Monday Meals: Mom's Spaghetti

Some dishes take you back to your childhood. I remember watching my mom cook spaghetti in the kitchen, wondering how she knew what to do and when to do it. I first tried this recipe in DC, after I asked my mom to send it to me, and it was a disaster. I've learned a lot since that night in my four-foot by three-foot kitchen, and always like making this since it was the first dish I kind of conquered. It was the perfect lazy Sunday afternoon activity yesterday, and I'm looking forward to eating on it all week.

You'll need:
1 pound of ground beef
1 box of spaghetti
1 jar of marinara sauce
1/4th of an onion, chopped
minced garlic
crushed red peppers (optional)
olive oil

Bring water to a boil and add pasta. Stir occasionally for 10 to 12 minutes or until cooked.

Add olive oil, minced garlic and crushed red peppers (for some spice!) to a skillet over medium to high heat. When the garlic and peppers start to sizzle, add the onions. Stir until the onions are translucent. Add the ground beef to brown. Reduce heat and add the pasta sauce.

Strain the noodles and then add the meet sauce to the spaghetti. Serve and devour!

Monday Meals: Tuesday Edition

I'm a wee late this week, but I make up for it today with a really good recipe!

I love Pasta. I capitalize it because it's Pasta, and no explanation is needed..

Basically

So today, we're talking about a spicy chicken rigatoni pasta. It's simple, it's spicy, it's Pasta, it's delicious!

Ingredients

crushed red pepper

minced or fresh garlic

olive oil

chicken breast cut into small pieces

green peas

rigatoni pasta

oregano or your favorite Italian seasoning

marinara sauce

alfredo sauce

Photo cred

Bring water to a boil and cook the pasta. Heat olive oil in a pan and add garlic. Add crushed red pepper when the garlic starts to sizzle. Add chicken and cook thoroughly. Then add peas and mixed sauce. I put in a little more marinara than alfredo, but it's usually pretty even. Season with oregano. Drain the pasta and add the chicken and sauce mix. Salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

What are some of your favorite pasta dishes?

Monday Meals: Chicken Alfredo Roll-ups

I got this recipe from the Recipe Critic by way of Pinterest. Although the lasagna noodles were hard to roll up while keeping the chicken inside, the effort was worth it in the end because they were divine. This is everything you've come to know about American Italian food rolled up (haha) into one recipe.


Ingredients:

9 lasagna noods
2 1/2 cups alfredo sauce
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
oregano
garlic salt
shredded Mozzarella


1. Spray an 8×8 pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with 1/2 cup alfredo sauce.

2. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water and lay them on a paper towel to remove excess water.

3. Spread 2 Tbs of the alfredo sauce over each noodle. Sprinkle oregano and garlic sauce on top. Take 1/9th of the shredded chicken and spread evenly over each noodle and top with about 3 Tbs shredded cheese. Carefully roll up each lasagna noodle and place seam side down in your 9×9 prepared pan.

4. Once they are all in the pan, pour the remaining alfredo sauce over the top and top with cheese.

5. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until heated through and cheese is bubbly.