YumSugar

Fast & Easy Dinner: Baked Pasta With Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

partysugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:45:41 -0700

When it comes to baked pastas, most people think of lasagna or macaroni and cheese. However, ziti, a thick, tubular pasta, is ideal for baking, especially when coated with a dense, rich sauce.

This comforting version is made with turkey sausage and canned tomatoes. It's a no-fuss, simple dish that's sure to win over even the most finicky eaters. To make this for your family tonight, get the delicious MyRecipes.com recipe and read more.

Baked Pasta With Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese
From Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Get more recipes at MyRecipes.com

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.
Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil.
Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Serve.

Serves 8.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 413 (26% from fat), Fat: 11.8g (sat 6.1g,mono 2.2g,poly 1g), Protein: 24.1g, Carbohydrate: 53g, Fiber: 4.5g, Cholesterol: 49mg, Iron: 7.9mg, Sodium: 941mg, Calcium: 265mg

Like the recipe above? Try out some of these other ones:

- Quick and Easy Meal Ideas
- 10 Chicken Dinners for the Busy Cook
- Dinner Tonight Recipes in 45-Minutes or Less
- Eat Smart at CookingLight.com

Print recipe with images | without images

Fast & Easy Dinner: Baked Ziti with Italian Salad and Garlic Bread

partysugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:01:31 -0800

A classic Italian style feast for four doesn't require a whole day of cooking. In fact, you can make a delicious meal - a pasta dish complete with bread and salad - in 40 minutes. This baked ziti is a tasty alternative to lasagna, and doesn't require all the hassle of cooking meat and making a tomato sauce. Garlic bread bakes with the pasta and the simple crisp salad of endive and arugula comes together while they both bake. This is a wonderful way to get your weekend off to the a scrumptious start, so get the recipe and read more.

Baked Ziti with Italian Salad and Garlic Bread
From Everyday Food magazine

For Baked Ziti:
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces ziti rigate (ridged) or other short pasta
1 cup part-skim ricotta
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best-quality tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)
For Garlic Bread
1/2 loaf Italian bread (5 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, minced
For Italian Salad:
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head Belgian endive, stem end trimmed, thinly sliced
2 bunches arugula (3 1/2 ounces total), thick stems removed

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce.
Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare garlic bread: Make deep, even cuts into the bread, about 1/2 inch apart, without cutting through the bottom. In a small bowl, combine butter and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Brush garlic butter between cuts in bread. Wrap bread loosely in aluminum foil, and bake with ziti during last 10 minutes of baking.
In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil; season with salt and pepper. Add endive and arugula, and toss to coat. Serve baked ziti with salad and garlic bread.

Serves 4.

Print recipe with images | without images

Celebrate World Pasta Day With Orecchiette

YumSugar — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 08:00:38 -0700

When I learned that today is World Pasta Day, my imagination began to run wild. What should I make to celebrate? The options were endless: baked ziti; pasta alla norma; linguine with white clam sauce. What to do?

Then I came across the perfect recipe. It completely rises to the occasion: it's everyday but also gourmet, somewhat healthy yet just indulgent enough, and it epitomizes pasta as the ultimate in comfort food. To get this recipe, which also happens to be quick and easy, read more.

Orecchiette With Toasted Breadcrumbs
From Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

1 pound dried orecchiette or other small shaped pasta
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup finely chopped prosciutto
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Cook pasta until al dente, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium-sized saute pan, heat the oil until warm. Since the bread crumbs will cook quickly, you don't want to add them into a hot pan, otherwise they can burn. Add the breadcrumbs and stir constantly. Season lightly with salt and pepper since flavored bread crumbs may already have seasoning. Saute for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Drain pasta in a colander. Working quickly, add pasta to the saute pan and stir to combine. Add Parmesan and the chopped prosciutto. Mix thoroughly.
Pour into large serving bowl and garnish with chopped parsley.

Serves 4.

Print recipe with images | without images

View 10 Photos ›

Pasta Shapes 101

YumSugar — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:01:17 -0800

While spaghetti is the ideal pasta shape for thin, light sauces, when making a thicker hearty sauce a larger pasta shape is ideal. It's important to choose the pasta shape that best compliments the sauce, for example a chunky meat sauce adheres best to pasta shapes with holes and ridges like rigatoni or mostaccioli and rich creamy sauces work best with the slippery noodles of fettuccine. Since today we are all about pasta I thought it would be fun to overview pasta shapes...until I realized that there are over a hundred various kinds! To see a list of interesting pasta shapes, what their name means in English and which type of sauce works best with them, read more

Rotini: (spirals or twists)
Rotini's twisted shape holds bits of meat, vegetables and cheese, so it works well with any sauce, or you can use it to create fun salads, baked casseroles, or stir-fry meals.

Bow Ties, Farfalle: (butterflies)
Bow Ties brighten any meal with their interesting shape. Thick enough for any sauce, or make into a salad or soup.

Ditalini: (little thimbles)
This versatile shape can be used as the base of any dish. Bake it, stir it into soups, or create great salads and stir-fry dishes.

Spaghetti: (a length of cord)
America's favorite shape, Spaghetti is the perfect choice for nearly any sauce, or it can be used to make casseroles or stir-fry dishes. Go beyond tomato sauce and see what your favorite becomes.

Orzo: (barley)
This small, grain shaped pasta can be topped with any sauce, added to soups, or baked as a casserole. Perfect as a side dish as well as a main course.

Fusilli: (twisted spaghetti)
This long, spiraled shape can be topped with any sauce, broken in half and added to soups, or turned into a beautiful salad. Fusilli also bakes well in casseroles.

Penne, Mostaccioli: (quills and small mustaches, respectively)
This tubular pasta goes well with sauce, used in salads, baked in casseroles, or made into stir fry dishes. There are both ridged and smooth versions. The ridged version will allow sauce to cling a bit more.

Ziti: (bridegrooms)
A medium-sized, tubular pasta shape, Ziti is perfect for chunky sauces and meat dishes. It also makes wonderful salads, baked dishes and stir-fry meals.

Rigatoni: (large grooved)
Rigatoni's ridges and holes are perfect with any sauce, from cream or cheese to the chunkiest meat sauces.

Fettuccine: (small ribbons)
Perfect for heavier sauces, like cheese, meat and tomato sauces. For variety, try breaking in half and putting in soups, or use for a salad.

Have I forgotten to mention your preferred pasta shape? Tell me about it below. If you want to learn more about pasta shapes, check out this complete list of the pastas of the world.

Source