creamy bow tie pasta with italian sausage

I bought bow tie pasta for $1 (yay for great deals!) and I was looking for a recipe to try out. Allrecipes.com (which is my favorite recipe site -- did I mention this already? it's great!) had this recipe with 1300 plus 4 and half stars. So it has to be good, right?  I did my study on others' reviews and made some minor changes, but the original recipe was a big hit! My hubby loved it! :)

Ingredients:

Bow tie pasta - 1 box/bag (12 oz)

Italian sausage - 1 lbs (sweet or mild)
Onion - 1 med (chopped)
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Italian-style can tomatoes diced - 1 (28 oz) or 2 (14 oz cans)
Heavy cream - 1 and half cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Red chili pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp **see TIPS

Fresh parsley - 3 TBS or more (minced)

Prep:

1. Cook pasta to al dante according to the package instruction.
2. Chop onion and mince garlic. Drain excess tomato juice from the can.
3. Take the meat out from the sausage casings and crumbled.
4. Chop parsley and set it aside.

Cook:

1. In a big skillet or wok, heat 1 TBS of olive oil. Add in sausages. Using spatula, break the meat into smaller pieces. Let it brown, but doesn't have to be completely cooked.
2. Add in garlic and onion. Mix and let it cook for 2-3 minutes or until onion is somewhat translucent. 
3. Add in diced tomatoes and heavy cream. Bring to boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and add salt accordingly. 
4. Add in pasta and mix well with the sauce. **see TIPS

Serve:

1. Nice salad and warm rolls will go perfectly with this dish. 

TIPS

• I used mild sausage and didn't add red pepper flakes. It turned out great with great flavor. But if you want some spicy kick, add in red chili pepper flakes! :)
• If you are keeping for leftovers, it's better to pour the sauce over the pasta, instead of mixing all together. Next day pasta will be more soggy and there's not much sauce left.

bacon broccoli pasta

I was having one of those lazy days, my husband stepped in and cooked dinner for us!  He did a great job with this dish and even our little girl loved it. It's great to have a husband who can cook. :)

Ingredients:

Rotini or Penne Pasta - 3 cups (dry)
Broccoli - 1 head
Bacon - 6 slices
Chicken - 1 breast
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Onion - 1 small (sliced) 

[Chicken marinade]
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Red chili peppers - 2 tsp

Salt & Pepper -to season
Chili pepper - 1 tsp

Prep:

1. Prepare pasta according to the package. 
2. Cook bacon until crispy (or your preference). Save the bacon fat.
3. Blanch broccoli for 2 minutes in boiling water. 
4. Slice the chicken. Marinade chicken and set it aside for 15-20 minutes. 

Cook:

1. In a wok, heat the bacon fat. Fry garlic and onion until fragrant (about 3-5 minutes). 
2. Add in chicken and fry for another 3-5 minutes. 
3. Put back the bacon in the wok, together with blanched broccoli.
4. Combine pasta in. Add in salt, pepper and chili pepper.

Serve:

1. This dish has everything you need to keep you healthy. :) Yay for one dish wonders.

Thank you for making us dinner!

butternut squash penne with baked chicken

My daughter and I went to Costco today around noon, which was a perfect time for food sampling! They were having the pasta sauce sample - Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce. My food taster (aka my daughter) loved it! So I bought it. :) It goes really well with Italian breadcrumbs-crusted chicken, which can be either pan fried or baked.

Ingredients:

Penne pasta - 3 cups (measured when uncooked)

Butternut squash sauce - 2 cups

Onion - 1 small (sliced)
Red/Yellow pepper - 2 cups (sliced)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)

Chicken - 2 breasts
Italian Breadcrumbs -2 cups **see TIPS
Eggs - 2 (beaten)
Flour - to coat chicken
Salt & Pepper

Butter - 2 TBS

Prep:

1. Flatten chicken breasts slightly. Season with salt and pepper. 
2. Coat chicken with flour, egg and then roll on breadcrumbs. Set it aside. 
3. Cook Penne pasta according to package instruction. 
4. Cut veggies in strips (about 2-inch in length) 
5. If you are baking chicken, line baking pan with parchment paper.  Coat it with olive oil. 

Blending panko with Italian seasoning

 Cook:

1. [Chicken bake] Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake chicken for 7 minutes, then turn to the other side and bake for another 8 minutes or golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let it sit in the pan. 
2. [Chicken pan fry] Coat pan with 2 TBS of olive oil. Fry one side of the chicken for 3-5 minutes. Turn and fry for another 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn the heat off, cover the pan and leave the chicken in the pan until later use.
3. On a frying pan, heat butter until melted. Fry onion until fragrant and somewhat transparent. 
4. Add in red/yellow peppers in and fry for another 2 minutes.
5. Add in Butternut squash sauce. Let it bring to boil. Then turn the heat off. Set it aside.

