Pizza Pasta

My family tends to love it when I take two recipes and make one. Here you go:

1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage (Italian, Sage, or whatever suites your mood)

8 oz pasta

1 Jar spaghetti sauce (any flavor)

2 C mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package. Brown sausage in a deep sided frying pan. Add sauce. Mix well and let simmer a few minutes to heat through. Drain pasta and let cool till steam stops rising from pasta (this helps sauce stick to pasta better). Add pasta and cheese to meat mixture. Serve!

Chicken with Lemon Caper Cream Sauce

My hat's off to Olive Garden for two recipes mixed to make one. This super simple dish will fool anyone into thinking that you're a master chef!

4 chicken breast, or 8 chicken tenders

1 C flour

2 t salt

2 t pepper

2 t Italian seasoning

3 T olive oil

1/4 c olive oil

2 T capers, drained

2 T minced garlic

Juice of 2 lemons

1 lemon, sliced

1/4 C white wine

2 C heavy cream

1 T fresh parsley, chopped

8 oz cooked pasta (spaghetti, angel hair pasta, etc...)

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F. I took the chicken breasts and sliced them in half. You may also use whole chicken breast or tenders, whatever you wish to showcase. Heat 3 T olive oil in a frying pan over med-high heat. Pat dry the chicken. Mix flour, salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning. Mix chicken in dry mixture and fry in oil until both sides are browned (2-3 min each side roughly, it will not be fully cooked). You may have to brown in batches, adding oil as needed. Transfer chicken to a cookie sheet and cook 15-20 minutes or until internal temp reads 170 deg.

While chicken is baking:

Heat water for pasta. Add salt and pasta and cook as directed. Drain.

Heat 1/4 C oil in a deep frying pan. Saute garlic and capers for 30-45 seconds. Add lemon juice and wine. Cook until sauce is reduced by half. Add cream and parsley. Cook until sauce has thickened - just a few minutes. Add lemon slices and cooked pasta. Mix.

You can prepare the served dish a couple different ways. One beautiful ways is to pour the pasta onto a large, oval dish or a large corning wear piece. Lay the chicken on top on an angle and sprinkle with some parsley (chopped or whole). If you want to plate it for your guests/family: spoon the pasta onto the dish then lay 1-2 chicken pieces, one slightly on top of the other. For children you can take the chicken pieces and halve them again to make a "sun". Or you can serve it buffet style and let them plate their own pasta and chicken.

Serve with the extra white wine (legal age, of course).

Rolling for Pasta

This is a delicious cold pasta dish. A nice twist and I believe good for vegans.

2 C cooked mini wagon wheel pasta

1 sm apple, cored and chopped

½ cucumber, seeded and chopped

¼ C chopped pecans

¼ C regular or golden raisins

2 T olive oil

¼ t salt, 1/8 t ground pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

1 T chopped fresh parsley

In a large bowl, combine pasta, apple, cucumber, pecans, raisins, olive oil, salt and pepper. Squeeze on lemon juice. Cover and let pasta salad chill until serving time or 1 hour. Stir in parsley when serving.

A Fall-Delight Apple Salad

Hey there parents. Have a picky eater? Or just like apples? This is for you! Some apples turn brown in a hurry. Try these: Granny Smith, Cortland, Fuji.

2 C cooked mini pasta wheels (or some small pasta cooked, drained, and cooled)

1 Small apple, cored and chopped.

1/2 Cucumber, seeded and chopped (snack on the rest, add the rest or just pick a small one) - 3/4 C

1/4 C chopped pecans (make sure you child can eat nuts)

1/4 C regular or golden raisins (or mix of both!)

2 T Olive Oil

1/4 T Salt

1/8 Tsp Ground Black Pepper

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 T chopped fresh parsley (Fresh is recommended)

In a large bowl combine pasta, apple, cucumber, pecans, raisins, olive oil, S&P. Squeeze on lemon juice. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until serving. Stir in parsley when ready to serve.

Yield: 6 cups

Chicken Parmesan

I threw this dinner together last night and it came out so good! I'll try to put down measurements to the best of my ability.....it's all in the head.

1/2 C bread crumbs

1/2 C Parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 t each: (any Italian herbs) oregano, parsley, basil

2 Eggs

4 chicken breast, patted dry

1 jar marinara/spaghetti sauce

1 C Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. In a rectangle container beat eggs well. In another container mix first three ingredients (using 1/4 C Parmesan cheese). Dip chicken into egg, then into dry mixture. Place in a rectangle baking dish and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is crusty but not burnt. Pour sauce over chicken and top with Mozzarella cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese. Place back in oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

You can serve this dish with pasta.

The Art of Pasta

I'm sure you've heard many ways to boil pasta: add salt, oil, butter - or omit those steps. Here's what you do:

Add Salt!
Salt adds flavor to your pasta. Add a generous amount of salt to your boiling water, or before it boils. This helps flavor your pasta which will make your meal taste better. There is the thought that adding salt to your pot of water will lower the boiling temperature for water. This is true. However it may only be by 1 degree or so for your little pot.

Pro's and Con's of oil/butter-
If you add one of these to your pasta pot your noodles will not stick! It will also help keep your water from bubbling over your pot. However, there is a cost to this.... if you add oil/butter the pasta will become oily itself. When you go to add your sauce to your pasta, it will slide right off. If you have the problem of water boiling over - use a bigger pot or use less water.

When you drain your pasta let it sit in your colander until the steaming dies down. Then add your sauce. This will help your sauce stick to your pasta better.

What is al dente? To the tooth or bite. It is a term used to cook pasta firm but not hard. Pasta will be fully cooked but not soggy. There will be no "crunch" to the pasta either. Al dente is common for most pastas unless you are going to bake them - al forno "at/from the oven". An example of this is lasagna. You don't full cook your lasagna when you boil it because it will finish cooking in the oven.