Buttered Herb Noodles

This is a super quick and easy pasta side dish that goes with almost anything. If you need a simple starch to round out your meal, this goes great with pork, chicken, fish, you name it.

Just some great simple flavors at work. 

This recipe is really just a basic starting point. I don't measure anything for this, just sort of eyeball it. It's easy to make larger or smaller amounts, using this as a starting point. I've also used dried parsley instead of fresh, and swapped feta cheese for the parmesan. I'm sure there are quite a lot of great variations that could be made from this!

Buttered Noodles
From: Taste of Home
Serves: 4 (as a side dish)

You'll need:
2 1/4 c uncooked egg noodles
2 T butter, melted
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
2 t minced fresh parsley (or about 3/4 t dried)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t garlic powder
1/8 t pepper
1/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook the egg noodles according to the package directions.

While the pasta is boiling, melt your butter and chop the parsley. Drain the pasta and transfer to a serving bowl. Pour in the melted butter and stir to coat.

Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the mozzarella...

... and mix well. Finally, grab a small handful of mozzarella....

... and stir it in and watch it melt.

Enjoy!

Lemon-Butter Shrimp & Linguine

When it comes to food, quite often, simpler means better. And that has never been more true.

I heard something the other day that made me immediately think of this recipe. Renowned restauranteur and Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian said, "When you have something simple and it tastes complex, that's when you've won." And this dish is definitely a winner.

So easy, and so quick - about 25 minutes is a small price to pay for a meal this delightful.

This is also a great time to learn about mise en place. Literally translated from the French, it means "putting in place" and is pronounced "MEEZ ahn plahs." In the culinary world, it refers to having all your ingredients out, prepped, and ready before you start cooking. Once you start melting the butter, this dish moves FAST, so you'll want to make the salads or garlic bread or side dishes before you start, as well as having your shrimp prepped.

A word about shrimp: I buy frozen shrimp that are raw, deveined, with tails on. You can certainly devein your own shrimp if you feel so inclined; I prefer to leave the removal of the shrimp's intestinal tract (read: poop) to professionals. I also don't like fighting with the tails on the plate (although they certainly look pretty), so I give each one a quick squeeze to remove the tail after thawing the shrimp. And finally, since we live FAR from an ocean, the shrimp at the seafood counter at the grocery store have already been frozen once to arrive safely in the middle of the continent. And those cost quite a bit more than the ones in the frozen food aisle. So, my recommendation: find a quality brand of raw frozen shrimp, and thaw them by placing them in a colander and running cool water over them for a few minutes. (And then squeeze those tails off, if you like.)

Now... let's get started.

Lemon-Butter Shrimp & Linguine
Adapted from damndelicious.net (One of my favorite blogs! Check it out!)
Serves: 4

You'll need:
8 oz linguine (or spaghetti)
2 T butter
1 lb medium or large shrimp, thawed and deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 c white wine*
1/4 c lemon juice
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

*If you prefer not to cook with wine, chicken broth can be used as a nonalcoholic substitute. If you do choose to use wine, choose a dry white, like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or Chardonnay, and enjoy a glass with your dinner. Or choose a nice dry rosé like this one that apparently pairs well with seafood.

If you missed last week's post about pasta, I'll include a brief summary on technique here: use a huge pot of water; salt the water copiously; undercook your pasta by a minute or two; drain it very briefly; and then place it directly into the pan of sauce, so it can finish cooking in the sauce and soak up the flavor.

So, in the context of this recipe: Bring a large pot of water to a full rolling boil. Meanwhile, make sure all your ingredients are at hand, parsley is chopped, Parmesan is grated, etc. Drop the pasta into the boiling, salted water and set the timer for 1-2 minutes LESS than the box recommends. When there's about 6 minutes left on the pasta, start melting the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add the shrimp and garlic and then sprinkle the shrimp with salt, pepper, and a dash or two of cayenne.

Cook the shrimp for about 1 minute, flip them over, and cook about 1 minute more until they are opaque. I'm serious - if you've never cooked shrimp before, please trust me - they cook shockingly fast. And you really don't want overcooked, rubbery shrimp.

As soon as they're cooked through, add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a simmer.

About this time, your pasta should be done boiling. Drain it briefly and then dump it straight into the pan of shrimp, along with most of the parsley.

Stir to mix everything thoroughly and allow it to simmer for 1-2 minutes in the sauce.

Serve garnished with the Parmesan and additional parsley.

Simple, right?

Penne in Tomato Cream Sauce with Pan-Seared Chicken

Ever made a homemade pasta sauce? I hadn't, until I tried this one. It was so much easier than I thought it would be! And the first time I made this dish, the Husband, who is not a very verbally expressive person, stared at me and said, "This is good. Like, restaurant-quality-good."

That's what I call a win.

Ready to impress someone? Whip up this sauce in about 20 minutes with pantry staples.

