Creamy Tomatoe & Artichoke Pasta

3-4 Roma tomatoes
4 T. melted butter
2 T. sundried tomatoes
3 fresh leaves basil
1 tsp. garlic Salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 C milk
1 C heavy cream
1 T minced garlic
1/2 onion chopped
2 C sliced mushrooms
1 (14oz) can quartered artichokes, left whole or chopped up.
1/4 C sundried Tomatoes
1/4 C fresh basil chopped
Penne Pasta

Directions

Peel the skin off of the roma tomatoes & combine them with 2 T sundried tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic salt, butter, pepper & milk in a blender until smooth. Once blended smooth, add cream & pulse once or twice to combine. (make sure not to do it more or it will start whipping it & making it thick). Sauté minced garlic, onions & mushrooms in skillet with some olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add artichokes, sundried tomatoes & basil & cover with sauce. Heat through on medium-low heat until sauce & artichokes are just warmed up. Serve over penne pasta.* I created this for dinner last night & I loved it! I actually think that I loved it even more today for lunch. These are all of my favorite ingredients combined into 1 pasta.... Can't go wrong there ;)

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts cut in half to make 4 small pieces (or four smaller chicken breasts).
1/2 c. fine, seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 lg. egg
1/4-1/3 c. olive oil
1 (32 0z.) jar Classico brand pasta sauce (I like the Tomato & Basil flavor)
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
4 c. hot, cooked linguini pasta

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and 1/4 c. of the Parmesan cheese. Place egg in another shallow bowl and beat. Dip chicken into egg, letting excess drip off, then in bread crumbs. Coat thoroughly. Shake to remove excess crumbs. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken pieces, saute 5 minutes on each side, turning once, until golden brown. Remove to plate. In baking dish, add pasta sauce, garlic, parsley and oregano & stir. Place browned chicken pieces into dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and top each piece with mozzarella cheese & remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese & bake for 10 minutes longer until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Serve on top of linguini pasta.

*I love this dish & my husband who isn't a real big pasta eater also loves this! This really is quite simple to make.

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup diced onions
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3 cups sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Add cream to sauce & cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve on top of Capellini or Angel Hair pasta.

*I found a recipe and made some changes to it, so this has my changes in it already. I have to admit that I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this dish, definite keeper!

For anyone concerned about the wine in it, the alcohol does cook out.

Favorite Spaghetti Sauce

Cook until soft in 4 T. butter:
4 med. onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

Add & Cook:
1 1/2 lb. ground round
1 t. salt
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce

Add:
2 (14 oz) cans tomato puree
4 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice
4 bay leaves
4 or more shakes tabasco
1 t. each:
oregano
sweet basil
salt
sugar
lemon juice
3/4 c. parmesan cheese
4 c. red wine (alcohol cooks off)

Simmer 3-4 hours.


*This is AWESOME! But BEWARE, it makes a HUGE batch.... this is a party size. I made the normal batch size and froze half of the sauce, but it is probably enough sauce for 4-5 dinners for my family of 4 (2 being little girls, but they still eat it). I made a few changes and it was still amazingly good. I used 2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce instead of tomato puree, I drained the juice of 2 minced clams cans and used the juice from that (I used the clams in a clam chowder so I could kill 2 birds with one stone), and I only used 3 cups Red Cooking wine.... it just seemed like a lot of wine. I also added more mushrooms than it calls for and used dried parsley instead of fresh.

I will never be able to go to any other spaghetti sauce!

Greek Shrimp Scampi

Servings: 4

Approximate Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil

5 garlic cloves (minced)

1/2 c parsley (chopped)

1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz.)

