Alisa's Pasta Salad

We've been known to ask Alisa to bring this salad to our family get togethers, because it's SOOO delicious!

1/2 box Rotini Pasta--cooked, drained, and cooled
1 medium sized cucumber, chopped
1/4 red or green pepper, chopped
Broccoli
Grape or cherry tomatoes
Parmesan cheese
Sliced olives
Diced chicken, cooked (optional)
Caesar Parmesan Vinaigrette salad dressing


Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Refrigerate until served.

Creamy rainbow fettuccine

 

This dish has become a family favorite.  Perfect meal to get kids & adults to eat their veggies!  So easy, so tasty & so many variations!  To change things up I like to make this dish with wheat fettuccine or our favorite--wheat linguine!  Add a chicken breast sauteed with garlic & onion. Add chili peppers or whatever veggie you like!  Mmm 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt for cooking the pasta, plus 1/4 teaspoon for the sauce
• 3/4 pound fettuccine/linguine [wheat is our preference]
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced [I always add a clove or two more, yum]
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 pound asparagus, upper half of spears only, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small zucchini or summer squash, cubed

• 1/2 cup finely diced carrot
• 1/2 cup diced red or yellow bell pepper [I never measure the veggies, I just cut & pour them in.  I definitely add more than this recipe calls for]
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese [you can also just pour grated Parmesan cheese right in with the cream, more the better]
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley [if you want, i normally don't]

Instructions

1. In a large pot, bring 4 to 5 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of salt to the water.
   
2. Meanwhile, in an enameled Dutch oven or another large non-reactive casserole, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the garlic and warm gently for 1 minute. Add the broth, vegetables, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
   
3. Cover the pan and continue to simmer the vegetables undisturbed for 3 minutes. Then stir in the cream [& grated parm cheese if you want]. Remove the pan from the heat and leave it covered. Add more salt to taste, if needed.
   
4. Once the water has reached a boil, gradually add the fettuccine to it. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, then drain.
   
5. Quickly bring the vegetables back to a simmer and add the drained pasta. Continue to simmer the mixture over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes while carefully tossing the noodles up from the bottom of the pan with tongs or two forks.
   
6. Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle in half of the Parmesan cheese. Toss once more. Serve at once, using the parsley and remaining cheese for garnish. Makes 4 to 5 servings.
   

Homemade Mac and Cheese

This delicious recipe is from my friend, Kristy. The secret ingredients make this dish AMAZING!

1 pkg. (7 oz.) elbow macaroni
4 TB. butter or margarine
3 TB. flour
2 c. milk
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
2 c. shredded cheese (I used 1 c. mozzarella plus 1 c. light white cheddar)
2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 c. dry bread crumbs

Cook macaroni according to package. Drain. Melt butter in another saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min. Reduce heat and add cheeses, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Add macaroni to cheese sauce and stir to coat. Transfer to greased baking dish. Melt 2 TB. additional butter and toss with bread crumbs. Sprinkle over macaroni. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 min. Serves 6.

Hamburger Stroganoff-Posted by Natalie

If you're an Anderson or Pittard you grew up loving this dish! It's so easy and pretty good!

1 1b ground beef
Salt or garlic salt and pepper, to taste ( I really love using fresh minced garlic or garlic powder)
1/2 yellow onion diced (or throw in the whole thing) : 0
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream or mushroom soup (for more zip, you can substitute with cream of chicken)
3/4 C. milk
2 C. sour cream
About 12 oz. pkg. egg noodles, cooked

Method:

• Brown ground beef. Season with garlic salt/salt/garlic powder, pepper, to taste.
• Cook egg noodles until soft
• Add onion to meat until cooked through. Add soup and milk to meat. Stir until blended. Simmer for 5 mins.
  
• Add sour cream. Simmer 2 mins.
  
• Drain noodles. You can add them to the meat-soup mixture or serve noodles and soup mixture separately. Yummy!

Great with steamed broccoli/carrots, green salad, and muffins! Growing up, mom always served some type of muffins with this dish. It doesn't taste right unless we have muffins too! : )

Pasta Al Forno (Pasta of the oven)-Posted by Natalie

I actually got this one from Mom a long time ago, I guess she forgot all about it. It's very easy and tasty!

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped or sliced thin
1 green pepper, chopped
2 c. tomatoes w/ their juice (or 1 large diced tomato w/ 1 can tomato sauce)
*I used 1 can diced tomatoes w/ 1 can tomato sauce and it worked great
1/2 tsp. salt (if you're like me, I never add additional table salt to anything it still works)
Pinch of pepper (or lots more-freshly ground pepper is the best)
oregano and/or basil to taste
12 oz pkg. Rigatoni noodles
mozzarella and parmesan cheese

Method:

• Brown the ground beef. Season to taste. Add green pepper, onion, and tomatoes and cook over med. heat until veggies are soft. Stir in tomato sauce, salt/pepper, and oregano/basil and let simmer 5 mins.
• Cook Rigatoni noodles in water w/ 1 TB cooking oil (i use olive oil-good taste and better for you) until soft.
• Place 1/2 of meat-veggie mixture on bottom of a greased 9x13" pan. Top with shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Place Rigatoni noodles on top. Top w/ remaining sauce and more mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
  
• Place in 350' oven. Bake only long enough to melt the cheeses. Enjoy!
  

Parmesan Pasta With Artichokes

Again, this is what happens when you watch too much food network, you get all creative in the kitchen and have to start cooking pseudo gourmet things -- haha!

2 cups cooked rotini pasta (farfalle would also work well)
1 can artichoke hearts (or marinated if you prefer)
3 T capers (optional)
1 clove minced garlic
1 T fresh/frozen parsley
1 chopped shallot
2 T butter
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese (more if you want!!)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Cook pasta before hand and have it waiting. On the stovetop melt the butter and add shallots and garlic. Sautee for 1-2 mins and then add the artichoke and capers. Cook till all are heated thru. Combine pasta with the artichoke/capers/shallots and mix well. Drizzle olive oil on top and garnish with the cheese and parsely.
Serve with your favorite chicken or fish.