Zucchini Carbonara

I was planning on making zucchini bread for brunch this weekend and I misread the amount for zucchini's and bought way too many! 3 too many to be exact. So what did I do? Combine my favorite pasta dish, pasta carbonara, with soft luscious zucchini's. I was out of turkey bacon so I left it out but added plenty of garlic to make up for it. I just cubed up 3 zucchini's, sautéed them with garlic and salt and pepper, and added them to the pasta. Then at the end, hit the pasta and zucchini with the egg/parmesan mixture. Delicious!!!!

1/2 box of pasta, any shape

3 zucchini, cubed

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 Boil water for pasta. Beat 2 eggs in a separate dish and mix with parmesan.

2 While water is boiling, heat olive oil in deep skillet and throw in minced garlic and cubed zucchini and cook together for about 7-8 minutes until softened.

3 Drop pasta into boiling water. Cook until al dente and drain.

4 Once zucchini is softened, mix the drained pasta into the deep skillet with the zucchini.

5 Pour egg/parmesan mixture over the pasta and zucchini and quickly, using tongs, mix thoroughly until egg sauce is shiny and thickened. Serve with more grated parmesan on top. Enjoy!

Butter Bean & Artichoke Tomato Sauce

There's nothing like the smell of homemade tomato sauce. You really feel like you made a gourmet healthful meal pus it is SO easy. The stuff in the jar works for last minute meals but if you have some times please please try making your own. You will love yourself for it. All you need is high quality crushed tomatoes in a can (I used an Italian brand from my local grocery store), garlic, salt and thats it! The rest is up to your imagination. I dumped in a can of artichoke hearts and a can of butter beans. The butter beans gave sort of a smokey undertone which I liked. I also threw in some sliced kalamata olives. Absolutely delicious!

Shrimp Scampi

Ohhhhhhhhh yeaaaa.........come to mama.

Thats exactly what you were thinking when you saw this photo, right?

Or maybe you're thinking that you could never make this at home because it will never compare to your favorite shrimp scampi at your local Italian restaurant...

Well, I'm here to tell you that this DOES compare to your favorite shrimp scampi. It is delicious and perfect for a crowd or even just for two. It is great for left overs (cold!), too. You start with 1 lb of frozen raw deveined peeled shrimp. I have tried both roasting and stir frying shrimp. I can tell you that I much prefer the convenience of roasting because they cook more evenly and quickly, but I love the golden color and crust of stir fried shrimp. The taste is exactly the same, so if you have a few more minutes go the stir-fry route. I will explain each way in more detail below.

1 lb frozen deveined peeled shrimp, raw

Seafood seasoning (mix of paprika, garlic salt, onion powder)

3 garlic cloves, minced

olive oil

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup white wine

1 lemon, juiced

angel hair pasta

1/2 cup chopped parsley

freshly grated parmesan

1 Thaw previously frozen shrimp (of course, you can buy them fresh at the seafood counter as well) and pat dry. Season well, both sides of shrimp.

2 Heat a large skillet with olive oil and butter. Sauté minced garlic until it infuses the oil with garlicky goodness. Lay the shrimp in one even layer (you can do this in batches if your pan isn't big enough). The shrimp must sizzle or your pan isn't hot enough. Cook the shrimp until pink on one side, then flip to the other side, one by one. About 2-3 minutes per side

3 Set aside your shrimp once cooked. In the same pan, add about 1/4 cup white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the bits of shrimp garlicky nuggets from the bottom of the pan. Add another tablespoon of butter and the juice of 1 lemon.

4 Boil water for the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

5 Pour pasta in the pan with the liquid and coat the noodles with the sauce using tongs.

6 Add in chopped parsley and plenty of grated parmesan.

7 Toss the shrimp with the noodles, serve with more parmesan.

Spinach-Ricotta Stuffed Shells

These shells were one of the dishes I made for a dinner party the other week. They were deliciously stuffed with clouds of ricotta and spinach and smothered with marinara sauce. They were also especially great because they could be made ahead and frozen until the day of the party. All you do is bake them for 30-40 minutes and they are ready. I will post some other dishes from the party later on this week. In the meantime, enjoy these heavenly stuffed shells!

Spinach-Ricotta Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo pasta shells

15 oz ricotta cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp dried parsley or 1 tbs fresh parsley

1 tsp dried basil

3/4 cup grated parmesan

salt 'n' peppa

pinch of nutmeg

8 oz mozzarella

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed

2 cups prepared marinara sauce

goat cheese, optional

1 Cook pasta shells al dente, drain and set aside. I drizzled some olive oil on them to prevent them from sticking.

2 Combine ricotta with eggs, parsley, basil, parmesan, salt, nutmeg, half of the mozzarella and spinach.

3 Lay the shells out on a baking sheet and stuff, one by one, with a large spoonful each.

4 Pour half of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish (or two small ones). Then place the stuffed shells on the coated dish. Pour the rest of the sauce over the shells, then sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella on top. (I sprinkled some goat cheese over the mozzarella because I had some leftover that I wanted to finish, completely optional)

