Italian Pasta Salad

I love pasta salads! You almost always can put whatever you want in them and throw on a vinaigrette dressing and your done. It's hard to mess up a pasta salad. Which is one of the main reasons it is always a go to dish when company comes over. ;) This salad is delicious, light, and flavorful. I love the salami & mini pepperoni's along with the mozzarella. So tasty!! It can be a side or a whole meal in itself. What are your favorite ingredients to put in your pasta salad?

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 (16 ounce) package fusilli (spiral) pasta                       
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved                                                                 
• 1/2 pound provolone cheese, cubes                       
• 1/2 pound salami, cubed                             
• 1 bag of small pepperoni's
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces    
• 1 (10 ounce) can black olives, drained                  
• 1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos, drained                    
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing

Instructions:

 

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain, and rinse with cold water.

2. In a large bowl, combine pasta with tomatoes, cheese, salami, pepperoni, green pepper, olives, and pimentos. Pour in salad dressing, and toss to coat.

 

Recipe adapted & modified from All Recipes.

Slow Cooker Italian Roast Beef Sandwiches

Hi friends! I hope everyone has had a great Monday. :) You will have to excuse me for not posting as much lately. We are in the process of selling our home in Austin TX and moving to San Antonio TX and my mind is consumed with the moving process. It has been a stressful few months as we have been having to make some pretty big decisions. I know that change is a good thing, but I am a creature of habit and loving the comfort of knowing where everything is in my grocery store!! HA! Are you that way??? Every time I go to the store I always start on the left of the store and have a certain pattern for shopping. I'm going to have to learn a new store!!! NO!!
I know there are far worse things in this world that I could be having to worry about and feel very blessed that this is one of my biggest worries right now. I would love your prayers though that the transition of moving goes smoothly for all of us, especially my little boys. I worry so much about them.
Since we have been busy I have been trying to find delicious easy recipes. I love being able to just put something in the slow cooker in the morning and have it been done by dinner. And let it do all the work!! I hope you have the chance to make these sandwiches. You won't be disappointed. Have a great rest of your week. :)

Ingredients:
4 pounds roast beef
1 (12 oz) bottle of Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 envelope onion soup mix
Italian seasoning to taste
buns or rolls

Directions:
Spray your slow cooker with non stick cooking spray. Combine your vinaigrette, soup mix, and Italian seasoning. Place your roast in the bottom of your slow cooker and pour the combined seasonings over your roast. With your lid on the slow cooker cook on low for 8-10 hours. Once the meat becomes easy to pull a part remove from the cooker and shred. Return to the juices in the cooker and let it cook on low until ready to serve. Serve on buns or rolls.

Source: Six Sisters Stuff
 

4 pounds beef roast
1 (12 ounce) bottle Miracle Harvest Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1 envelope onion soup mix
Italian seasoning, to taste
Buns or rolls - See more at: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/09/slow-cooker-italian-roast-beef-sandwiches.html#sthash.xxc0QzQc.dpuf

Ingredients:
4 pounds beef roast
1 (12 ounce) bottle Miracle Harvest Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1 envelope onion soup mix
Italian seasoning, to taste
Buns or rolls

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.  Place roast in the bottom of slow cooker.  In a mixing bowl, combine dressing, soup mix and Italian seasoning.  Pour over roast and place lid on slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  After cooking, remove roast from slow cooker, shred and place back in juices.  Serve on rolls or buns.

- See more at: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/09/slow-cooker-italian-roast-beef-sandwiches.html#sthash.xxc0QzQc.dpuf

Ingredients:
4 pounds beef roast
1 (12 ounce) bottle Miracle Harvest Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1 envelope onion soup mix
Italian seasoning, to taste
Buns or rolls

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.  Place roast in the bottom of slow cooker.  In a mixing bowl, combine dressing, soup mix and Italian seasoning.  Pour over roast and place lid on slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  After cooking, remove roast from slow cooker, shred and place back in juices.  Serve on rolls or buns.

- See more at: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/09/slow-cooker-italian-roast-beef-sandwiches.html#sthash.xxc0QzQc.dpuf

Skillet Four Cheese Baked Pasta

Happy Wednesday friends!! I hope everyone is doing well today. :) I cooked this yummy dish in my oven proof skillet which made clean up really easy, just one dish. ;)  Who doesn't love that!! Super easy to throw together and it makes a lot so we were able to have leftovers for lunches during the week. What one dish meals are your favorite?

