Creamy Herb Pasta

Simple recipe that can make you look like you know what you’re doing!

2-3 cups of pasta (I prefer penne or rigatoni)
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
3 tablespoons of chopped basil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ a stick of reduced fat cream cheese
1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon white wine (optional)
3 tablespoons of chopped parsley

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until done; drain.

While pasta is cooking, warm oil in a pan and cook basil and garlic for about 2 minutes or until garlic is translucent. Next, add cream cheese and continue to stir until chest is melted. (This will seem to be a mess.) Add water and stir together until hot. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until melted. When smooth, stir in the white wine if you have opted to use it. When pasta sauce is smooth and looks like something you want to eat, pour it over the pasta in the pot and mix with parsley.

Notes:
This is an easy clean up, as long as you cleanup immediately after dinner. If you leave your dishes for the next day, cleanup won’t be so easy!

Source:
Once again, I can’t quite remember where I got this one. I’ve amended it a couple times.

Last-Minute Lasagna

Some might see a recipe like this as cheatin’, but at least we're eatin’!!! This is for dinner tonight! Simple recipe, easy clean up…it’s on!

Ingredients
1 26-ounce jar pasta sauce
2 30-ounce bags frozen large cheese ravioli, unthawed
1 8-ounce bag shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions
Heat oven to 350° F. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in a third of the sauce.

Arrange 12 ravioli on top and scatter the spinach over them. Top with half of each cheese. Cover with another layer of ravioli and the remaining sauce and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until bubbly.

Notes:
None

Source:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/last-minute-lasagna-10000000610496/index.html

Rigatoni with Red Pepper Pesto

A fairly simple recipe with easy clean-up. It’s definitely quick and worth trying! Heads-up, you’ll need a food processor for this recipe.

Grocery List:

2-4 cups rigatoni

2 red bell peppers

1 cup basil leaves, packed lightly or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

2 sliced garlic cloves

2 tablespoons pine nuts

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoon virgin olive oil/extra virgin olive oil

*2-chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts, baked or broiled optional*

Instructions:

Turn oven on broil. Rinse bell peppers and cut into quarters. Place the peppers on a cooking tray inside up. (If you place the outside of the pepper up, you will burn the peppers…quickly.) Broil the pepper for 8-10 minutes (or until tender and not burned) about 5 inches from heat. I also like to flip the peppers over and BRIEFLY broil them on the other side for about 1 minute. They will begin to bubble and begin to char. This is intended…as long as the whole thing is not burned! Watch them carefully.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil while the peppers are broiling. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until done; drain.

When the peppers are done, put them into the food processor along with the basil, garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper. Turn the food process on. Let it blend until it looks fully blended. It should be a thick orange-red substance. It’s not going to be liquid like some pasta sauces. Add the 2 teaspoons of olive oil and stir with a spoon.

You can serve two ways. One, you put the pasta on a plate and put your pepper pesto on the pasta. Two, you can put the pasta back into the original pot, add some pesto and stir the pesto into the pasta. If you choose this way, make sure you

Notes:

*As an option, you can broil or bake two boneless and skinless chicken breasts, slicing them into edible chunks and tossing them in with the pesto. Adding the chicken is not necessary, however, it makes for a great addition.*

Source:

Take-out Tonight

Lemon and Herb Pasta

Boil water and little chop-chop of a few herbs and you're done! My favorite part, aside from the meal itself, is the easy clean-up. In the end, you'll end up using only a small bowl, large pot, strainer, knife and cutting board.

Grocery List
3-4 cups of penne pasta (You can use more or less dependent upon need. You can also substitute different pastas)*
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
Dash of crushed red pepper/or ground black pepper to taste
**1-2 cloves minced garlic**
***optional 2 grilled/broiled chicken breasts***

Directions
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until done; drain.

While pasta is cooking, chop parsley and onion (and minced garlic if you choose to use it). In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper. Mix lemon and oil mixture well and toss with the pasta. Add parsley and onion (and garlic) and mix more. Serve hot or cold.

Notes:
*Remember that if you choose to make more pasta, you’ll have to adjust the following ingredients. My advice: Forget the math and eyeball it. It makes for an exciting kitchen.*

**Some people do not like raw garlic. It’s a little potent and can turn a dish spicy. I’d only add this if you have tried it in the past or really enjoy garlic.**

***As an option, you can broil or grill two chicken breasts, slicing them into edible chunks and tossing them in with the parsley and onion. This is not at all necessary, however, it makes for a great addition.***

Source:
I can’t quite remember where I got this recipe from. When I cook it, it’s usually off the top of my head.