Penne in Tomato Cream Sauce with Pan-Seared Chicken

Adapted from: This blog

Serves: 5-6

You'll need: 

boneless skinless chicken breast (about one fillet per person)

Montreal steak seasoning

12 oz penne pasta

2 T plus 2 t butter, divided

2 T plus 2 t olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c chicken broth

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce (1 c)

1 c heavy cream

1/2-1 t EACH salt and pepper

1 T fresh chopped parsley OR 1 t dried parsley

6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped OR 1 t dried basil

First, put a huge pot of water on to boil. Next, put the 2 tablespoons each of oil and butter into a wide saucepan and heat on medium.

Add the garlic and sauté for about a minute, stirring often. Be careful not to overheat your oil and burn your garlic! The garlic should be soft and translucent and fragrant, not brown.

Once the garlic is softened, stir in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Allow to reduce by half, stirring occasionally.

While that's reducing, put your chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and use the smooth side of a meat mallet to pound them to even thickness. Even thickness = even cooking. Plus, beating it with a mallet makes it nice and tender. Season both sides generously with the Montreal steak seasoning. (That stuff is AWESOME.)

Now. A word about cooking pasta. That large pot of water should be boiling by now. Before you dump in the pasta, add a GENEROUS amount of salt - at least a tablespoon or two. That salt does not make your pasta taste like salt; it makes is taste more like pasta. Next, dump in the pasta and and take note of the box instructions - and then cook it LESS than the box says by a minute or two. For instance, this box of penne said to cook for 11-12 minutes, so I cooked it for only 10. We want the pasta to be al dente - not quite finished - for a reason. And be sure to stir it once in a while!

While the pasta boils, it's time to cook the chicken. Melt the 2 teaspoons each of oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and sear for about 5 minutes on each side until it's golden brown and cooked through.

Remove to a cutting board, cover with a pan lid or foil, and let it rest about 5 minutes before slicing.

Let's check on the sauce. It should be reduced down to about 1/4 cup by now. Stir in that tomato sauce...

... and then the cream.

Add the salt and pepper (I'd start at about 1/2 teaspoon each) and the herbs. Give it a taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

The pasta should be done by now. And by "done" I mean al dente, of course. Drain it very briefly...

... then add it right to the sauce.

Stir it around so the sauce coats the pasta and then - this is the crucial part - simmer the pasta in the sauce for another minute or two until it's fully cooked.

This is how you achieve pasta that soaks up and is completely coated by the sauce, rather than the sauce just sliding off the pasta.

While it's simmering, go ahead and slice up your chicken.

When the pasta is ready, you can stir in the chicken, or, for a fancier presentation, put the pasta on the plate first and lay the sliced chicken over the top.

Simple, right? And less than 30 minutes, start to finish, at least once you've done it a couple times. Prepare yourself for the compliments to roll in.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Recipes for macaroni and cheese are like moms: Almost everybody has one, they're all a little different, and they're almost all pretty great. I don't think I've ever had a bite of macaroni and thought, "Gosh, that's terrible." It's hard to irrevocably mess up pasta and gooey cheese. So I am making no claims that this recipe is the best macaroni in the world, that it will change your life, make you a better person, or get you a girlfriend. But here's what it will do: disappear. Because it is ooey-gooey baked cheesy wonderfulness. And who doesn't want that?

This particular macaroni recipe uses both Velveeta and cheddar cheeses, and a combination of boiling and baking. The secret ingredient? Wait for it - mayonnaise. "Wait, what?" Just give it a shot. The Husband does NOT. LIKE. MAYONNAISE. And he loves this macaroni & cheese. It does not takes like mayo. It just tastes like awesomeness.

Macaroni & Cheese 

Adapted from Great Grandma Esther

Serves: 2-3 (depending how aggressive your macaroni eaters are)

You'll need:

3/4 c uncooked elbow macaroni noodles

2 T mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)

4 oz Velveeta (regular or low-fat), sliced thickly

1/4 c grated sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Boil the pasta according to the package directions and drain.

Transfer to a baking dish and stir in the mayo, until all the noodles are lightly coated.

Layer the slices of Velveeta over the noodles.

Microwave for 1 -2 minutes until the Velveeta is hot and starting to melt.

Stir it into the hot noodles. Mmm. I love that gooey, slurpy sound of cheesy pasta being stirred.

Sprinkle your grated cheese over the top.

Fun note: You can start making this early in the day, stop at this point, put the dish in the fridge, and then bake it later on. Whenever it's close to mealtime...

Cover your dish with a glass lid or foil and bake at 325 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, if you just made it, or 30-40 minutes if it was refrigerated. 

You know it's done when the edges just start to turn brown. That is my favorite part. 

When the family finishes dinner, clears their plates, and leaves the kitchen, you can find me scraping those browned bits of cheese up and feasting on them. Ssshh. They think I'm doing the dishes. 

And that's that. Easy cheesy macaroni.

For more fun, try topping it with hot sauce or shredded BBQ chicken.