Amatriciana

I made this last night and we loved it!

Ingredients

•  8 slices bacon, diced (you can use less)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 pound linguine pasta, uncooked
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook diced bacon in a large saucepan over medium high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the pan.
2. Add onions, and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes, undrained; simmer 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes.  I add 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp garlic powder.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of 4 quarts boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.
4. Stir basil into the sauce, and then toss with cooked pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Beefaroni

by Ellie Weightman

2 cups dry macaroni

8 oz ground beef

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

2 cans tomato soup

1/2 green pepper (chopped)

1/2 red pepper (chopped) - optional

1 medium onion (chopped)

1 clove garlic (minced) - optional

salt and pepper to taste

ALTERNATIVE:  Use 1 can (10.5 oz) tomato soup and 10.5 oz spaghetti sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook macaronis according to package directions.  Drain

While the macaroni's are cooking, in a medium pot, slowly brown the beef with the onions, garlic, green and red peppers. Drain grease.

To the beef, add the soup.  Heat until just simmering.  Remove from heat, add cheese and stir til cheese dissolves. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

Pour the macaroni into a 2 quart casserole dish.  Add the sauce and stir.

Bake for 30 minutes - no lid.  Serve.

Sausage and Veggie Penne Pasta

by Ellie Weightman - Adapted from Melissa D’Arabian’s Recipe

12 oz penne, cooked according to package directions, reserving ½ cup pasta water
4 Sweet Italian Sausage, thinly sliced
1 sweet onion, cut into wedges
1 med zucchini, sliced in half and then lengthwise (don’t peel)
½ green pepper, remove center and slice into strips
1 red bell pepper, removing center and slicing in thin strips
½ pound button mushrooms, stemmed and roughly sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, pressed
½ pint of cherry tomatoes, washed 
2 ½ tblsp olive oil
1/4 cup white wine - Pinot Grigio good
kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400̊

Cook penne according to directions.

In a bowl, toss all the vegetables except the tomatoes with 1 ½ tblsp of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Arrange on a baking sheet and roast, until carmelized about 30 minutes turning vegetables halfway through the cooking time.  In a small bowl, add the tomatoes and the remaining 1 tblsp of olive oil and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste and add to the baking sheet at the halfway point of cooking to carmelize.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium heat, add the sausage and saute until cooked through.  Turn up the heat and deglaze with white wine.  Once the vegetables are cooked, cool slightly, then coarsely chop.  Add the vegetables and any pan juices to the sausage in the skillet.  Toss in the cooked penne, adding reserved pasta water, if needed to moisten.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, serve in bowls topped with parmesan.

Ellie's "Work Night" Tomato Sauce

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen recipe

2 tbsp unsalted butter

¼ cup very fine chopped onion (or use large holes of box grater)

¼ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (chili flakes)

½ tsp tomato paste (tubed kind preferred to avoid wasting a can)

table salt

2 medium cloves garlic, pressed

28 oz can crushed tomatoes (Tutorosso preferred)

2 tbsp red wine

¼ tsp fennel

¼ tsp sugar

¼ cup Locatelli Romano or Parmesan cheese (or a combo of both cheeses)

2 tblsp coarsely chopped fresh basil - optional

1 tblsp EV olive oil

Ground black pepper

Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. 

Add onion, oregano, basil, fennel, red pepper flakes and ½ tsp salt, cook, stirring occasionally until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. 

Add garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

Stir in tomatoes, wine and sugar; increase heat to high and bring to simmer. 

Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.  Off heat, stir in cheese, fresh basil and oil; season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Serve over 12-16 oz of cooked pasta (weighed when dry) or add meatballs.

Spinach Fusilli Salad / Side Dish

by Ellie Weightman - I threw together this recipe one night to use as a side dish with chicken teriyaki, you can vary the ingredients and the amount of servings to your liking.  This serves 2-3 adults as a side dish.

Ingredients:
2 cups dry Spinach Fusilli pasta
Olive oil
2 slices bacon, fry and crumble
10-12 cherry tomatoes, sliced OR ½ whole tomato, sliced
1 garlic, minced
1 tblsp dry minced onion
1 tblsp fresh parsley, chop
1/3 tblsp fresh basil, chop
1/4 tsp fresh oregano
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
In a 2 qt saucepan, fill 3/4 with cold water. Add the dry minced onion, a dash of salt and 1 tblsp olive oil.

Bring to boil and add pasta, prepare as directed on box, drain and rinse to cool (some of the minced onions will stick to pasta – that’s fine.

Combine tomatoes, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, dash salt and pepper in bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil over the mix and stir to blend. Add in crumbled bacon. Pour on top of cooled pasta.

Other ingredients may be added to your liking or substituted for any of the above. Suggestions: mushrooms, sub can diced tomatoes for the cherry tomatoes, fresh onions, broccoli, etc.