At this point, if you want to freeze them, cover with saran wrap, then aluminum and place in the freezer. When ready to bake, place in oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

Pasta Carbonara

Ok, I've never had pasta carbonara. Never made it at home and never had it in a restaurant either. Why has no one told me how amazing this is?! I have heard of it, but I guess I ruled it out because I don't eat bacon. Enter turkey bacon. Thank goodness for these strips of smoked salty turkey because this is by far the best pasta dish I have ever made. Even better than my favorite. Now, its not as fast and easy as my favorite pasta, there are a few steps involved, BUT it is soo worth it. Oh my gosh, it was so good – garlicky, creamy, cheesy, smoky, slurps through your lips. Mmmm. Please make this. It is absolutely ridiculously heavenly delicious!

Pasta Carbonara

adapted by Pastor Ryan via Pioneer Woman

1 lb angel hair pasta

4 eggs

a couple strips of turkey bacon, or the real thing

1 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 small onion

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup white wine or dry vermouth

handful of parsley, I didn't have any fresh so I sprinkled some dried parsley

ground pepper

1 Slice up your turkey bacon and cook in a medium skillet until browned and crispy. While the bacon is cooking, heat a big pot of salted water for your pasta. When it comes to a boil, add your pasta and cook until al-dente. I used angel hair, which is very thin, so it cooks fast so be sure to watch it if using angel hair.

2 Remove and drain turkey bacon on a paper towel. Meanwhile, throw in diced onion into the same pan and cook until softened over medium high heat.

3 Thinly slice the garlic and throw in with the onions. Cook together for a few minutes and remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

4 Now, drain off any grease from the pan and return it to high heat until starts to smoke a little. Pour in white wine and whisk to get all the juicy bits stuck on the pan, thereby deglazing the pan. Add 1 cup chicken stock. Return the turkey bacon and onions and garlic back to the pan and bring to a simmer.

5 In a large bowl big enough for all of the pasta, crack 4 eggs and add the freshly grated parmesan cheese and parsley. Stir all together.

6 Drain the pasta. Be sure the pasta is very hot. Pour pasta into the egg mixture and then pour the turkey-bacon onion mixture. Mix all together and toss well. Tongs work well here. Garnish with more parmesan and parsley and get ready to taste heaven.

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

I haven't posted a pasta dish for a long time, but don't worry I've still been eating it regularly– my favorite way, of course. I've also been eating a lot of mushrooms lately. Mainly just sauteed in butter with shallots –yum! I thought to add these indulgent flavors in a cream sauce over pasta. I used shiitake, but any mushrooms or a combination of mushrooms, would work. This was such an easy and quick sauce to make — just melt some butter, saute some minced shallots until softened, throw in the  chopped mushrooms, pour in the half and half or cream, season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese. By the time your pasta is cooked, the sauce is ready. Enjoy!!

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

2 tablespoon butter

1 shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 8 oz package of shiitake mushrooms, or any variety, roughly chopped

1 cup half and half

salt 'n' peppa

1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Pasta of your choice, cooked al dente

1 Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat with shallots until softened. Add in minced garlic.

2 Throw in the mushrooms and cook until golden and soft. Pour in the cream, make sure the heat isn't too high, you don't want to boil the cream.

3 Season with salt and pepper to taste. Throw in the parsley and stir.

4 Pour over pasta of your choice and garnish with fresh parmesan cheese!

I am sending this pasta dish over to ascientistinthekitchen for presto pasta night!

My favorite way to eat pasta

I know this pasta bowl might look plain and bland, but I can't help this being my favorite way to eat pasta. I try to break out of this feta-parmesan-pasta rut, I really do! I tried the caramelized onion pasta, the sun-dried tomato and artichoke pasta, and even made bolognese sauce from scratch! I'm not saying those pasta dishes aren't amazing (or else I wouldn't post them!) but they are amazing in their own way. I always will crave soft buttery pasta and salty feta with grated parmesan cheese. Nothing can beat my classic favorite pasta toppings. I just don't like a lot of "stuff" in my pasta. Everyone has their "thing" with food, right? I have been hiding this, afraid that people will think I'm weird but I am ready to be proud of this pasta dish once and for all!! :) What is your classic most favorite way to eat pasta?

Pasta with feta and parmesan

1/2 pound pasta, any shape (I combined two leftover pasta shapes for this batch, don't be afraid to mix it up!