Serve:

1. In a bowl, put penne pasta and top it with baked/pan fried pasta, then pour the butternut squash sauce on top.
2. Sprinkle with cheese if you want. :) 

TIPS

• If you don't have Italian breadcrumbs, but Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) instead, you can blend 2 cups of Japanese breadcrumbs with 1 TBS of Italian seasoning.

mayonnaise pasta

I personally think mayonnaise goes well with pasta. But my husband doesn't like the combination. So I usually make this dish to treat myself once in a while. :) It's definitely on my Top 10 comfort food list. If you like mayonnaise (I prefer Japanese mayonnaise to American one) and pasta, you should definitely try this recipe! 

Ingredients:

Pasta - your favorite kind (for 2 people/2 cups dry)
Japanese mayonnaise - 1/2 cup (yes, it's a generous amount!)

Bacon - 2 slices (sliced) **see TIPS
Salmon - 1/2 cup (sliced)
Diced Tomato in can - 1/2 cup

Salt & pepper - pinch
Any of your favorite herbs - 1 tsp (I like parsley in mine)

Prep:

1. Cut bacon and salmon, set it aside.

Cook:

1. Cook pasta according to package instruction. 
2. While pasta is cooking, fry bacon in a frying pan.
3. Add in salmon and let it cook for 2 minutes. 
4. Add in diced tomatoes, salt, pepper and herb. Cook until bacon is cooked.
5. Drain water from pasta and toss them in the frying pan (or you can do the opposite - put bacon mixture in a pot with pasta).
6. Add in mayonnaise and mix well. Adjust taste to your liking. 

 Serve:

1. All the good stuff in a bowl! Mayonnaise-goodness. :)

 TIPS

• You can add any meat you want - I just happened to have bacon and salmon in the fridge. 

trio-meat linguine in sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce

It's a super long title, but it's probably the easiest recipe. I love Classico's sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce. It's on sale once in a while, so I usually stock up on them. When I'm lazy, this is a life-saver! 

Ingredients: 

Bacon - 4 slices (sliced) **see TIPS
Salmon - 1 cup (sliced)
Chicken - 1/2 breast (sliced)

Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Onion - 1 small (minced)
Asparagus - 10 stalks (skinned and cut in 2-inch pieces)

Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo - 1 jar

Milk - 1/3 cup
Tomato ketchup - 2 TBS
Salt & Pepper - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp

Linguine - 1 packet (13oz)

Prep:

1. Cut chicken into pieces. Season with salt & pepper and set it aside. 
2. Peel outer layer of asparagus (it's optional step) and cut them in 2-inches. 
3. Mince garlic and onion. 
4. Cook pasta according to packet instructions. 

Cook:

1. In a wok or frying pan, heat 1 TBS of olive oil. Fry onion and garlic until fragrant. Add in asparagus and fry for another 2 minutes. Take it out from the wok.
2. In the same pan, add in bacon and fry for 2 minutes. Add in chicken slices. Fry until almost cooked. Add in salmon, but don't over-stir. 
3. Add in the sauce. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. 
4. Add in milk, ketchup, salt & pepper, and sugar. Stir and cook for another 20 minutes. 

Serve:

1. Serve over cooked pasta. Garlic bread/stick is a great addition, too!
2. Grate cheese on top.

TIPS

• I did trio-meat because I had little bit of leftover bacon, chicken and salmon. But you can only use one type of meat.

baked meaty cheesy rigatoni

My husband is a triathlete and my brother-in-law is one, too (I did one triathlon race, which might be my last one. so I don't consider myself a triathlete who can carbo load). So in our house, 'carbo load' is a familiar term. I usually cook lots of pasta or potatoes two days before the race (not a day before since it might come out during the race. haha). This is the dish I made for my brother-in-law, who completed the Olympic Distance triathlon race over the weekend - sub 3 hours, too! 

Ingredients:

Rigatoni - 3 cups (measured when uncooked)

Onion - 1/2 med (chopped finely)
Mushroom - 6 med (chopped finely)
Zucchini - 2 med (chopped finely)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)

Ground beef - 1/2 lb

[optional veggies]
Carrots - 2 med (chopped finely)
Celery - 2 stalks (chopped finely)

Marinara or Pasta sauce - 1/2 jar (2 cups)
Tomato ketchup - 2 TBS
Brown sugar - 1~3 TBS, depending on how sweet you want the sauce to be
Italian seasoning - 2 tsp **See TIPS
Salt & Pepper - 1 tsp each (or to taste)

Sour cream - 1/2 to 1 cup (optional)

Provolone cheese - 4 slices (or less if you prefer less cheesy)
Mozzarella cheese - 1 cup

Prep:

1. Chop all veggies & garlic.
2. Cook Rigatoni pasta according to the packet (about 12 minutes for al dente)

Chop the veggies

Cook: 

