Boil fettucine in salted water. In a large heavy pan, melt butter over low heat. When fettuccine is “al dente” drain it and pour it into the melted butter. toss to coat the fettuccine. Simmer over medium heatand add the cream and cook until sauce is creamy – about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Serve immediately, pass more parmesan cheese. Serves 3
Sure most of us have had eggplant lasagna or beef lasagna or chicken lasagna, and you can go that direction if you want to, but I had chorizo in my refrigerator and dinner time was approaching…
Lasagna. Bite me!
While many people like plain cheesy lasagna, I think it can be better with a few added ingredients. Not only for taste mind you, but you can add vegetables in there and it is better. When making casserole or a lasagna, there are flavor givers (chorizo, ground beef) and there are flavor sponges like mushrooms, eggplant that absorb the flavors around them. For me, this makes a better dish.
Since chorizo is so rich, I thought by adding eggplant and mushrooms it would provide balance to the dish.Â
2 pounds sauted browned meat and add to the red sauce below. (Chorizo or a combination of ground beef, or chicken or turkey, or italian sausage – removed from the casing.) My husband likes more meat, so he would have liked this lasagna better with more ground beef. He told me this two times!Â
1 diced medium eggplant saute in white wine
8 oz sliced mushrooms sauted in white wine
8 oz fresh spinach
6 cups Cheese Sauce (either four cheese sauce or alfredo sauce)
6 cups Red Spaghetti sauce. (I used garlic and onion sauce. I purposely stayed away from basil or sweet sauce)
3 cups grated cheese. (use Mozzarella or a combination of cheeses. I used cheddar, mozzarella)
8 oz of cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan for the top
16 slices pepper jack
1/4Â cup chopped scallions for the top
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes – sprinkle on the top
1 package (16 sheets) no boil lasagna noodles
Once you have the ingredients sauted you are ready to start layering in the pan.Â
Sauted mushrooms and eggplantSauted Chorizo
 Four  layers is your target. I start with a base of red sauce (which has your chorizo in it), top with 4 lasagna noodles or whatever number fits in the bottom of your pan. You can overlap a bit.Â
Next top with cheese sauce, then your vegetables; sauted eggplant and mushrooms; sprinkle with grated cheese. Next add spinach, pepper jack cheese slices and start over.  The cottage cheese is for one of the middle layers. Drop it by teaspoonfuls onto the spinach layer. The cottage cheese lightens the whole mixture and adds texture.
Pepper Jack over spinach
Your last layer should be Cheese Sauce with grated cheese, parmesan and scallions and then sprinkle with red pepper flakes.  It will look nice this way.  You’ll notice small parchment paper tucked in along my baking dish. This lasagna is so deep, and my pan has hand holds, that I need to cover until the dish cooks.
Ready for the oven!
Place in the oven at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes covered with foil until bubbly, then 10 minutes uncovered to finish melting the cheesy top.Â
Hot from the oven.
Let it cool for 15-20 minutes so it holds its shape for cutting.
You can put this together the morning before or even a week before and freeze. If you do freeze, just extend your oven time to 90 minutes or so.Â
Serve with a nice green salad. If you cool it properly you can see all the layers. Â
“I feel like Italian food tonight.” This is one of those quick dinners you can make in 30 minutes. If you are going to serve with pasta or rice, get those started, then move on to pounding your chicken breasts. Turn the oven on to preheat at 350.Â
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 eggs beaten
Panko Bread Crumbs
Season with ground rosemary, salt, pepper
1 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce or marinara sauce.
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella or pepper jack
16 teaspoons grated Parmesan.
Pound your skinless chicken breasts into filets. Use a mallet and a ziplock bag to minimize the mess. Pounding the chicken breast, you are trying to get a uniform thickness of about 3/8’s of an inch so the chicken cooks evenly.
Dip the chicken in beaten egg, and then the seasoned panko breadcrumbs.
Brown the chicken filets in olive oil, about 3 minutes per side.
Place on a baking sheet, and spoon over the top a couple of tablespoons of marinara sauce. Top with your cheeses and then bake the browned filets for about 10 minutes in the oven until they reach 160 degrees on your instant read thermometer.Â
Admit it, it sounds so good to you. Sausage lovers unite. Â
I had a sandwich the other day filled with bell peppers and sausage at a local BBQ joint, and I thought I probably could create a dinner.Â
So, off to the market as I headed home. I wanted to make rosemary alfredo cream sauce and then add the sausage to it. By itself, I thought it would be a bit heavy, so I lightened it up by adding artichoke hearts and zucchini. As you can see by the pasta, I was light handed with the alfredo sauce. No need to have the pasta swimming in the sauce, it is very rich.
I sauted the ground rosemary in olive oil, then added a touch of cream. Letting the flavors infuse while I sauted the zucchini, then added the sausage and artichoke hearts until warm.
Boiled water and cooked the pasta. I like linguini, but you could use any other favorite pastas including penne.
I tossed the linguini and portioned it out onto the plates. Add the vegetables over the pasta, and there you go.
On vacation in Puerta Vallarta looking for some classic Mexican food, and within walking distance from the Paradise hotel.
I ordered the fish of the day over Rosemario Alfredo. Oh my, the Alfredo was light with wonder butter infused zucchini and califlower.
