Even a beginner could make the home smell like an Italian restaurant with this baked chicken zucchini rigatoni pasta meal. Although zucchini is at its peak in the summertime, fresh zucchini is available at most supermarkets throughout the year. Adding chicken to this savory dish provides some protein. Zucchini A popular summer squash, a zucchini’s skin color can vary from dark to light green, sometimes with yellow markings that give it a striped look. The flavor is light and delicate. At your local market, select small zucchini, which will be younger and therefore more tender and will have thinner skins. The skin should be free of blemishes and have a vibrant…
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Making Baked Ziti with Macaroni
What is Baked Ziti? Traditionally, Baked Ziti is an Italian casserole dish, cooked with tomato sauce and cheese. After searching my pantry, I discovered I did not have any Ziti, nor Penne pasta, both used interchangeably in this classic recipe. Because Ziti and Penne are tubular pasta, why couldn’t I use elbow macaroni, of which I had plenty of? This dish turned out to be a “use up what is in the fridge” dish, which us home cooks – LOVE! Legend notes upon being served a dish of macaroni, an early Italian sovereign exclaimed, “Macaroni!” Which means “how very dear.” This semolina and water-based pasta do not usually contain eggs…
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Homemade Tomato Sauce Without Sweating Over a Hot Stove
With the bounty of my home-grown tomatoes and Doug’s love for red pasta sauces; I have been searching for a tomato sauce, NOT requiring me to sweat over a hot stove all day long. So, imagine my elation when I discovered a recipe that I can use my home-grown tomatoes and the Crock-Pot! The Crock-Pot below can be programmed to start cooking while you are at work AND you can carry it to a dinner party! Crock-Pot SCCPVL610-S Programmable Cook and Carry Oval Slow Cooker, 6-Quart Because this was a new recipe and it would just be my husband and myself dining, I cut this recipe in half for this…
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Weeknight Meaty Skillet Lasagna
This Meaty Skillet Lasagna is simple and requires only a 10″ non-stick skillet for cooking. Because I have a bounty of tomatoes from my garden, I substituted the 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes with ones from my garden. Since the recipe calls for the canned tomatoes to be placed in a food processor, I cored out my tomatoes, quartered them, pulsed twice in my Vitamix to make a chunky puree, perfect for this recipe. Do not use “no-boil” lasagna noodles in this recipe, as they will fall apart during cooking. Make sure to use either whole-milk or part-skim ricotta, as the NON-FAT ricotta will result in a very…
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Chicken Lemon Pasta with Summer Vegetables
Looking for a way to use up your summer harvest? For this Chicken and Lemon Pasta, you will spend more time prepping than cooking. Use store-bought rotisserie chicken to make it a weeknight meal. MAKES 4 SERVINGS TOTAL TIME 35 MINUTES Ideal Cooking Gadgets When Cooking Pasta COOK – pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. You can use any type of your favorite pasta. The recipe recommended campanelle, which I used, but I think a penne or bowtie would’ve been better. HEAT – butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add scallion whites…
