Spaghetti Alla Carbonara Recipes

There are so many varieties of carbonara that it is hard to sort them out. Typically carbonara is made with pancetta (Italian bacon), egg yolks, and parmesan cheese mixed in spaghetti. In the US, sometimes cream is used in this pasta recipe, but this is not typical in Italy. I like to make this pasta dish when I ran out of idea of what to prepare for dinner. All you need is just a few ingredients to pull off this rich, cheesy and satisfying meal.

Ingredients:

½ packet of Spaghetti or pasta of your choice
4 slices of pancetta (you can substitute it with bacon) – cute into cubes
2 cloves garlic – smashed
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat a bit of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat; cook the pancetta along with the garlic until the pancetta is brown and crispy. Discard the garlic and add in the black pepper and stirring occasionally until fragrant.
2. Transfer the pancetta mixture into a big bowl and let it cool down a bit. Stir in the cheese and egg yolks. Mix until well combined and set it aside.
3. Meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al-dente. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water.
4. Drain the pasta and toss it right into the eggs mixture. Toss till combined adding the pasta water a bit at a time to create a creamy sauce. Taste for seasonings.
5. Serve immediately.

Note: I didn’t add any salt to this dish as with the pancetta and parmesan cheese the pasta is salty enough. Since I have some roasted tomatoes I garnished the pasta with it.

Baked Pasta Casserole Recipes

I was cleaning up my pantry the other day and notice that there are so many different types of leftover pasta (a handful of each) and the boxes are taking too much space in my pantry. I have to find ways to use it all up. Since I am into one dish meal nowadays I decided to make this pasta casserole with whatever I have in my pantry and fridge. Baked pasta is a great dish for any buffet party or a lunch and dinner at home. It is always good to serve it with a fresh salad.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of small dry pasta – I used ziti, penne and small shell pasta
1 can of tuna – packed in water
2 tomatoes – cut into 1/2” cubes
8 oz artichoke hearts – drain water and halve
1 onion – cut small
3 cloves garlic – chopped
1 1/2 cup of grated cheese – any type
1 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 eggs – beaten
Some chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside.
2. In a large skillet, add in 2 tbsp of olive oil, sauté the onions and garlic until fragrant and lightly brown. Add in the flour. Stir well for 30 second and add in the milk. Continue to stir until the milk thickens and comes up to a boil.
3. Add in one cup of the grated cheese, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Once the cheese melted turn off the heat. Add in the tomato, artichoke hearts, tuna, cooked pasta and eggs. Stir gently to combine.
4. Spoon the mixture into a casserole dish, sprinkle the balance grated cheese on top and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly and the top brown. Serve warm.

Note: If you can’t find artichoke hearts you can always replace it with green peas, blanched vegetables like asparagus or broccoli.

Fettuccine with Saffron Shrimp Recipes

This is a really fabulous meal that not only fast to prepare but delicious. By the time you are done boiling the pasta the sauce is done. Doesn’t that sound like a plan for a tasty and sophisticated meal?

Ingredients:

½ box of fettuccine pasta
½ pound of shrimp – shelled and devein
2 shallots – sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
1 cup white wine or chicken stock
1 cup of milk
1 tbsp flour
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp snipped fresh chives
A few threads of Saffron – soak in 1/4 cup of hot water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine pasta till al dente.
2. In a sauté pan, heat 3 tbsp of olive oil. Sauté shallots and garlic over medium heat until fragrant and lightly brown. Add in the shrimps. Stir until the shrimp changes to light pink color.
3. Sprinkle in the flour, stir and cook for a minute. Add in the white wine or chicken stock. Stir well and bring it up to a boil and sauce thicken. Add in the milk and saffron liquid.
4. Once the sauce is boiling, add in parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
5. Drain the pasta and toss into the sauce, stir well. Dish out, garnish with some chives and serve warm.