1 1/2 lbs precooked large shrimp

1 c herbed feta cheese (crumbled)

1/2 c fresh basil (chopped)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

4 c spaghetti cooked

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil in saucepan. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add tomatoes and 1/2 c parsley. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Add shrimp and basil and pour into 9 X 13 baking pan. Sprinkle cheese over top and bake in oven 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve over pasta topped with remaining parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

*Sorry to those who don't like seafood, we eat a lot of seafood so I do a lot of things with shrimp. This is actually a recipe that you could easily take out the shrimp and add some veggies or do some olives and artichokes. I did not have fresh basil or parsley so I just used dried (don't use the amount that it calls for when doing this, when using dried, you can use a lot less.) I had crumbled feta cheese, but it was not herbed, so I added some italian seasoning and some basil to it and that seemed to work well. This was really quite easy and it was pretty darn good.

Honey-Teriyaki Chicken with Snap Peas on Cellophane Noodles

Approximate Time: 30 min
Servings: 4-5

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon liquid smoke seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
8 ounces cellophane noodles, soaked in hot water until tender
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 cups snap peas, steamed

Directions
Coat a stove-top grill pan or griddle with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat to preheat.
In a shallow dish, whisk together soy sauce, honey, molasses, ginger, garlic, liquid smoke seasoning, and black pepper. Add chicken strips and turn to coat. Place chicken on hot grill and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until cooked through, turning once during cooking. Remove chicken from grill pan and roll in toasted sesame seeds.
Drain cellophane noodles and toss with cilantro and sesame oil. Serve chicken with noodles and snap peas.

Pasta Salad from my Baby Shower

Ingredients
Dressing
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. canola oil
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. white vinegar
1 T. sugar
Salad
3 chicken breasts
12 oz. spiral pasta
1 c. cashews
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 pkg. torn spinach
1/3 c. green onions, chopped
Parmesan cheese

Directions
Make dressing. Cook chicken breasts. Cook pasta. Combine dressing, chicken, and pasta. Let marinade, overnight if possible. Before serving, add cashews, sunflower seeds, spinach, and onion. Sprinkle with cheese.

*This recipe is for Nikki and the many others who have asked for it. This is the pasta salad my mom made at my baby shower as well as Brooklyn's baby blessing. My mom is vegetarian so she omitted the chicken and replaced it with grape tomatoes, halved. She also makes an additional 1/2 of the dressing to add to the pasta just before serving (the pasta absorbs most of the dressing while marinating so it needs a bit more flavor). Instead of soy sauce, my mom uses Braggs Amino Acids which can be found at the health food store.

Old World Manicotti

Approximate Time: 35 min
Servings: 6

Ingredients
12 large manicotti shells
4 c. shredded mozzarella
Cheese, divided
2 c. ricotta cheese
½ c. grated parmesan or
Romano cheese
6 T chopped fresh basil or 2 T. dried basil
1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce, divided

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels. For filling, in medium bowl, stir together 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Using a teaspoon, carefully stuff pasta shells with prepared cheese mixture.

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. Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately

*This is a recipe that I gave to my neighbors in Payson but it is such a quick and easy recipe that I am sure everyone would appreciate it. For the spaghetti sauce, I buy the Classico brand which has alot more flavors to choose from and is a much higher quality sauce than Prego or Ragu. I have found it is easier to use a fork to stuff the shells with.

Herbed Artichoke Cheese Tortellini

Approximate time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each)
Italian diced tomatoes
2 jars (6-1/2 ounces each)
marinated quartered artichoke hearts
2 packages (9 ounces each)
refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
2 to 4 tablespoons minced fresh or
2 to 4 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Drain tomatoes, reserving 2/3 cup juice; set aside. Drain artichokes, reserving 3/4 cup liquid; chop and set aside.
Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onions, parsley, basil, garlic, oregano and pepper flakes in oil for 4-5 minutes or until onions are tender. Add the reserved tomatoes, tomato juice and artichoke liquid.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until slightly thickened. Drain tortellini; add to tomato mixture. Stir in the olives, salt and reserved artichokes; heat through. Sprinkle with parmesan.

*I actually dump all of the tomato juice from both cans of tomatoes in and I go to costco and buy their 2 package cheese tortellini and cut them apart and use one whole package for the dish and freeze the other one for the next time I make it ( they are located in the back by the cheeses and meats.)