Fresh

This is probably one of the first dishes I cooked.  I felt accomplished, I was in high school-- now I'm a few years older and it's still delicious, though not the most complicated thing I can cook.

Angel-Hair Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

1 clove of garlic

3 lb of tomatoes (i usually use less)

2 Tblsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lb capellini (or any pasta you like)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and a drizzle of olive oil if you like

Mince garlic and mash into paste with a pinch if salt using a heavy knife.

Core and coarsely chop 2/3 of the tomatoes. Halve the remaining tomatoes crosswise and rub them against large hole on a grater into a large bowl. Discard the skin. Toss the grated tomato pulp with the chopped tomatoes, garlic paste, lemon juice, salt, sugar (if using) and pepper. Let stand at least 10 minutes or until ready to use ( not more than 2 hours at room temp.)

Cook past in a 6-8 quart pot of boiling, salted water - uncovered -- until al dente (about 2 minutes -- longer of using something other than capellini). Drain past in a colander and immediately add to tomato mixture, tossing to combine. Sprinkle with basil. Makes 4-6 servings.

Is it a pasta or a rice?

Orzo: a food that amazes me.  If you don't know, it's pasta that is roughly the shape and size of rice.  What I'm wondering is what would happen if you made rice the shape and size of pasta.  But I'm sure there are gluten-free people who are far ahead of me and have created various rice pastas.  Needless to say, the following recipe is delicious.

Orzo with Chicken and Asiago

(My mom's version of a Cooking Light recipe.)

24 oz. fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

12 ounces chicken cut into bite-size pieces

1-1/4 cups uncooked Orzo

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup grated Asiago (divided)

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp dried basil (or rosemary, or oregano)

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

• Cut up a couple of chicken breasts into small pieces and sauté in a little chopped garlic until no longer pink (if you have left over chicken, just use that instead)
• In a heavy sauce pan, bring the broth to a boil and add orzo
• Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The orzo will still be pretty wet – all of the broth does not cook out.) 
• Remove from heat. Stir in peas, chicken, herbs, ¼ cup of the Asiago, salt and pepper. 

Makes 4 servings. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of the remaining cheese.

I got it from my mamma

Whenever I go home and my mom asks me what she can cook for me, I almost always say Lasagna. It's another one of those dishes that I think is best at home, and I'm sure a lot of people have their own family recipes. Here's mine.

EASY VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

Box of lasagna noodles (if you want to save time, try the "no boil" variety. You'll need more sauce but not having to boil the noodles saves time and the trouble of handling the wet, slippery, stick-to-each-other noodles.) I'm going to assume you will use the no-boil ones for this recipe. They taste pretty good.

(*when I made this recipe, I used boil ones... it turned out okay except they stuck to each other when cooking and then I had to peel them apart before I could layer them into the lasagna, which resulted in some ripping)

Choose a baking dish -- I have made successful lasagna in an 8" x 8" aluminim baking pan, a 7" x 10" ceramic baking dish and a similar-size Pyrex glass dish. The depth should be at least 2" so the lasagna doesn't spill over when baking.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 large jars (24 oz) tomato sauce of your choice (I like a tomato basil but anything you like is good)

8 ounces Ricotta cheese - lo-fat variety

1 egg (optional – makes the cheese filling a bit fluffier)

1-2 cloves chopped garlic

1 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves (optional)

2-3 Tblsp shredded parmesan cheese

6-8 ounces Boca crumbles or similar (optional)

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced (if you put it in the freezer for a little while, it hardens and is a bit easier to slice

Steps:

• Spray your pan lightly with Pam cooking Spray (sides too). Spoon a small amount of tomato sauce over bottom of pan.
• In a bowl, combine Ricotta cheese with the minced garlic, parmesan cheese, one egg and a couple of spoonfuls of tomato sauce to make it creamier and easier to spread (especially if you are not adding an egg). If using spinach, mix it in with the cheese.

• Slice an 8 ounce call of mozzarella cheese into thin strips.
• If you are adding Boca crumbles or other meat, either brown it in a pan to cook or defrost (for the crumbles).
• Begin with one layer of noodles. Do not overlap the noodles as they will expand while cooking.
• Next, using a flexible spatula, spread about ½ of the cheese mixture over the noodles. Spoon sauce over the cheese. Sprinkle on ½ of the crumbles (if using them) then dot with some of the mozzarella slices. 

• Add a new layer of noodles and repeat once more. Then add a final layer of noodles and pour all remaining sauce over them. 
• Finish with mozzarella all over the top of the lasagna. 
• Bake at about 375 degrees for about 40 minutes (the no-boil noodles should have some cooking times on it.

I usually bake this one day and serve it reheated the next. It is easier to cut and holds it shape better on day two.