Baked Mac and Cheese Recipes

Do you love Mac and cheese? For me macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. With the weather getting much cooler I just want to eat something warm and comforting like this cheesy, creamy goodness baked pasta.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of flour
1/2 cup roughly chopped bacon
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup diced fresh tomato
½ box of pasta ( penne, elbow or ziti) – cook to al-dente
2 cups of milk ( I used 1% fat)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp of pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste


1. In a pan over the medium heat, render the bacon fat until brown and crispy. Remove and drain the bacon on paper towel. Remove all the bacon fat. In the same pan, add in the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onion, cook until it’s lightly brown.
2. Add in the flour. Stir and cook until the flour turn lightly brown. Add in the milk, stir well and bring it up to boil. Once the sauce thickens, add in the cheese.
3. Once the cheese melted, turn off the heat. Add in pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the pasta, chopped tomato and the bacon. Reserved some of the bacon for garnish.
4. Transfer the pasta into a baking dish and bake it in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven for 35-45 minutes or until the top of the pasta lightly brown. Garnish with bacon bits and serve warm.

Tuna Pasta in Tomato Sauce Recipes

This is a quick meal in my home. When I don’t have fresh ingredients in my fridge or I want something nutritious and tasty on the table fast, this is the meal I cook with things I can find in my pantry.

Ingredients :

1 can tuna - 5 oz, drained
1 small can chopped tomato with juice
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
Some chopped basil
1 tomato – cut small for garnish
½ tsp of red pepper flakes
½ pound of your favorite pasta – cooked to al dente ( I like using whole-wheat penne)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and onion; sauté until translucent about 2-3 minutes, then add in can tomato with juice, season to taste with salt, pepper and red-pepper flakes and boil over medium heat for 10-12 minutes
2. When sauce reduced and thicken, add in tuna. Stir and mix well. Add in chopped basil and cooked paste. Turn off the heat.
3. Mix well, dish out and garnish with some chopped tomato and basil

Note: If you don't want your sauce to be as 'chunky', you can puree the tomatoes before using.

Shell Pasta with Sausage and Asparagus Recipes

With asparagus selling for less than $2.00 per pound, they're hard to resist. I’ve been cooking a lot of dishes with it. I steam, grill, stir-fry and make soup out it. I even cook pasta with it too. This is a perfect dish for spring with the great flavor combination of asparagus and Italian sausage. This recipe is simple, both in taste and method and you can also change the sausage to other protein and the asparagus to other vegetables.

Ingredients :

1/2 box of small shell pasta
3 links of fresh Italian sausage (I used turkey sausage)
1 pound of asparagus – cut into 1” length
3 fresh tomatoes - cut into 1/2" cubes
3 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 tsp of chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add in some salt. Cook pasta according to the instruction on the box.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a large sauté pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Remove sausage from the casing and sauté and cook until golden brown. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, sauté the garlic until lightly brown. If there is not enough oil add in an extra 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add in the asparagus and cook for a minute. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes
4. Add in chopped tomatoes, stir for a few second and return the sausage back to the pan. Mix well and add in the cook pasta. Mix until everything combined. Check sesoning.
5. If the pasta is a bit dry you can add in a bit of the pasta water. Turn off the heat and add in the grated cheese. Stir well and serve warm.

Other pasta dish : Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta

Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta Recipes

This is another quick and easy pasta dish with wonderful spicy cajun flavor. I used shrimp and chicken for this dish but you can use any kind of protein of your choice. I didn’t add any red or yellow peppers to it as I ran out of it but you can always add it to this pasta dish. As for the half and half you can replace with with heavy cream.

Ingredients :

1/2 box pasta of your choice (I used wholewheat penne)
2 pc of chicken breast
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled/deveined
1 small onion, diced
2 tomatoes - diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp of flour
1 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp of pepper flakes
some chopped parsley
2 tsp of cajun seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta until al-dente and set it aside. Cut chicken into thin strip and season it with the cajun seasoning.
2. Heat a bit of olive oil over medium heat in a pan. Saute the chicken breast until lightly brown. Dish out and set it aside.
2. In the same skillet add a bit of olive oil, add the onions and garlic. Saute until lightly brown. Add the flour and stir it for a minute or two, to cook off rawness of the flour.
3. Add the half and half, cheese and stir until thick. Add the shrimp, chicken and tomatoes into the skillet to cook through.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper, pepper flakes (and more Cajun seasoning, if desired). Toss in the pasta.
5. Garnish with some chopped parsley.