Ingredients:
1 lb rotini or penne pasta
1 lb Italian Sausage
2 sweet red peppers
1 onion
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 jar Marinara Sauce
2 cups Italian Cheese blend

Directions:

• Heat oven to 450 F. Cook pasta following package directions. Drain.
• While pasta is cooking, cut sausage into 1/2-inch slices. Seed and slice peppers and slice onion. When I cook a dish like this I always like to eyeball how many onions and peppers I put in. I don't like every bite to be full of onions and peppers. The original recipe calls for 4 cups. I diced all of mine up and tossed a hand full in, stired, and then added more to get the desired taste for our family. Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, peppers and onions. Cook, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until peppers and onions are tender and the sausage is cooked through. Add sauce and bring to a simmer. Stir in the drained pasta and 1 cup of the cheese.
• Sprinkle remaining cheese over the pasta and bake at 450 F for 8 minutes or until cheese melts and casserole starts to bubble. Cool 5 minutes before serving. 

Source: Recipe.com  

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

This dish is a staple in our home! It's quick, easy, and everyone eats it. And trust me, those meals are hard to come by in a family of six when more than half of you are very picky little eaters!! :)

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• McCormick Grill Mates Garlic, Herb & Wine Marinade
• Bertoli Alfredo Sauce
• Fettuccini pasta

Directions:

Using the McCormick marinade, marinate your chicken for 2-4 hours or over night.

Grill chicken on a medium heat for about 8 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of your meat, or till the juices run clear.
In a medium pot boil enough water to cook your amount of Fettuccine.  Cook pasta according to package instructions.
While the pasta is cooking pour your Aflredo sauce into a small sauce pan and warm on a low heat. You don't want for it cook. Just warm the sauce.

 

When your pasta is done cooking and your sauce is done warming combine the two.

Take your cooked chicken and either place a whole piece on top of your Fettuccine Alfredo or cube it up like in the picture above and you can mix with your pasta. Cubed up is how our family likes to eat it because once it's all on your plate you can just focus on gobbling it all up instead of cutting up your chicken. :)

I hope that you enjoy this east recipe like we do! Our family loves eating it with a Caesar salad and garlic bread.

Gluten Free Muffelatas

My sweet mom at the age of 63 was diagnosed this summer with severe Celiac disease. She is six feet tall and got down to a very scary weight of 103 before the doctors ever were able to figure out what was wrong. Our whole family was terrified that something very serious was wrong and were all scared to death for her. She suffered for six long months trying so hard to figure out what was going on.

So, after me insisting that she have every test in the books run so we could get some answers we finally got the diagnosis. She called me in disbelief to tell me that after all these years she has Celiac!  I was over joyed!! Praise the Lord!! This illness we could work with!! I knew that it would change her lifestyle and be hard but we were going to have her with us and that was all that mattered to me.

I love cooking for my family when they come to visit. Unfortunately though most of my recipes have gluten in them. :( So each time they visit I am on the search to find delicious gluten free meals to make for her that we can all eat and enjoy. So far everything that I have made that is gluten free has turned out really good. I will be sharing the recipes here with you. You can find them all using the gluten free tag over on my right side bar.

The muffelatta sandwich is so good!! I have always loved the olive mix and this recipe tastes just like the one I had in New Orleans if not better. This sandwich is practically all gluten free except for the bread. My mom LOVES Udi's gluten free bread so that is what she ate her sandwich on. When looking at this recipe I wasn't sure which meats would be gluten free, if any. But when I went to my local grocery store I learned that ALL of Boars Head meats and cheeses are gluten free. I was a amazed!! Their meats are so fresh and delicious. It's what I always buy anyway and now I can continue to serve on sandwiches when my family is in town.

Since my moms diagnosis she hasn't been sick for one day! Isn't that great!! She has put on thirty pounds and feels wonderful. She loves her new diet and how it makes her feel. I hope that you come back to see what great gluten free meals that I have found and am sharing with my mom. Hope everyone has a great week!


