Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

This recipe comes from the "Real Simple: Meals Made Easy" cookbook (as in the magazine.) It is a great way to sneak in vegetables into your meal, and has a wonderful flavor. Also, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. It calls for white wine, but you can use alcohol-removed cooking wine from any gourmet grocery store, and it works great (I got mine at Wegman's). It also calls for pancetta, but I have never put it in due to how expensive it is! I also use ground turkey instead of ground beef, but you can use whichever according to your preference. You can also find a copy of this recipe and picture here.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 pound pancetta, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup whole milk
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 pound dry fettucine
Grated parmesan
Heat the oil in a dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until no trace of pink remains, about 7 minutes. Spoon off and discard any excess fat. Add the wine, milk, tomato paste, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, oregano, parsley, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg and bring to a simmer. Cover partially, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and transfer to individual bowls. Top with the sauce and parmesan.
To freeze...Omit the pasta and parmesan. Let the sauce cool, then ladle it into resealable freezer bags. Store up to 3 months.
To reheat...Thaw the sauce overnight in the refrigerator or thaw partially in the microwave. Warm in a covered saucepan over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Spoon the sauce over it and sprinkle with the parmesan.

Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

Serves 6

12 oz. corkscrew or penne pasta
¼ c. sesame seeds
3 T. sugar
½ c. olive oil
¼ c. soy sauce
1/3 c. white wine vinegar
salt/pepper to taste
3 c. cooked chicken cut into small pieces
½ c. sliced green onions
4-6 c. baby spinach

1. Fry sesame seeds in olive oil, being careful so they don’t burn.
2. Combine dressing ingredients.
3. Combine pasta, dressing and chicken and refrigerate overnight.
4. Just before serving toss spinach and green onions.

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Black Olives, Garlic, and Feta Cheese

The title pretty much gives away the recipe, but here it is anyway...

Serves 4

1 1/2 lbs. tomatoes (about 3), seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 c. kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 lb. feta cheese, crumbled
3 T. drained capers
3 T. chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. fresh ground black pepper
3/4 lb. spaghetti
6 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic

1. In a large bowl combine tomatoes, olives, feta, capers, parsley, salt, and pepper.
2. Cook the spaghetti and drain.
3. Meanwhile, in frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and the garlic oil to the tomato mizture and toss.

Lazy Lasagne

This is a vegetarian lasagne. It is perfect for this time of year where the vegetables are all in season and you don't really want a heavy, comfor meal, but a lighter version of a tasty staple. I love thewebsite www.thepioneerwomancooks.com because she shows pictures of each step and ingredient, that is why I copied her idea! Obviously my photos are much worse, and I lack her humor, but here we go! It is worth a try!

Ingredients: 1 Yellow Squash
1 Zucchini
2-3 Broccoli Bunches
2-3 Cauliflower bunches (by bunches I mean sections of the whole head, not 3 head's of caul)
1 large container of Ragu: Traditional Style (you can use Prego if you must)
1 large container of cottage cheese
Well, we need to construct each layer of the lasagne by preparing the layers! So, first you chop the veggies in any sort of way you'd like. You can add diffrernt veggies if you'd like but I will warn you I can't promise a positive outcome. Once I added carrots, and was sorry I did! It took away from the squash and zucchini flavor!




After cleaning your chopped veggies, you are ready to rock, and also ready to move onto the next step:


Now it is time to make your sauce. I keep it easy with the cottage cheese and Ragu. You can use whatever you want, but to me, these two items make the taste exactly what I love. I love the flavor. Even if it isn't neccesarily "gourmet."


This is what the consistency should look like, orangy, but not too light!


Get out your no cook noodles to layer...obviously you can use the cooked kind of noodles, but I just find these to be loads easier!


Now it is time to layer your lasagne! This is what the layering will look like. You first add a cup of the sauce mixture at the bottom and then follow it with your noodles. Break up the noodles to fit your particular pan. Then add your veggies, and top it off with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Repeat as many times as fills your pan. For the last layer, make sure to add an extra layer of sauce on top of your noodles, so they will get nice and cooked. Then follow with the veggies and cheese to top it off.
I am sorry I forgot to take a picture of the end product, but cook it at 375 for 50 minutes and it should be all bubbly and the cheese browned slightly.
Serve and enjoy!