Fried Macaroni Recipes

I have some left over whole wheat macaroni in the pantry from I don’t know when. I suspect it might be over 1 year old but it’s still good. I am not a Mac and cheese person so I just fry it similar to fried rice style. With some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving and few other ingredients lunch is taken care of in no time.

Ingredients :

1 1/2 cup of macaroni - boil till al-dente
1 piece of chicken breast – cut small (I used leftover turkey)
10 shrimp – peel and clean
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot - julienned
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of chili paste – I used sirachi chili sauce
2 tbsp of sauce
1 tsp of dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp of sugar
salt to taste
2 spring onions – cut 1” length

1. Heat oil in wok. Add onion slices and garlic and stir-fry till fragrant and lightly brown.
2. Add meat, shrimp and carrot and stir-fry until meat is cooked.
3. Add a bit of water (about half a cup) and put in the pasta. Stir-fry for a few second and add in all the rest of the seasoning. Stir until everything is well combined.
4. Lastly add in the spring onions. Give it a quick stir and dish out. Serve warm.

Chicken Pasta In Creamy Pesto Sauce Recipes

Summer is the time of year where the gardens are full of pesto's essential ingredient like basil. I just love the smell of fresh basil where it has a wonderful pungent aroma and an incredible flavor that is a cross between licorice and cloves. I like using it to cook my tomato base dishes or simply make it into Pesto.

The traditional way of making pesto and still the best way is with mortar and pestle but I used blender to make this. Typically, pesto is made with fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper but you can experiment it with various herbs, nuts and cheeses to come up with your own special pesto.

Whenever I make a batch of pesto, I keep some in the refrigerator and freeze and I can use it whenever I need a quick pasta meal, topping for my grill chicken or fish or to flavor my soups. Here is one quick and simple dish using pesto. I will feature more dishes using pesto later.

Ingredients for fresh Pesto
3 cloves garlic
2 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
salt and pepper to taste

1. Add the garlic to the food processor and mince. Next, add the basil leaves, pine nuts, salt and pepper to the bowl. While the processor is running, slowly drizzle in olive oil through the feed tube until all the ingredients are pureed.
2.You may need to stop the processor at this point and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula to get every mixed together. Lastly add Parmesan cheese and mix it into the rest of the mixture. If the pesto is too thick, add a tablespoon of water.

Ingredients for the Pasta
1/2 box of pasta (any kind)
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 piece of chicken breast (slice thinly)
1/4 cup of sun dried tomato (slice thinly)
1 cup of chicken stock
1/2 cup of low fat half and half
1/2 cup of pesto
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
some chopped tomato (for garnish)

1. Cook pasta according to the box instruction until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add in garlic and chicken meat. Stir fry until lightly brown. Add in chicken stock and sun dried tomato and simmer for a minute.
3. Add in half and half, pesto and Parmesan cheese. Bring to boil.
4. Lastly toss in the pasta and stir until well combined and sauce thicken. Check sesoning.
5. Serve warm and garnish with some fresh tomato.

Note : Cover and refrigerate the pesto until you are ready to use it. This should keep for 2 - 3 days in the fridge but freezes well if you want to keep it longer. I used wholewheat pasta for this. Make sure you check your seasoning as it might be under salt.

Penne Rustica Delicious Recipes

I’ve tasted this dish at Macaroni Grill Restaurant. This pasta had whole shrimp, grilled chicken and pancetta in rich Parmesan rosemary cream sauce. I tried to create this dish again but I lighten it up without compromising on the taste.

