Category Archives: Pasta

Chicken & Mushroom Fettuccine Ala Vodka

I made this for dinner last night…it was super yummy! It’s a keeper!

8 oz Fettuccine – cooked and drained
2 tbs each butter and olive oil
2 chicken breasts – sliced thin
1/2 pound mushrooms – washed and sliced
4 oz white wine
4 green onions – sliced
2 cloves crushed garlic
garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 jar Vodka Pasta Sauce (or 16 oz homemade)
2 tbs crumbled feta cheese
Parmesan cheese for garnish

In a deep saute’ pan, heat up butter and oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink on the outside. Add the mushrooms, wine, green onions, crushed garlic, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and continue cooking until chicken is done on the inside and mushrooms are soft. Add the jar of pasta sauce and feta cheese. Stir until well blended. Taste and season with more salt, pepper or garlic powder if needed. Heat thoroughly. Serve over cooked fettuccine. Add bread sticks and a salad for a lovely dinner.

Chicken Marsala

To make my Chicken Marsala, you will need:

2 tablespoons each butter and olive oil
4 chicken breast cutlets
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, diced
1 tablespoon diced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
1/2 cup Marsala wine (or white wine)
3 cups milk
2 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasonings
8 oz dried pasta, cooked al dente’, tossed with olive oil and kept warm

In large deep sided frying pan, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add chicken breast cutlets and saute until lightly browned on each side. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. To frying pan, add the mushrooms, onion, garlic and wine. Scrape bottom of pan to deglaze the chicken bits. Cook until mushrooms are softened. Meanwhile, place flour in liquid measuring cup and whisk in 1/2 cup of the milk until flour is dissolved. Add the rest of the milk and bouillon and mix well. Pour mixture into the hot pan with the mushrooms and wine. Stir constantly until thickened over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. Return chicken to the pan and simmer in the sauce for 5 minutes. Serve over warm pasta.

Thai Braised Beef with Coconut Milk and Ginger

1 (2 1/2-lb.) boneless chuck roast
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. vegetable oil, divided
3 cups chopped onion
1 cup diced carrot
2 Tbsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 cups light coconut milk
2 Tbsp. sliced peeled fresh lemon grass or 1 Tbsp. thinly sliced lime rind
3 bay leaves
6 cups hot cooked Chinese-style egg noodles (about 12 oz. uncooked)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Trim fat from beef. Cut beef into 2-inch pieces. Combine salt and next 6 ingredients (salt through black pepper) in a small bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of spice mixture over beef, and toss to coat; reserve remaining spice mixture.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan. Add onion, carrot, ginger and garlic; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return beef to pan. Add remaining spice mixture, coconut milk, lemon grass, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours. Remove beef from pan using a slotted spoon; shred with 2 forks, set aside and keep warm. Bring vegetable mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 10 minutes or until slightly thick. Discard bay leaves. Serve beef and vegetable mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Yield: 6 servings be

Note: You can find light coconut milk in the Asian or Mexican section of most supermarkets. If yours does not carry it, ask your grocer to order it for you.

Taco Spaghetti

10 ounces dried spaghetti or linguine or fettuccine, broken
2 lbs ground beef or ground turkey
2 large onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups water
1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix
2 (11 ounce) cans corn mixed with chopped peppers, drained
1 1/2 cups Colby-Monterrey Jack cheese or cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup favorite salsa
2 (4 1/2 ounce) cans diced green chili peppers, drained
4 cups lettuce, shredded
1 medium tomato, chopped

Cook pasta according to pkg directions, drain.
Meanwhile, cook ground meat and onion until meat is brown, in a dutch oven.
Drain off fat. Stir in water and taco seasoning mix. Bring to boiling and reduce heat.
Simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked pasta, corn, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, salsa and chili peppers Divide mix evenly between 2 lightly greased 2 qt casseroles. Package up, label and freeze up to 3 months.

To serve remaining casserole, cover and bake in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Top with lettuce and chopped tomato.
If desired, pass broken tortilla chips and dairy sour cream as additional toppings.

To serve the 2nd casserole, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Bake, covered in a 375F oven for 1 hour or until heated through, stirring once about halfway through baking time. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Serve with 4 cups shredded lettuce and 1 medium tomato, chopped.

12 Servings

Sweedish Meatballs

1 package meatballs
1 12 oz. jar mushrooms, gravy
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon allspice
8 ounces egg noodles, cooked and drained – toss with butter.

Heat mini meatballs – refrigerated or frozen – in mushroom gravy. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and allspice.
Serve over egg noodles.

4 Servings