp and Broccoli Angel Hair Alfredo

Pasta, Seafood

Quick under 30 minute meal…

Pasta-
Boil water and salt like the sea. Add noodles and cook less than 2 minutes than the package says.

Alfredo sauce-
Take a stick of butter and melt it with 4 cloves of crushed and chopped garlic. Add a quart of heavy cream and let it come to a boil. Then turn down the heat and add a shredded wedge of your favorite parmesan (I shredded in my Cuisinart). Once the cheese is melted, add your shrimp. Let them poach in the Alfredo sauce until they are pink.

Drain your pasta. Keep a cup of pasta water just in case. Add the shrimp and sauce to the pasta and mix. Add your favorite veggie; we added broccoli.

Leftovers in the freezer! Woohoo!