Olive Mix Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup pimento-stuffed olives
• 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup giardiniera (Italian pickled vegetables)
• 2 lg. pepperoncini
• 1 md. clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• A couple of grinds of blackpepper
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions to make olive mix:

1. Drain all ingredients.
2. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
3. Refrigerate overnight.

To make a Gluten Free Muffelatta Sandwich you will need:

• 1 loaf Udi's Gluten Free Bread
• 1 cup olive mix
• 1/4 lb Boar's Head sliced ham
• 1/4 lb Boar's Head sliced pepperoni
• 1/4 lb Boar's Head sliced salami
• 1/4 lb Boar's Head sliced provolone
• 1/4 lb Boar's Head sliced mozzarella
• 1/4 lb Boar's Head sliced turkey

 To assemble the sandwich:

1. Using two slices of the Udi Gluten Free bread spread a spoonful or two of the olive mix on one half of the bread
2. Then layer however many pieces of the ham, pepperoni, salami, provolone, mozzarella, & turkey that you wish for your sandwich.
3. Place your other half of bread on the layers and enjoy your homemade Italian sandwich! :)

Below is a picture of a NON Gluten free Muffelata sandwich. The only difference though between the two sandwiches is the bread. On the this sandwich I used Focaccia bread which was NOT Gluten Free.

Baked Ziti

 

 Talk about good ole comfort food. This dish will not disappoint!! Serve with some hot garlic bread and a side salad and your family will think you are the best thing ever in the kitchen!! Perfect dish to make ahead of time and just throw in the oven when are ready to serve. Also, a great dish to a pot luck or a friend in need of some extra love. :)

Ingredients:

1 pound dry ziti pasta                                                    
1 pound Italian Sausage

2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce                                                    

6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced                                                                     

15 oz ricotta cheese

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded                                                                     

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp basil

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp oregano

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Mix the basil, parsley, & oregano into the ricotta cheese.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, ricotta, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Modified from All Recipes

9 Mouthwatering Italian Dinners

Bacon and Tomato Pasta

Homemade Pizza

Italian Sausage and Cheese Lasagna Rolls

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Garlic, & Feta

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Chicken Parmesan

Angel Chicken

Bucca Di Beppo Spicy Chicken Rigatoni 

Italian Sausage and Bowtie Pasta

Italian Sausage and Cheese Lasagna Rolls

 

Aren't these so pretty!! I love the way these rolls turn out every time I cook them. They look so fancy. ;) This is such a unique and delicious lasagna dish. The individual rolls are a fun and different way of eating lasagna. I have experimented with this recipe a few times and it never seems to go wrong. You can put spinach, chicken, mushrooms, hamburger meat or just what ever sounds good. I have even used Alfredo sauce (Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups) instead of pasta sauce and it really spices things up a bit!! :) These rolls I served  alongside garlic bread, & Cesar salad. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

 

Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
1-2 jars of pasta sauce depending on how much sauce you like
15oz ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grate Parmesan (I'm always overly generous with cheese so I do more than a fourth) ;)
2 cups Mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1 lb Italian Sausage
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Brown your Italian sausage in a skillet.

Boil you lasagna noodles according to your package directions.

While the pasta is cooking combine your cheese, egg & sausage in a bowl. (I leave a little bit of the sausage out so that I can crumble it on top of the rolls.)

When the pasta is done drain, and then lay them on parchment paper side by side. Carefully spoon the mixture onto each noodle evenly. Roll up and place in a greased 9 x13 that has a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom.

Top with remaining sauce, cheese, and sausage crumbles. Bake 45 minutes.

Angel Chicken

 

Oh this recipe is SO good and easy!! Perfect for those busy week nights. I found this recipe a few months ago at Eat at home and have made it several times since. All of my kids LOVE it so that is a huge plus for me. :)

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken breasts

3 tbs butter

Italian dressing mix-1 packet

cream of chicken or golden mushroom soup

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup white wine

angel hair pasta, cooked

Directions:

Put the chicken in the crock pot . Melt the butter and soften the cream cheese in the microwave. Stir those together with the Italian dressing mix, the soup and wine. Place the Italian mixture over the chicken and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Now, I don't care for white wine (I'm a red wine girl) so the first time I made this I didn't care for the flavor as much. So, I have left it out ever since and it is just as good. :) 

Serve the chicken and sauce over a bed of angel hair pasta. 

Spaghetti with tomatoes, kalamata olives, garlic, and feta

 

This meal is a perfect summer dish! It's light and refreshing. I served the pasta as my main dish along side a Caesar salad & garlic bread. But it could easily be a side or the perfect summer dish to take to a party!

