Manicotti

12 large manicotti
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese , divided
2 cups ricotta cheese
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 (26ounce)jar prepared spaghetti sauce, divided (I have used Prego or made my own)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese or romano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions(be sure to not over cook, they need to be a little chewey for easier stuffing). Carefully remove each shell and rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels.
3. For the filling, in a large ziplock bag (seriously!), put in 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Seal the bag tightly. Smush the bag around with your hands until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed (it’s a nice stress reliever too!).
4. Snip off the bottom corner of the ziplock bag (the point is to have the hole a tad smaller than the manicotti opening, where you can just barely slip it into the shell). Use this method to squeeze the cheese mixture into each manicotti.
See, that wasn’t so bad! ;).
5. Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
6. Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

My Favorite Pasta Salad

1-16 oz. pkg. penne or farfalle pasta, cooked and drained
1 cup feta cheese
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 cup shredded carrots
2 cups broccoli florets
3 chicken breasts, grilled

Dressing:
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 garlic glove (minced)
1/2 green onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all the above ingredients in a blender and slowly add 1 cup vegetable oil.
After blended add 3 tsp. poppy seeds.

Pour over salad and serve.

White Cheddar Chicken Pasta

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb rotini pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 onion (diced)
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
8 ounces white cheddar cheese (grated)
2 cups milk
1/2 tablespoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon oregano
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
Parmesan cheese

Step 1: In a small bowl mix together mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over both sides of the chicken breasts. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and cook on both sides until golden brown and the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees. Remove from the pan and slice into strips.

Step 2: Cook rotini pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add flour and mix well with the butter to combine. Add wine, garlic, onion, and Dijon mustard. Cook about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and slowly add milk stirring to combine. Cook until the mixture begins to chicken. Add white cheddar cheese and stir in into it has melted.

Step 3: Drain noodles and transfer them to a large serving bowl. Mix in white cheddar cause, add the chicken and toss until well combined. Season with thyme, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes. Top with parmesan cheese while serving.
(Makes 6 Servings)

Lasagna Roll-ups

Sauce-
1/4 lb ground beef
2 tablespoons onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 (16 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 dash cayenne pepper (or more to your taste)

Filling-
1 1/4 cups small curd cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley (minced) (or 1 tsp. Dried)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
8 lasagna noodles (cooked)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Step 1: In a large skillet cook ground beef, onion and garlic until the beef is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat from the pan. Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and cayenne. Simmer for 10 minutes. Spread half of the meat sauce on the bottom of a greased 8” baking dish.

Step 2: In a bowl combine cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, parsley and onion powder. Spread ¼ cup of the cheese mixture evenly over each lasagna noodle. Roll up and place seam side down in rows in the baking dish. Top with remaining sauce.

Step 3: Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. About 5 minutes before the dish is finished cooking remove from the oven and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and cook until cheese has melted.

Donna’s tip: Double the recipe and freeze half in a foil disposable pan.

Fettuccine Carbonara

12 oz. Fettuccine, uncooked
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cu light cream cheese
1/4 cup light Caesar salad dressing
1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
8 oz. of ham, chopped
Parmesan cheese and parsley for garnish

Cook pasta as directed on package adding the peas to the cooking water
for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese,
salad dressing and flour in a small saucepan with a wire whisk until well
blended. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until the mixture is
well blended. Add ham; cook on medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring
constantly. Drain the fettuccine mixtures; return to sauce pan, add the
sauce mixture and toss lightly. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes or until
heated through. Top with parsley and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Baked Ziti

1 lb of Rigatoni pasta
1 lb ground meat (hamburger)
1 lb Italian sausage
26oz size of Prego pasta sauce (any one you like)
1 package of fresh spinach
1/4 cup of chopped garlic or 6 cloves
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of parmesan cheese
16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to your taste

Boil the pasta in boiling water. Follow direction from the package.
Cook the sausage till done. Once cooked place on paper towel to drain some of the fat. Cook the meat season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Remove from pan into a large bowl.

Cook the mushrooms in the pan from the meat. Cook until tender about 10 minutes.
Combine the sausage, meat, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, and spinach and mix well.
Pour half of the pasta in a 13 x 19 greased (sprayed with Pam makes cleaning a lot easier). Top this first layer with half of the mozzarella cheese. Pour the remaining pasta on top and repeat with the mozzarella cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil. A tip: if you sprayed the side over the pasta with Pam you won’t have the cheese sticking to the foil when pulling it off. Bake for 30 minutes or until it’s bubbling. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serving for 8

Lemon Linguini

This is your basic summer pasta, wonderful just plain and simple, even good cold. You add a variety to make it more, for instance, shrimp, asparagus spears or chopped tomatoes, slived fresh basil and roasted pine nuts.

1lb linguini
1/2 c olive oil
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 2 lemons
1/2 c chopped green onion
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper
Lots of parmesan cheese

Cook linguini in boiling salted water till done; drain well. Combine next 5 ingredients in a large serving bowl. Add pasta and toss well. Spinkle over salt and pepper. Toss in Parmesan cheese to taste.

Goes well with Cajun Shrimp

Spaghetti with tomato and mozzarella

1 lb spaghetti
8 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
1 T mint, chopped
2 lbs cherry tomatoes
2 T fresh basil, chopped
1/2 c olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

salt

pepper

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss with tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, mint, garlic and oil. Season with salt and pepper. serve hot.

Fettucine Alfredo (Olive Garden)

8 ounces of Cream cheese (cut into bits)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces of fettucine, cook, drain
3-4 cooked chicken breasts (I mix them in a little sauce too for flavoring)

In large saucepan, combine cream cheese, parmesan, butter and milk stirring constantly until smooth. Toss pasta lightly with sauce, coating well. Leftovers freeze well.

Manicotti

12 large manicotti
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese , divided
2 cups ricotta cheese
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 (26ounce)jar prepared spaghetti sauce, divided (I have used Prego or made my own)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese or Romano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions(be sure to not over cook, they need to be a little chewey for easier stuffing). Carefully remove each shell and rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels.
3. For the filling, in a large ziplock bag (seriously!), put in 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Seal the bag tightly. Smush the bag around with your hands until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed (it’s a nice stress reliever too!).
4. Snip off the bottom corner of the ziplock bag (the point is to have the hole a tad smaller than the manicotti opening, where you can just barely slip it into the shell). Use this method to squeeze the cheese mixture into each manicotti.
See, that wasn’t so bad! ;).
5. Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
6. Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.