pasta

Baked Parmesan Spaghetti.

Beneath the peanut butter cups, bacon cupcakes and jelly beans, I found the desire to make this baked spaghetti. It was a miracle really. But I wanted to make you dinner. Yes, you over there… on the other side of that screen. See, I don’t really love spaghetti, but most people do. It’s the whole tomato sauce thing that I’m not so keen on. But you most likely love crushed tomatoes pureed into oblivion with garlic and spices. Am I right or am I right? If you don’t, you’re gonna have to do some pretending. Since youre coming for dinner and all. I’ll make sure to have other delicious things on the table too. Like toasty garlic bread that is glistening with melted butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese. And wine. Do you like red or white? And maybe even rum. I like to mix it up. And salad. Lots of salad. Mainly because I won’t be eating any of it. I made it for you.  Just for you. See? I like you. I really like you. Baked Parmesan Spaghetti serves 4-6 3/4 pound whole wheat spaghetti 1/2 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 1/4 pounds [...]

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Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi.

Most days the thought of bearing my own offspring scares me to death. I can barely tie my own shoes. I lay on the couch most Saturday mornings until 11 am. Or later. Sometimes I yawn in church. And chew gum. Sorry, Dad. I watch Sopranos marathons for four hours straight and then spend another two asking my husband if Tony is real because I know, I just know that he has to be real. He has to be. I watch mindless trash like Jersey Shore too. Not apologizing for that one Dad… I know you watch it too. I don’t water my flowers. I don’t clean the refrigerator. Laundry is merely a blip on the radar. And just yesterday, I went to spray a baking sheet with Pam and grabbed Raid instead. Raid, as in the poisonous ant killer. Raid, as in the life-ending serum that you drown insects in. Yes, I almost served Mr. How Sweet chicken tenders spritzed with Raid. How delicious!   Sometimes I have ice cream for dinner. And I nap. Oh boy… do I nap. Can I still nap with a kid? Like, really nap. Not a little 15-minute shut eye that makes you [...]

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Warm Strawberry Bacon Orzo Salad.

Hello lover. That’s some pretty good lookin’ bacon, don’t you think? And those pecans up there? They are really special. Extra special, in fact. Want to know why? They were toasted in bacon grease. I’m a freak. A bacon loving freak. And this was amazing. I didn’t even know what to call it. A salad? I guess it’s a form of a salad, but I don’t really like to associate the food I eat with the word “salad.” Because vegetables stink. Plain and simple. Sadly, salad won out in the end. But I need to tell you about all the deliciousness going on here, especially since I couldn’t fit it in the title: crispy bacon, toasted pecans, sweet strawberries, sauteed spinach and garlic, whole wheat orzo, creamy goat cheese, caramelized onions and fresh basil. So much better than the boring, old salad you expected when you saw the title, right?   Yes, I just kept throwing things into the mix. Yes, the flavors were incredible together. Yes, everything was basically sauteed in bacon grease. And no, I didn’t share!   P.S. I could live off this. Warm Strawberry Spinach Salad serves 2 1/2 cup uncooked whole wheat orzo (or any other [...]

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Crispy Shrimp Pasta with Arugula Pesto Cream Sauce.

There is one green that I occasionally allow in my life. I actually really enjoy arugula. Well, as much as someone who doesn’t love veggies can like a green.   One of the first recipes I ever shared here was arugula and asiago pesto. When prepared this way, I adore arugula. I love it’s peppery flavor and the bite it gives to every dish. In fact, I might be able to eat more veggies if I throw some arugula pesto on them. I need to get on that. It had been far too long since I made a batch, and I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.   Ever since making the crispy shrimp tacos, I can’t get that crispy shrimp out of my mind. We’ve eaten it four times in the last week and a half because it is so delicious, and perhaps most importantly – easy and quick! It is quite flavorful too. So I cooked up the shrimp, boiled some pasta, threw on the pesto, and had a full meal in minutes. There are layers of flavor going on in that bowl. Just the way I like it. Oh… and instead of just [...]

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Linguine with Clams Casino.

If you are in need of a last minute Valentine’s Day dinner, I have just the ticket. And if you’ve already celebrated or are going out to eat, I must convince you to make this as soon as you’re back in the kitchen. It’s easy. It’s inexpensive. It’s fast. It’s mouth watering. Get some little clams, even if they freak you out. Trust me, I’d rather have the real stuff, but for some reason I don’t quite have access to that in Pennsylvania. I wonder why? I’ve never been good at geography. What we have here is a twist on linguine with clam sauce and clams casino. Two of my favorite things. Obviously. My mom used to make linguine with clam sauce when I was growing up, and I think she went through a big linguine and clam sauce phase in the 60s and 70s. It seemed to be popular then, didn’t it? If she wasn’t making fondue, she was making linguine with clam sauce. I envision her cooking it for friends while wearing bell bottoms and paisley prints. I’m afraid to think about where the night went after that since they were “into the arts” in the 60s and [...]

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Ginger Lime Shrimp and Noodles.