Instead of using pancetta I used Canadian Ham/bacon and as for the cream I used fat free half and half and for the pasta I used whole wheat penne pasta. Despite of all the changes I made, this turned out really delicious.

Ingredients :

1/2 box of whole wheat penne pasta
1 piece chicken breast - sliced thinly
10 shrimp - shell and devein
2 slices of Canadian bacon/ham - chopped roughly (optional)
2 pcs of roasted red peppers - diced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
a handful of grated cheddar cheese
1/4 of paprika
chopped parsley (garnish)

Cream Sauce

1 tsp butter
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1/4 cup Marsala wine (you can replace this with chicken stock)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt
2 cups low fat half & half (you can use heavy cream)

1. Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box and set aside.
2. In a large pan saute garlic and butter until lightly brown. Add Marsala wine, mustard, salt, rosemary, cayenne pepper and half and half. Cook until the sauce reduce to half.
2. In a different pan heat up some olive oil. Saute ham, chicken until chicken is half cook. Add in shrimp and stir fry for a minute.
3. Add in sauce, cooked pasta, peppers, Parmesan cheese, and paprika and mix thoroughly. Spread in baking dish. Sprinkle the top with some cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese and paprika.
4. Bake 425 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley and serve warm.

Shrimp Pasta in Creamy Sauce Delicious Recipes

This is such an easy dish to make and you'll be surprise at how gourmet it looks and taste. With the hint of lemon juice really brighten up the flavor of this dish without feeling too heavy after eating it.

Ingredients :

Pasta of your choice - 2 serving
1/2 pound of shrimp - peeled and deveined
2 plum tomatoes - roughly chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
3/4 cup of heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Some pepper flakes - optional
Some chopped parsley for garnish

1) Cook pasta according to the package instructions, drain and set aside.
2) Heat up some olive oil and saute garlic until lightly brown.
3) Add in the tomatoes, shrimp, lemon zest and juice. Simmer until shrimp are cooked and sauce is fragrant.
4) Add in cream and continue to cook for a minute. Add, pepper flakes, salt and pepper and then toss in the pasta.
5) Dish out and garnish with some chopped parsley and tomatoes.

Note : I add in some can clams too since I had some leftover in my fridge.

Stuffed Shell Pasta Delicious Recipes

This is one of Diana's favourite pasta. She asked me to make some for her and I did last week.

Ingredients :

16-18 large shell pasta
3/4 jar of store bought pasta sauce
Some grated Mozzarella cheese

Filling

10 oz of frozen chopped spinach - thawed and squeeze out the water
1 cup of low fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of grated Cheddar cheese
1 cup of cooked ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 tsp of chili powder
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste


1) Bring a big pot of lightly salted water to boil and boil the pasta till al-dente, drain and set aside.
2) To make the filling, mix all the ingredients together and set aside.
3) Grease a baking dish, pre-heate oven to 350 degree F.
4) Pour some pasta sauce at the bottom of the baking dish. Just enough to cover the base.
5) Fill the stuffing into each shell, place them into the baking dish in a single layer. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells and sprinkle on the mozzarella and bake for 40-45 min.
6) Serve immediately.

Seafood Pasta Delicious Recipes

I always like my pasta simple and not drowning in tomatoes sauce. I bought some organic wholewheat pasta a couple of months ago and with some leftover smoke salmon and shrimps from my sushi I decided to cooked it for dinner. Is simple, is easy and healthy

Ingredients :

300 grm of dried pasta
200 grm of fresh shrimp - peeled and deveined
100 grm of small fresh scallop (optional)
100 grm of smoke salmon (optional)
2 fresh tomatoes - chopped
2 cloves of garlic - minced
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Method :

1) Cook pasta in lightly salted boiling water until al dente and drain
2) Meanwhile heat up olive oil and add in garlic. Cook until fragrant
3) Add scallop, shrimp and salmon. Cook for 3 min
4) Then add in fresh tomatoes and chopped parsley
5) Lastly toss in pasta and lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve