So I feel that I have adequately established that I LOVE pasta. Almost as much as I love my husband, seriously! We all know a common icebreaker is “what is your favorite food?” However, most people who have been around me know that my simple response is “pasta!” To further drive that point home, I will share 3 simple pasta recipes taken from Betty Crocker’s Cooking Basics. I have had this cookbook for about forever and a day and all of the recipes are super quick and easy! Consider the following a trifecta of carbohydrate bliss.
Slainte!
Pesto with Pasta *This is Chris’s favorite!
Recipe:
-3 cups uncooked rigatoni pasta (about 8 ounces)
-1 cup fresh basil leaves
-2 cloves garlic
-1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/3 cup olive oil
-2 tablespoons walnuts
Preparation:
-Cook the rigatoni in a Dutch oven according to package directions. During this time, continue with the following steps.
-To measure basil, firmly pack basil leaves into a measuring cup. Peel the garlic.
-Place the basil leaves, garlic, cheese, oil, and nuts in the blender. Cover and blend on medium speed about 3 minutes, stopping blender occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth.
-Drain the pasta, returning to Dutch oven. Pour pesto over pasta and serve immediately! Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.
Stuffed Pasta Shells *This is probably my favorite!
Author’s note: This photo looks a bit nasty, but do note that we waited to eat them until after our God Teens left so they sat for about an hour and a half and that is when I remembered to take the photo!
Recipe:
-12 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
-1 medium onion
-1 pound lean ground beef
-1 ½ tsp chili powder
-1 small package (3 0z). cream cheese at room temp
-1/4 cup taco sauce
-1/2 cup taco sauce
-1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz.)
-1/2 cup crushed corn chips
-4 medium green onions with tops
-1/2 cup sour cream
Preparation:
-Cook the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, continue with the recipe.
-Peel and chop the onion. Cook the ground beef and onion in the skillet over medium high heat 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown, drain.
-Stir in the chili powder, cream cheese, and ¼ cup taco sauce into the beef in the skillet. Heat over medium-low heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove the skillet from the heat.
-Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the pan with cooking spray.
-Drain the pasta. Fill the pasta shells with the beef mixture (about 2 tablespoons for each shell). Place filled shells in the sprayed pan. Pour ½ cup taco sauce over the shells.
-Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle the Colby-Monterey Jack cheese and corn chips over the shells. Bake uncovered about 10 more minutes. Peel and slice the green onions. Garnish the finished shells with sour cream and green onions.
Quick Lasagna:
*Don’t use too much spaghetti sauce! I have started “eyeballing” ingredients, and this led to the lasagna being too soupy this time. It didn’t effect the taste, but was a bit more of a challenge to get out of the pan! Chris also switched the oven to broil to make the garlic bread and this made the cheese on top nice and crispy.
Recipe:
-1 clove garlic
-1/2 pound ground beef
-1 tsp Italian seasoning
-1 cup spaghetti sauce
-6 purchased precooked or oven-ready lasagna noodles (each about 7x3 inches)
-1 container (12 ounces) reduced fat cottage cheese
-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Preparation:
-Heat the over to 400 degrees. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Cook the beef and garlic until brown; drain.
-Stir the Italian seasoning and spaghetti sauce into the beef. Spread ¼ cup of the beef mixture in the un-greased square pan.
-Top with 2 noodles, placing them so they do not overlap or touch the sides of the pan because they will expand as they bake. Spread the remaining ½ of the beef mixture over the noodles.
-spread ½ cup cottage cheese over the beef mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the mozzarella.
-repeat layering twice more, beginning with 2 more noodles. Then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
-Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake about 10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes, so the lasagna will become easier to cut and serve.
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