Roasted Red Pepper Spaghetti

I had a jar of roasted red peppers in the fridge that I had opened to use one or two of, and needed to find a way to use the rest. I also had a jar of red pepper pasta sauce in the fridge so I decided to put a spin on our normal spaghetti. It worked out quite well!

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion
2 T minced garlic
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1 jar roasted red pepper pasta sauce (I used this one)
Whole wheat spaghetti

1. Scramble fry sausage in a large stock pot with onion and garlic until cooked. Drain, if necessary.

2. Add mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 30 minutes to one hour until mushrooms are cooked and flavors are blended.

3. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions.

4. Serve sauce over spaghetti with a nice dose of Parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

Paula Deen's Mac and Cheese

In all of my years experimenting in the kitchen, I have never made homemade macaroni and cheese. It is one of those things that I remember not liking growing up, so I never gave it a try. However, the dude has mentioned wanting homemade mac and cheese on occasion and the other day, finally said, "Can you please make me some mac and cheese?" so I decided the time had come.

I asked Shaina if she had a good recipe and she directed me here, to Paula Deen's mac and cheese recipe.

Macaroni and Cheese - adapted from Paula Deen
2 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni
3 large eggs
3 c shredded cheese (I used a combo of cheddar and mozza)
1/2 cup non fat sour cream
1 c milk
4 tsp butter, cut into small pieces
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs *optional (the original recipe does not call for a bread crumb topping but I knew hubby would prefer it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8x12" baking dish. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain, transfer to a bowl.

Add two cups of the cheese and toss until melted.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the sour cream.

Add the milk, butter, salt and pepper.

Stir the mixture into the macaroni.

Pour macaroni into the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle remaining cheese and breadcrumbs on top.

Bake for 35 minutes, until bubbling and cheese is melted. Let the macaroni and cheese stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings (depending if you're serving as a main or side dish).

Angel Hair Shrimp and Feta

You know we love pasta around here. And shrimp. And capers. And mushrooms. I shouldn't have to explain myself anymore. This was an impromptu meal - I had planned to make shrimp and feta crepes, but I was too lazy tired after getting home from school so I just threw this together instead. It might look fancy but it only took about 15 minutes, start to finish.

Shrimp and Feta Angel Hair Pasta
EVOO
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deviened
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
1 heaping tablespoon capers
1-2 cups roasted tomatoes *if you don't want to make these first - you can use regular cherry tomatoes or diced tomatoes and add more spices. But trust me, it's worth it to make these. I had them in the freezer.
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup feta, crumbled
300 grams angel hair pasta

Heat EVOO in a frying pan and cook shrimp until pink. Remove from pan and set aside. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to instructions on package, drain and return to pot.

Add more oil to pan, if needed. Brown mushrooms.

Season with salt and pepper once browned. Add capers and cook 2-3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and white wine. Boil 4-5 minutes, until tomatoes are heated through.

Return shrimp to the pan and toss to coat.

Pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Add the crumbled feta and stir until cheese is just starting to melt.

Makes 4 servings.

PestoTomato Chicken Rotini

This was a use up what's in the house kind of meal and it turned out fabulously. I love the combination of tomato sauce and pesto together. The only thing I would change would be to drain some of the juice off the tomatoes because the sauce was quite runny.

Pesto Tomato Chicken Rotini
340 g tri color rotini (or any other kind of short pasta)
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1-2 bell peppers, chopped
3-4 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes, with some juice drained
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons prepared pesto
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1. Bring water and salt to a boil and cook pasta until just not quite cooked. During the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time, add the carrots to the pasta water to begin softening them. Drain pasta and return to pot.

2. Add remaining ingredients, except cheddar cheese, and stir well to combine.

3. Transfer to a 2.5 qt casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese.

4. Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350. Uncover, bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese is browned.

Makes 5-6 servings.

This recipe is being shared at Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table and Tempt my Tummy Tuesday.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Another successful week at the Food Network Chef's Cooking Challenge. The chef for this week was Giada and I chose to make her Shimp Fra Diavolo. And a good choice indeed. The only thing I really did different was to add mushrooms to the mix and serve it over pasta, because those seemed like the logical things to do. If anyone is surprised at my decision to add mushrooms to a mushroomless dish, you clearly don't know me very well. I have an ongoing love affair with mushrooms. Oh, I also tossed in a few capers for good measure.

This may be my favourite Food Network Chef recipe yet! But, I guess I say that about every other week.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo - slightly modified from Giada De Laurentiis
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons
8 oz fresh white mushrooms, quartered
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon capers
Linguine

Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of salt and red pepper flakes. (I bypassed the salt - knowing I was going to add capers, I didn't think I needed any extra salt).

Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp.

Saute for about a minute, toss, and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Transfer the shrimp to a large plate; set aside.

Add the onion and mushrooms to the same skillet, adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the pan, if necessary, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, wine, garlic, oregano, parsley and basil.

Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

Return the shrimp, capers and any accumulated juices to the tomato mixture; toss to coat, and cook for about a minute so the flavors meld together.

Sprinkle with some grated cheese and serve over linguine with a side salad and cheesy garlic toast.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Chicken, Bacon and Spinach Alfredo

This is a spin-off of one of my favourite's and came into existence because I had some ingredients I needed to use up.

Chicken, Bacon and Spinach Alfredo
1/2 cup chopped onion
A drizzle of EVOO
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Alfredo sauce (1/2 of this recipe or one jar of store bought sauce)
1 package frozen cheese filled tortellini
1 cup cooked, chopped chicken or turkey
3 slices bacon crisp cooked and crumbled
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Pepper

Topping:
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 cup bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400. Over medium heat, cook onion and garlic, drizzled in EVOO for 2-3 minutes, until onion is tender.

2. Stir in Alfredo sauce, tortellini, chicken, milk, water and peas.

3. Heat mixture until it comes to a gentle boil (about 10 minutes), whisking occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in bacon and spinach.

4. In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

5. Transfer pasta mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.

6. Sprinkle with crumb topping.

7. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are bubbly.

Makes 6 servings.

This recipe is being shared the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Roasted Tomato Fettucine

Roasted Tomato Fettucine
1/2 red onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 cup cooked chicken, cubed
2 cups roasted tomatoes
Pasta of your choice (I enjoyed it with fettuccine)

1. Sautee the onion and mushrooms together in a very small amount of olive oil. Meanwhile, cook pasta.

2. Add chicken and heat.

3. Add tomatoes and cook until heated through. Serve over fettuccine.


Makes 3-4 servings.

**This recipe would be easily adapted to fit cherry tomatoes that you haven't previously roasted. I would just add some garlic, thyme, basil and a little bit more olive oil to the pan when sauteeing. However, the roasted flavour of the tomatoes adds a lot to this dish.