1/4 stick butter or some olive oil

A couple of spoonfuls of feta

Grated parmesan cheese

1 Boil 6 cups water and season with salt. Boil pasta until al-dente, about 7 minutes.

2 When pasta is finished cooking, toss with desired amount of butter.

3 Toss buttered pasta with feta and parmesan cheese.

4 Enjoy my masterpiece.

Roasted Tomato, Artichoke & Goat Cheese Pasta

I love a good light pasta dish thats easy to heat up for lunch or snack on cold right out of the fridge. This is one of those dishes, which was inspired by Heidi's Red Pesto Ravioli at 101cookbooks. She used cheese ravioli for the pasta and made a pesto sauce out of sun dried tomatoes. I didn't want a sauce nor a heavy pasta, just the good stuff she used like oven roasted tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, plus I added some roasted canned artichokes. It turned out amazing and I'm sure it will taste just as good or maybe even better right out of the fridge tomorrow. Mmmm. Her oven roasted tomatoes came out so sweet and delicious and the sun-dried tomatoes offered a tangy flavor which I love. I used these cute little pasta shapes called orecchiette, meaning "ears." Aren't they adorable?

Roasted Tomato, Artichoke & Goat Cheese Pasta

1 8 oz package of pasta, any small shape will work

Olive oil, salt 'n' peppa

Sun-dried tomatoes, julienned

Cherry tomatoes, I used an 8 oz package

1 can artichoke hearts

Crumbled Goat cheese

1 Preheat toaster oven to 350. Slice cherry tomatoes lengthwise and toss with some olive oil, spoonful of brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Arrange cut side up in toaster oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until shriveled.

2 Boil water and cook pasta until al-dente, around 11 minutes for the short small pastas. Drain.

3 While pasta is boiling, drain can of artichoke hearts and season with salt and pepper. Toss with olive oil and broil in the oven for about 7 minutes or until beginning to brown.

4 Julienne the sun dried tomatoes.

5 Toss the pasta with the oven roasted tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, and artichokes. Crumble goat cheese on top.

This dish is being sent to Amy at Very Culinary for Presto Pasta Night.

The Best Bolognese Sauce Ever

....that I can't take credit for. It is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, guest hosted by Pastor Ryan. I was kind of hesitant on making a meat sauce because I usually like my pasta lighter and meatless, but I am so glad I did! I was thinking about cutting his measurements in half but Im so thankful I didn't because now I have lots of yummy leftovers! Maybe even enough to freeze! It is saucy, sweet, meaty, melt in your mouth good and Adam couldn't get enough! I served this over angel hair pasta and topped with shredded parmesan cheese. Bon Apetito!

Bolognese Sauce

1.5 cups grated carrot

1 red onion, diced

2 lbs ground beef

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons dried basil, I used a couple of fresh basil leaves, minced

1 6oz can tomato paste

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup red wine

2 tablespoon Worcestershire

salt

pepper

3 14.5 oz cans whole tomatoes

1 cup milk, I used skim

Parmesan cheese

1 Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and add grated carrots and diced red onion and cook until softened.

2 Make a well in the center and add ground beef. Cook until browned, slowly incorporating the veggies with the meat until all the meat is browned.

3 Add oregano and basil. Mix. Make another well and add tomato paste in the center and let heat through.

4 Add minced garlic and stir.

5 Make another well and add red wine. Stir.

6 Add worcestershire and stir.

7 Add canned tomatoes, milk and stir all together.

8 Simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. I simmered for about an hour and a half and it was melt in your mouth good.

Serve over pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Pasta with caramelized leeks and feta cream sauce

Whenever I see heavy cream in recipes, I try and find a way to get around it. I just can't get myself to use cream in my cooking, I just feel like I'm sinning or something. This is definitely a direct influence from my mother. I was raised in a very healthy household. I was lucky to get 98% fat free popcorn. As a kid, I craved that 2% fat! Now that I'm on my own, I definitely explore other types of cooking, but I still can't do the cream. I just can't! So when I saw this recipe, I adapted it, and voila! A perfectly creamy cream-less pasta dish! The smokey flavor from the caramelized leeks and the creamy feta together create a kick ass bowl of noodles! Trust me. My apartment smelled so good my dog was going crazy!

Pasta with caramelized leeks and feta cream sauce

1 lb pasta, I used fettuccine but any shape would work

2 leeks, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup feta, more for topping

Couple leaves mint, optional

salt 'n' peppa

1 Boil a pot of water, season with kosher salt. Place noodles in rapidly boiling water and cook until al-dente.

2 Cut tall dark part off the leeks and discard. Wash light green part thoroughly and slice into thin rings.

3 Saute sliced leeks over medium heat with olive oil and a bit of butter. Cook until softened and slightly golden. Season with salt 'n' peppa.

4 Add minced garlic cloves and cook with the leeks. Let flavors meld together.

5 Pour feta into the same pan and let heat through and melt. Add some hot pasta water into the pan until it becomes creamed and saucy.

6 At this time, the pasta should be ready. Pour drained pasta into the pan and incorporate the leek-feta sauce throughout. Top with more feta and some mint if you have it. Enjoy!

Note: I put up 2 photos of the pasta because I couldn't choose! Which one do you like better?

This is my submission for Presto Pasta Night! Thanks Daphne for hosting this week's roundup!