I’m taking it down a notch today. After all, we needed to eat some form of food other than bacon and cupcakes. Although I deem both to be highly acceptable complete meals. Some of you may remember that this time last year, Mr. How Sweet thought it would be funny to grow a mustache. To put it nicely, he looked like a major creep. So creepy that I had the phone to my ear, dialing Chris Hanson. In retaliation, I refused to make him dinner and lived on guacamole, hummus, eggs, cheese, bacon, toast and soup for dinner. It was fabulous. I love those things, but for Mr. How Sweet? No meat does not a dinner make. I would leisurely stretch out on the couch and watch trash on TV while he rushed home from a long day of work to an empty kitchen. I even took it as far to purposely make things he dislikes, like pancakes with coconut and homemade peppermint patties. I’m giggling just thinking about it. This past weekend, I thought I stepped back in time. On our way out the door to a party, Mr. How Sweet came down the stairs to reveal a shaven [...]

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Three Cheese Orzo and Spinach.

Cheese is one of the best things in the world. It’s true! And do you know what else is really good? Cheesy pasta. Duh. We love orzo in this house. It’s like pasta. But it’s not. It’s fun to eat. It’s whole wheat. It’s little… so you get to eat more of it. Win! This orzo makes for a delicious side dish, or even a great base for any other pasta mix. Or it just gives you a big bowl of cheesy pasta to eat with spoon. That’s how I spent my Sunday afternoon. Not. I really spent my Sunday afternoon doing this. That wasn’t fun. But I did manage to sneak in some cooking. We couldn’t starve after all. Well… I could starve. In fact, after making 4 batches of brownies I probably should starve. But I wouldn’t subject Mr. How Sweet to the same. Or subject myself to hungry angry husband syndrome. And there is greenery in here. Vegetables! Who woulda thunk it? Lots and lots of cheese too. Goat cheese. Parmesan cheese. Cheddar cheese. We’ve got a little somethin’ somethin’ for everyone. It’s simple, but really delicious! [print_this] Three Cheese Orzo and Spinach serves 4-6 (as a [...]

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20-Minute Roasted Tomato Pasta.

Okay, so maybe I led you on. This pasta doesn’t have that many veggies. It still has too many for me though. But how can I resist when it is so simple and quick? Preheating my oven is what took the longest! It’s easy, it’s versatile, and you can make it your own. Add chicken or steak or shrimp or even… more vegetables. But I might cry a little. It actually took me less than 20 minutes to make. A perfect lunch or dinner when you’re in a pinch! Make it. 20-Minute Roasted Tomato Pasta serves 4+ 2 pints grape tomatoes 1 cup mushrooms, chopped 1/2 sweet onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 6-ounce bag of spinach 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound whole wheat pasta 1/3 cup asiago cheese Preheat oven to 450. Lay tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and make sure each tomato gets oiled. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 20 minutes until tomatoes begin to burst. After the tomatoes go into the oven, heat a skillet over medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Add onions and mushrooms and saute until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Bring [...]

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Easy Dinner Idea: Balsamic Gnocchi.

It may sound odd, but keep reading. I promise it gets better. Look… I too, was skeptical at first. I have no Italian blood in me and don’t know the first thing about Italian cooking, but for the majority of my life I’ve eaten gnocchi with tomato sauce or some sort of béchamel sauce. Clearly, vinegar is not on that list. This recipe comes from my friend Barb, whose husband was a world-renowned chef. I’ve shared many of their recipes before (ice cream crepes, provolone stuffed fried zucchini), but I have to admit that this is my favorite. Perhaps because it was so unexpected? One evening during early December, Barb told me that I just had to make this gnocchi dish with a balsamic reduction. I actually put it off for a few weeks because I… just wasn’t sure. Then one day last week mid-recipe development, my mind went blank. I took one for the team and chopped some vegetables. But before we go any further, let me tell you something. I cheated. I grabbed a box of whole wheat sweet potato gnocchi at the grocery store and this is what I used. It’s delicious. It’s easy. It’s foolproof. It [...]

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Our Favorite Shrimp Scampi.

Forgive me. For I know exactly what I’m doing. If a dish full of butter, olive oil and wine is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Ever. Oh! And don’t forget the garlic. This shrimp scampi is one of the very first meals I ever made for Mr. How Sweet. It was February of 2007, I made it on a Friday afternoon, and the entire dish was gone by Saturday morning. I recall this clearly. Mr. How Sweet most likely does not remember it, even after reading that line… he is aging rapidly. He says I give him gray hair. I say he gives me eye sores in the form of Nascar memorabilia and stuffed turkeys. Semi-fair trade. I still have it worse. There is only one thing that can make this shrimp better. A fresh ciabatta loaf made into toasty, buttery homemade garlic bread. As classic and fabulous as this shrimp is, I have to admit that this is only the third time I’ve made it since 2007. It probably has something to do with the fact that Mr. How Sweet claims the little shrimp don’t give him enough protein. So when he ate it last night, he [...]

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