1. In a 5 quart pot, add olive oil or butter, fry onion (and harder veggies like carrots) until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Keep stirring. 
2. Add in ground beef. Fry until beef is somewhat cooked. 
3. Add in all the veggies. Stir well. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
4. Add in Marinara or pasta sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and Italian seasoning. Cover for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook for another 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens (liquid evaporates) Taste with salt & pepper.
5. Preheat oven to 375 F.
6. Meanwhile, add in sour cream to rigatoni to give a creamy texture.
7. On a glass or baking dish, add the 1/3 of the tomato sauce, line with half of the sour creamed pasta, followed by two slices (or one) of provolone cheese. Put another 1/3 tomato sauce on top, followed by half of the pasta and cheese. The layer should finish with the last 1/3 tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on top. 
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the top is bubbly and cheese is melted (and golden brown). 

Let it simmer down to get thicker texture

I only had about 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, so it looks sad on the top. :)

Serve:

1. The pasta has quite a strong cheese taste, so serving it with bread sticks or salad will help balance the taste out. 
2. Instead of ground beef, you can also add grilled chicken on top or separate. 

TIPS

•  If you don't have Italian seasoning, just use your favorite herbs or combination of several different types of herbs. 
• Provolone cheese has very strong cheese aftertaste. Cut down on the cheese by adding more pasta or simply use half of what the recipe calls for. 
• No time to bake? Just serve it up by pouring the meat sauce over the rigatoni pasta. It still tastes good. :)

lasagna

It looks a bit white because I ended my top layer with only cheese mixture. Make sure to end with enough meat mixture!

This is one of my husband's favorite dishes. I love it when he request what he wants to eat for dinner. I always ask him "dinner nani tabetai?" (what do you want to eat for dinner?) and usually I get, "nandemo ii" (anything's fine) but once in a while he tells me what he wants, which makes things easier! 

Ingredients:

Ground beef (or turkey) - 1 lbs
Italian sausage - 1 lbs

Can tomatoes (diced) - 2
Tomato paste - 1/2 can (small can)
Ketchup or tomato sauce - 1/3 cup
Sugar - 3 TBS

Onion - 1 (chopped finely)
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Carrots - 1 cup (chopped finely)**see TIPS

Butter - 2 TBS

Egg - 1 (beaten)
Ricotta or Cottage cheese - 2 cups (**see TIPS)
Mozzarella cheese  - a lot

Lasagna noodle - enough to make one 9 by 13 baking dish (1 box of lasagna noodles is enough)

Prep:

1. Chop onion, garlic and carrots finely. 
2. Take the outer layer out for Italian sausage so you have the ground meat version of the sausage.
3. Open all the cans for easy cooking. 
4. Mix egg, ricotta/cottage cheese and 1tsp of salt and dash of pepper in a bowl. Refrigerate until later use.
5. Boil the lasagna noodles and set it on aluminum foil so it won't stick (see TIPS).

Cook:

1. In a big pot, melt butter. Add onion and garlic. Fry for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add in carrots. Fry for another 3 minutes. 
2. Add in ground beef and sausage. Break the big chunks of meat into smaller size. Brown it for about 5 minutes, stirring to make sure it won't stick to the pot. 
3. Add in 1tsp of salt and pepper. 
4. Add 2 cans of tomatoes, 1/2 can of tomato paste, sugar and ketchup or tomato sauce. Mix well and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture will start to dry up a bit. Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking. Add in water if the mixture is too dry or the taste is too strong.
5. While waiting for the sauce to be done, preheat your oven to 375 degrees
6. Use 9 by 13 baking dish. Line the bottom layer with 1. lasagna noodle. Followed by 2. meat mixture, 3. cottage cheese mixture and then 4. handful of mozzarella cheese. Repeat the 4 steps until you fill the whole pan and end with mozzarella cheese (don't end with noodles, it'll dry up). Add extra mozzarella cheese on top for gooey goodness. 
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes and check. If the top is turning brown, cover with foil and cook for another 10 minutes. If it's not browned yet, you don't have to cover. 

Fry onion, carrots and garlic

Add in all the tomatoes (sauce, diced, ketchup, etc) + sugar

The pot is too small, so I recommend using a bigger one (than 5 quarts)

Consistency should be like meat sauce

Serve:

1. Take out the pan (and don't forget to turn off the oven!) and cool it for 10 minutes before serving.
2. Serve with bread sticks or salad.  

It doesn't show the layers well because we didn't wait before serving. So wait for 10 minutes, and it'll be easier to cut

TIPS

• Use turkey/chicken meat for healthier option
• If you are not a big fan of cottage cheese, just add one cup (or 1 and half) of cottage cheese and 1/2 to 1 cup of sour cream. It gives smooth texture to that layer. 
• Some store sells 'no-boil' lasagna noodles, which saves you time!
• If you want your family to eat more veggies, you can sneak in mushrooms, celery, and green bell peppers (all chopped up finely!) They won't know it's there.