Pasta with corn

This recipe from the cover of Food Network mag. I made some modifications only because I didn't have everything on hand. I liked it for dinner or lunch. Eric liked it as a side dish to his tri tip. (That was good too) Enjoy.

2 ears of corn shucked
5 TB unsaled butter
tomatoes (we used some cherry ones from our garden)
2 cloves of garlic
pepper
12 oz of pasta (I used linguini)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup grated parmesan
basil for topping

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until tender. Use tongs and remove corn. You will want to save the corn water. Let corn cool and cut off kernels. Cook pasta in corn water as directed. Save 1 cup water and then drain pasta. Melt 2 TB butter in large skillet and cook garlic one minute. Add corn, salt, and pepper, and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Add the pasta. Mix all together. Add water if needed. Sprinkle parmesan cheese, 3 TB butter, and basil over the top. Add fresh tomatoes and serve.

Toasted Ravioli

2 eggs

splash of milk

salt & pepper

1 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

handful of finely chopped parsley

12 large fresh ravioli (Okay, this is where you can have a lot of fun. There is more than enough to dip more than 12. Use small ravioli or large, same kind or two varieties. We have tried 4 cheese, smoked moz with artichokes, and lobster ravioli)

5 TB olive oil

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 14 oz can of Italian style tomatoes

Handful of basil, thinly sliced

You will need two shallow bowls. Beat eggs with splash of milk in one bowl. Combine bread crumbs, cheese, parsley in another bowl. Heat 3 TB olive oil in pan. Dip ravioli in eggs, then bread crumb mixture and toast until golden brown 4-5 minutes.

In a small pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and red peppers. Stir in tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and the basil. Transfer sauce to bowl or plate and use for dipping. You will find yourself thinking about these later and wishing there were leftovers.

recipe from Rachel Ray

Moms' Lasagna

1 pkf of lasagna noodles (I use 9)
Mozzarella cheese
1/4-1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Meat Layer

1 lb ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes Italian style
1 can tomato sauce
2 TB parsley
2 TB sugar
1 tsp basil

Cheese Layer

1 large container of cottage cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 TB parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano

After browning the hamburger, I put the meat mixture in the crockpot for 3-4 hours. Later, while cooking the noodles, I mix the cheeses together. In the bottom of a 9x13 pan I spread a bit of the meat sauce. Then layer noodles, meat, cotttage cheese, plus mozzarella. Top with mozzarella & parmesan. Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Vegetable Lasagna

2 medium bell peppers, chopped

2 medium zucchini (I throw in 1 small squash) sliced

1/4 cup onion, diced

1/2 lb or more mushrooms

9 lasagna noodles

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese

favorite spaghetti sauce or homemade

olive oil

salt

pepper

Emeril's essence

Italian seasoning

Mix olive oils, salt pepper, Emeril's essence and the Italian seasoning into a large bowl. Add the veggies. Toss to coat evenly. Spray a cookie sheet and spread veggies out in single layer. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. While the veggies are roasting, cook the noodles, and mix the cheeses. If I had to guess for the cheese I'd say 2 cups mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Take out veggies and reduce to 400 degrees. On the bottom of a 9x13 pan, spread a little of the spaghetti sauce. Then layer noodles, veggies, sauce, and cheese. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Great for summer!

Stuffed Shells

I finally started to feel better yesterday so I made stuffed shells. I stuffed 28 shells with this recipe. 14 of which I cooked for last night's dinner and 14 that are frozen for another time. I tell you that so you can adapt it according to the size of your family. You may need to use all 28 shells and also the whole jar of sauce. Eric's mom came for a visit after Trey was born and made a similiar recipe but froze several meals worth. I was inspired and grateful.

3 links Italian sausage
28 jumbo shells
2 TB pesto
24 oz. cottage cheese
2 oz shredded parmesan cheese
1 jar of fav spaghetti sauce or about 3-4 cups of homemade sauce
1 cup mozzarella sauce

Brown the sausage while you cook the noodles. Pour half of your jar of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of your casserole pan and place the noodles on top of the sauce. Mix the cottage cheese, pesto, parmesan cheese, and Italian sausage. Put the mixture in a ziploc and snip the corner. Gently squeeze a bit of the mixture into each shell. Top each shell with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes. Yum.

What were the older two eating? No, I didn't make them homemade pizza, or french bread pizza, or tortilla pizza. They got frozen pizza. I did cook the frozen pizza for them if you were wondering. Some day, and I hope soon, they will like pasta. They just don't know what they are missing.

Creamy Tomato Sauce

1TB olive oil

1 tsp basil

dash of red chili pepper

1/4 cup onion minced

1 clove garlic cushed

dash of salt

2 cans of tomato sauce

3-5 oz parmesan/romano cheese blend

1 cup heavy cream

Pasta for 4-6 servings. We served it with tricolor noodles & also tried it over 3 cheese tortillini.

In olive oil, saute basil & chili pepper, onion, garlic, and salt until onion is tender. Add tomato sauce and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Add cheese. After it is melted stir in the cream and serve over pasta of choice.

I know it is not even complicated. However, this is the closest we have come to making the creamy tomato sauce at Carrabbas which was delicious over their mezzaluna pasta and their seafood stuffed manicotti. Try it and let me know what you think.

Adapted from worldwide ward cookbook. (We didn't like the Gouda cheese flavor originally called for)