I don’t know about you, but when I dine out, I taste everyone’s food. My plate was the best of all. The winner of the evening. Even the way you say it,” Rosemario” sounds so sexy.
Although I loved it, I had ran out of Rosemario at home, so I used basil. It is wonderful. This is my present to you from Mexico – Rosemario Alfredo.
Choose one herb to highlight this dish: Rosemary, Basil, or Tarragon
1)Preheat grill to high.
2)Rinse “fish of the day” under cold water, drain and blot dry. Brush fish on both sides with the oil. season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
3)Combine rosemary (rosemario), wine and garlic in a blender and process until a smooth puree forms. transfer to a small heavy saucepan and stir in cream. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, be careful because the cream can boil over very rapidly. Reduce by half, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk in butter and lemon juice, when the butter is incorporated into the cream mixture remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. cover and keep warm.
4)Grill your fish filets to desired temperature, when fish just starts to fully flake is about right. Remove from heat.
5) Spoon sauce over pasta, add steamed buttered vegetables to plate, top with grilled fish of the day and serve.
You can also substitute any fresh fish of the day. My favorites are: Tuna, Thresher Shark, Swordfish, Sea Bass, Talipia, Striped Bass but go ahead and use your favorite.
Serve on a bed of fetticini, linguini, or penne pasta.
Since you’ve decided to have pasta, put on a pot of water add some salt and let is start to boil.
From the refrigerator, I found:
Peppered Bacon – cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 Cup of Cream
2 Pkg of fresh Linguini or Spaghetti (You’ll love the leftovers. Search for Spaghetti Frittata.)
1 medium white onion
2 cans stewed tomatoes or substitute the tomatoes you have.
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese or Romano.
Start heating the frying pan and add the bacon. Let’s get this meal on the table. As the bacon crisps, put a small dice on one onion. Once you have set aside the bacon and have it draining on a paper towel, remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the pan. Add the onions and let them sweat.
Run to the pantry and figure out what type of canned tomatoes you have available. I had stewed tomatoes that were preseasoned with oregano.  When the onions are tender, add the tomatoes and sauce from both cans. Add a splash of cooking sherry and bring to a simmer. Your water should be boiling. Add the pasta.
Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of cream to the tomato mixture and turn the burner down to low.
As soon as the linguini is al dente, strain and add to the tomatoe mixture. Stir and allow the linguini soak up all the goodness.
Add a nice mound to the center of the plate, sprinkle the crisp bacon on top. Serve to the hungry crowd.
As my son would say, “Did someone say bacon?” Hmmm irresistable.
I only make this when we I have leftover spaghetti, so it is easy!
8 ounces spaghetti, cooked, rinsed, cooled.
1 cup tomato-based pasta sauce (you can always warm extra to serve on the side)
5 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or you can use bits of leftover cheeses also)
Preheat broiler. Toss pasta and 1 cup pasta sauce in medium bowl to blend. Combine eggs, 1/4 cup parsley, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in small bowl; whisk to blend.
Heat oil in large broilerproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pasta and toss until warmed through, about 4 minutes. Pour egg mixture over; do not stir. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until eggs start to firm and bottom begins to brown, lifting sides occasionally to let uncooked egg run underneath, about 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Sprinkle frittata with cheese. Broil until cheese melts, about 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 cup pasta sauce in saucepan over low heat. Using flexible spatula, loosen edges and bottom of frittata. Slide out onto plate. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parsley. Cut frittata into wedges. Serve, passing warm sauce separately.
1 1/2 pounds eggplant, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch slices
Salt
Flout
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups your favorite pasta sauce
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 cup freshly greated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Choose a shallow 2 quart baking dish that is attractive enough to serve from and rub with olive oil.
Sprinkle both sides of eggplant slices with salt (to draw out the moisture)  and spread them out in one layer on a platter or board. After 20-30 minutes pat he eggplant dry with paper towels. dip each slice in flour and shake off excess. In a heavy skillet, in oil, brown both sides of the eggplant. Drain on paper towels.
Pour 1 cup of tomato sauce into the oiled bake and serve pan. Spread the eggplant slices over tomato sauce, top with a layer of mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat with 1 or 2 more layers being sure to finish up with tomato and cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake another 10 minutes. You can place the dish under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheese, but be careful not to overdo.
My kids always liked Kraft Mac and Cheese. Yes, the powdered cheese kind that reminds me of Cheese Whiz. This is a more adult version that most will like.
2 c macaroni
2 T olive oil
4 T butter
1 T minced garlic
1 T finely minced shallot
4 c heavy cream
1 c gouda cheese shredded
1/2 blue cheese or parmesan cheese shredded
Pinch Nutmeg, Salt and Pepper to taste.
Garnish with julian sliced ham, chopped chives, fried onions.
Boil pasta until 1/2 done, interior slightly raw. Add olive oil and toss after draining. In saucepan add butter, garlic and shallots sweat for 5 minutes. Add cream, bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until cream is reduced by one quarter and coats the back of spoon. (Can be refrigerated for later completion. Stop here.)
Return cheese sauce to pan over low heat and add already cooked pasta. Simmer a minute or two until pasta is warm.