 Ingredients: 

1. 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes (about 3), seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2. 1/2 cup Kalamata or other black olives, pitted
3. 1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
4. 3 tablespoons drained capers
5. 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
6. 1/4 teaspoon salt
7. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
8. 3/4 pound spaghetti
9. 6 tablespoons olive oil
10. 3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Combine the tomatoes, olives, feta, capers, parsley, salt, and pepper.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and the garlic oil to the tomato mixture and toss.

 Food & Wines Variations:

 Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Black Olives, Garlic, and Mozzarella Use 3/4 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4-inch pieces, in place of the feta.
Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Olives, Garlic, Feta, and Fresh Herbs Use 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 3 tablespoons mixed chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon and chives, in place of the parsley.

Source: Food & Wine

Spicy Sausage Pasta

My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe! The flavors in this dish are SO yummy!! I have made it a few times and have altered it a bit. We are sausage lovers so I put two links instead of one. I also, didn't put a whole cup and a half of onions. After chopping the onion up I just added pinches of onion until I liked the amount. I didn't measure. We are also lovers of CHEESE!! So I put about 2-3 cups of Monterey Jack which made it really cheese and oh so good. ;) Below is the original recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage
1.5 cups diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (10oz) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilis, Mild
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz penne pasta
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

Directions:
1. Add olive oil to an oven-safe skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and onions and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions. Broil until cheese is melted, spotty brown, and bubbly.

Source: Kevin and Amanda

Homemade Pizza

 

 I have been wanting to master making homemade pizza for some time now and I haven't been able to quite get there. So many things about making the pizza has intimidated me. For example the dough. Active dry yeast (the word active always throws me. Is this stuff alive?!?!?), rising dough, kneading the dough, rising, kneading.... ahhh WHAT?!?!? So much to learn. Then there is the sauce, homemade vs jar sauce, which is better? Then there is how to mix the dough. Should you mix it by hand, using the KitchenAid, or a bread machine? Then there is the cooking. Pizza stone or pizza pan?!?! Which makes is crispy or doughy. It's just SO much that I just end up ordering from the local pizza store. But when I go to the Brickoven I sit there and watch them make my pizza and I think to myself that I can do this!! It doesn't look that hard.
Well, this past mother's day my boys gave me my first KitchenAid Mixer. And I am beyond excited!!

Just look at these adorable little goofy guys. Can you tell which one is going to be trouble raising?!?!?

It's so pretty and shiny!

So, that solved one of my problems. I am going to use the KitchenAid to make my dough. Now, to find the right recipe for my dough. Most of the recipe's that I found all start out the same. Some have added items to them but most have a basic 5 ingredients so I thought I'd start there and then the more experienced I got I could explore other recipes. I did want to have some herbs is my dough so I added some garlic, basil, and oregano.

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105 F to 115F)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon cornmeal

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the dissolved yeast, salt, olive oil, and 2 cups of your flour to your mixing bowl. If using the KitchenAid attach the dough hook and turn to speed 2 and mix for about a minute.

While it is mixing start adding 1/2 cup of your remaining flour to the mix and until the dough clings to the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down.

It's so pretty and already smells really good!

After Mother's Day is my birthday. And this year my parents gave me a little bit of spending money. So, what did I decide to buy??? A PIZZA STONE! Yea!! Another problem solved!

As you can tell the stone was not the only thing that I bought while shopping. While talking to the sales guy about how to bake on the stone I asked him how I was supposed to place the dough on an already hot stone (you are supposed to preheat them) and of course he had a solution. I needed a pizza peel (basically a huge spatula). So, after you build your pizza you put some cornmeal on the pizza peel, scoop up your pizza, and slide it onto the hot stone. I feel like I'm in the big leagues now and can't wait to get started. ;)
After my dough had risen for an hour I divided the dough so I could make two personal size pizzas. I then made somewhat of a circle shape using my hands.
I was so anxious to make my pizza that I didn't research tomato sauces and just bought Classico's traditional pizza sauce. My husband and I really liked the flavor and will definitely use it again when we don't feel like making homemade sauce in the future. Because our pizza was to feed our little guys too we went with simple pizza toppings this time. Good ole pepperoni, cheese, and our family favorite green & black olives. Yum!!
I baked the pizza's at 450 F for 15 minutes. Perfection!

