Meat Lasagna

Ingredients

• 16 pieces (about 1/2 kg) lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 jar (about 750 gm) spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 kg ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons chopped oregano
• 2 teaspoons chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Lets Get Cracking

1. In large skillet, brown meat; drain.
2. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water; simmer 10 minutes.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Lay flat on foil to cool.
4. Heat oven to 350°F.
5. In large bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.
6. Spread about 1/3 cup meat sauce on bottom of 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Arrange 4 pasta pieces lengthwise over sauce, overlapping edges. Spread one-third cheese mixture over pasta; spread with about 3/4 cup meat sauce.
7. Repeat layers, beginning and ending with pasta. Top with remaining meat sauce; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
8. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove foil; bake about 10 minutes longer, or until lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy :) :) :)

Italian Sausage Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 large (7 to 8 inch link) Italian sweet sausage
• 1 large Italian hot and spicy sausage
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3/4 large (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes
• Olive oil
• 1 lb (16 oz) spaghetti pasta
• Salt
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Lets Get Cracking

The Sauce

Take the Italian sausage meat out of the sausage casings. Break up into pieces and mix the sweet and spicy sausage meats together. Brown the sausage meat in a large skillet on medium high or high heat with a little olive oil. In a separate skillet sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Purée the tomatoes in a blender, add to the skillet with the sausage meat. Add the cooked onions and garlic.

The Pasta

Fill an 8-quart or larger stock pot at least half full with water and bring to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt. Slowly add the pasta, stirring to prevent clumping. Allow the water to come to a boil again. Cook, uncovered, with a fairly vigorous boil, for as long as the directions on the pasta package say, usually about 10-12 minutes. When pasta is al dente (cooked but still a little firm), remove the pot from the heat. Add a cup or two of cold water to the pasta to stop the cooking. Drain the water from the pasta through a colander. Place the pasta in a serving bowl. Serve immediately. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy :) :) :)

 

Fusilli Pasta In White Sauce

Ingredients:

• Fusilli pasta - 2 cups 
• Beans - 50 gms
• Carrot - 2
• Spinach - 1/2 bunch
• White sauce
• Oregano - 1 tsp
• Pepper - for taste
• Salt - for taste
• Mozzarella Cheese – 3/4 cup

For white sauce -

• All purpose flour (Maida) – 4 tbsp 
• Butter – 4 tbsp 
• Milk – 3 cups 
• Salt

Lets Get Cracking 

1. Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 5 mins. Strain and wash with cold water and keep it aside. 
2. Dice beans and carrots into long pieces and cook them in microwave. Clean, chop and cook spinach.
3. To make white sauce - Dilute the maida in milk and mix it thoroughly without lumps. Melt the butter in a pan. Simmer the stove, pour in the diluted milk mixture and stir continuously until the sauce thickens. Finally add salt and mix well.  
4. Now take a pan and add the cooked vegetables, spinach and pasta. Pour in the prepared white sauce and cook for five mins. Add oregano, salt and pepper to it mix well.  
5. Transfer this to a baking dish and sprinkle the grated cheese on top and grill in an oven till the cheese melts down.

Serve hot. Enjoy :) :) :) 

Fusilli Pasta in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• Fusilli Pasta - 3/4 cup
• Tomato puree - from 1 big tomato (approx 1/2 cup)
• Garlic paste or garlic finely chopped - 1 tsp
• Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp
• Tomato - 1 chopped
• Capsicum - 2 to 3 tbsp cubed
• Pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Cheese - 1 tbsp (just for garnish)
• Olive oil - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste

Time Required - 15 mins

Lets Get Cracking

1. Boil water and cook fusilli pasta with salt until slightly soft yet crunchy enough to bite.Drain water and Keep aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic paste and saute until slightly browned. Then add chopped tomatoes and capsicum toss it a min.Then add tomato puree and saute until raw smell totally leaves.Add required salt and pepper, give a quick stir.
3. Then add the cooked pasta and mix well, add tomato sauce and sprinkle little water if the mixture is too dry. Allow it to boil 2-3 mins until the pasta is coated well with the sauce.
4. Switch off and garnish with grated cheese while serving.

Enjoy :) :) :)

Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce

Ingredients

• 12 lb gluten-free pasta (penne pasta use rice)
• salt
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 2 cups onions (chopped, 1 large)
• 2 cloves garlic cloves (chopped)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (blend of dried basil oregano rosemary thyme marjoram and savory)
• 1 dash red pepper flakes
• 12 tsp fresh thyme (pinch of dried)
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 lb ground chicken (fat)
• 3 chopped leaves (fresh basil leaves chopped or a 12 teaspoon of dried)
• 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce (canned chunky, 1 28 ounce can muir glen brand if you can)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)

Time Required - 20-25 mins

Lets Get Cracking

1. Heat to boiling a large pot with 4 quarts of water in it. Once the water is boiling, salt it with 1 Tbsp of salt. Once the water returns to a boil add the pasta to the pot. Leave uncovered, let cook on high heat with a vigorous boil. Put the timer on for 8-10 minutes, or whatever your pasta package says is appropriate for al dente (cooked but still a little firm). Drain.

2. Once you've started to heat the water, start working on the sauce. Heat olive oil in a very large skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened. Add the garlic, fresh thyme, season with salt and pepper. Cook for an additional minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Heat a large cast iron pan on high heat. Salt the bottom of the pan generously. Once the pan is hot, break up small chunks of ground beef and add them to the pan, without stirring. (You may need to work in batches; do not crowd the pan.) You want the meat to get well browned. If the pan is too hot and the meat is burning, not browning, take the pan off the heat for a little, and reduce the heat to medium high. On our coil electric stove, it takes the high heat setting for the meat to brown sufficiently, but your stove may be different. Once the meat is browned on one side (a couple of minutes), use a metal spatula to flip the meat over to brown on the other side. At this point, assuming you are using a cast iron pan, you can remove the pan from the heat. The residual heat in the pan will finish cooking the meat.

4. Use a slotted spoon to lift the meat from the cast iron pan and add it to the pan with the seasoned onions. Add tomato sauce. Use the edge of your metal spatula to break up the bigger chunks of meat into smaller pieces. Add basil. Add a teaspoon of sugar. Bring to a simmer on low heat, let cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. 

5. Once the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, adjust seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more sugar if the sauce is too acidic. Add more tomato sauce if the sauce is a little dries. Stir in the cooked penne pasta. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.