Isn't it gorgeous!!

 

We LOVED the way it turned out!I can't wait to try ALL kinds of different pizzas. I think a pizza building party is in our near future. ;)

Source: My KitchenAid instructions (some of the instructions were modified) and the basic ingredients came from KitchenAid instructions and recipe manual. The added ingredients were my own.

Chicken Parmesan

 

 While I was grocery shopping the other day I was on the soup aisle and ran across Progresso Recipe Starters cooking sauce. I usually am on a mission when I'm at the store and don't look for new recipes but for some reason this can caught my eye and I looked at the recipe on the back. It was for Chicken Parmesan. I have never made it before and had always wanted too.  I'm so glad that I stopped because this recipe is really easy and delicious! Another family favorite! :)

 

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked spaghetti

1/3 cup Progresso Italian style panko crispy bread crumbs

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, flattened slightly

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 can (18oz) Progresso Recipe Starters fire-Roasted tomato cooking sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4oz)

Directions:

1. Cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package.

2. In large resealable food-storage plastic bag, mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Shake each chicken breast in bread crumb mixture; set aside.

3. In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic; cook until garlic starts to brown. Add chicken breasts; cook 6 to 10 minutes, turning once, until browned. Pour Recipe Starters Cooking sauce around chicken; sprinkle chicken with remaining bread crumb mixture and mozzarella cheese. Heat to boiling. Cover; reduce heat to medium. Cook 5 to 8 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut and cheese is melted. Serve with spaghetti.

Makes 4 servings.

Bacon and Tomato Pasta

 

As I have said before my family LOVES pasta dishes and whenever I find a new one we have to try it out.  This dish didn't disappoint us! The sauce is creamy with cheese, tomatoes, and a hint of garlic. So Yummy! I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did. :)

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta- I used penne, but you could use any shape you like
2 Tbs butter plus 2 tbs olive oil
onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups half & half
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
salt & pepper
bacon, cooked and diced (I used a whole pack)
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
fresh Basil leaves, chopped

Instructions:
1. Boil the pasta according to the directions.
2. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is tender.
3. Add the wine and cook for a minute or two.
4. Add the half & half, whisking to blend. Stir in the cheese and let it melt.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Toss in the bacon, tomatoes and basil.
7. Drain the pasta then mix it with the sauce.
8. Serve it with extra Parmesan and black pepper if you like. Yum!!

Source: Eat at home cooks

Bucca Di Beppo Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

My daughter loves almost all pasta dishes! She also loves Alfredo sauce! Well, yesterday we celebrated her 15th birthday and what did she want for dinner?!?!? PASTA! I hadn't ever cooked this recipe before and hated to try something new on her day, but after showing her the recipe we both agreed that we thought it would turn out delicious and it did!

Ingredients:

2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Alfredo sauce (I use store bought)
2 cups Marinara sauce (I use store bought of this also)
1/2 cup cooked peas
1 lb (16oz) rigatoni noodles, cooked al dente
2 tablespoons butter
Sprinkle of fresh Parmesan cheese and a pinch of red pepper flake for garnish

Directions:

In a large skillet on medium high heat, heat two tablespoons olive oil. Saute garlic, red pepper flakes, and coarse black pepper for 2-3 minutes. Add in thin strips of chicken breast, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook until chicken is cooked through. This should only take a few minutes because the chicken is cut thin.
Add in marinara and Alfredo sauces and stir. Let the sauces simmer for about 10 minutes. To the sauce/chicken, add two tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup peas (we put our peas on the side). Stir until the butter melts. Combine chicken/sauce mixture with cooked pasta. Garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese, and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes.

Source: www.sixsisterstuff.com

Italian Sausage with Bowties

Ingredients:

1 lb bulk Italian Sausage
1 box bowtie pasta
2 cans Italian style stewed tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 cups half & half

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. While that cooks, brown the sausage, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes in a large skillet. Drain and rinse under hot water to remove the extra fat. Return to the skillet and add the tomatoes and half & half, salt and basil. Bring it to a boil, then simmer it until the sauce reduces a bit. Drain the pasta and put it back into the cooking pot. Add in the sauce and stir. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

A fresh Caesar salad and garlic bread is excellent along with this meal.

Recipe Source: www.eatathomecooks.com