Spicy Baked Penne

The best things in the world start like this:

and end like this:

Oh baked penne, how I love thee. You are perfect for dinner parties, where I'm too cheap and lazy to toil over lasagna. (My secret has been outed). You are also perfect as leftovers, eaten cold out of the baking dish at 1am after the 800th round of this game:

(My last dinner party involved going through the entire family Apples to Apples card set TWICE. Oh yes, that's how we nerds party.)

Before all the epic nerdery began though, we were nomming down on this:


Don´t mind me, just licking my laptop screen.

Spicy Baked Penne:

1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-ounce cans crushed Italian plum tomatoes
3 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 cups canned chicken broth
1 pound penne or rigatoni
2 1/2 cups packed cheese (sharp cheddar and mozzarella are tasty)


Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a LARGE skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in tomatoes, dried basil and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Add broth; bring back to boil. Reduce heat to medium or lower and simmer uncovered until mixture is thick and is reduced, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook pasta until aldente. Drain well but don't rinse. Return pasta to pot. Pour sauce over and toss to blend. Mix in half the cheese. Transfer to baking pan and top with remaining cheese.

Bake until cheese is browned and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Serves 5 to 6.

(PS, if you´re wondering why the pictures look suddenly fab, it´s because they were taken with my friend´s gorgeous fancy expensive camera. I am using them to my advantage.)

Spicy Veggie Pasta

Over the past few months I’ve moved away from jarred sauces because they taste too sweet (and contain way too much sugar) and end up being too heavy and rich for my palate.

Canned tomatoes are so much cheaper than pre-made sauce and just as easy to use. Not to mention they create a nice, light sauce that’s still flavorful without being overbearing. Those of you whose pasta is invisible under the mountains of red—you know who you are. Feel ashamed.

Sometimes I want to put a spoon in a jar of sauce and hand it to these people (I have them in my life, and I do judge).

But I digress. Try this, please pretty please?

Spicy Veggie Pasta:

½ lb rotini pasta (shells would also be lovely, I think)
½ small yellow onion
1 zucchini
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp basil flakes
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup chicken stock
½ tbsp red pepper flakes
Salt to taste

Cook pasta per package directions. In a medium pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil OR coat pan with olive oil cooking spray. Add onions and allow to cook for 1 minute. Then add your zucchini and garlic; cook for 3 minutes. Add in mushrooms last and cook until mushrooms are soft and brown, about 4 more minutes.

In the meantime, drain your pasta and set the pot back on medium heat. To this pot add tomatoes, chicken stock (white wine or vegetable stock might substitute), basil, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. When the vegetables are done, add them to the sauce and mix well. Allow sauce to heat through; about 4 minutes. Add pasta to sauce, season with salt, and serve. Top with parmesan cheese.

Serves 3.

--Jirafa

Savory Throw-Together

I am ashamed. This being my favorite comfort food, I have no real name for it. I called it “Persian Goulash” before I found out that goulash is more of a stew/soup. It has a Persian name but I can’t remember it and even if I could, I probably couldn’t pronounce it or spell it.

So for now it’s a “throw-together” and it’s the best throw-together in the world.

It’s delightfully Americanized and can be made with four basic ingredients, two of which come from CANS. And no, I’m not ashamed to say I prefer canned green beans in this dish. I do not prefer canned green beans as a rule, but they work well here.


What makes this meal so great is that is has all those delicious savory components mingling together over plain rice. The rice soaks up all of the flavors and makes everyone happy. Mostly me.

Just be liberal with the seasonings because you’ve got very plain potatoes that need love and also rice that will cut the flavor if it seems too strong.

Savory Throw-Together:
½ lb ground beef
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 14.5 oz can cut green beans
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
3 tbsp saffron-infused water
3-4 tbsp lemon juice (just squeeze/pour away *coughcough*)
1 tsp black pepper
Lots of salt

Brown ground beef over medium-high heat, set aside. Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook potatoes until tender, mixing occasionally. You want a nice brown crust over them without burning them before they have time to soften. This can take 6-10 minutes depending on how large the cubes are.

Once the potatoes are tender, return ground beef to pan along with green beans, tomatoes, saffron, lemon juice, pepper, and salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes more until all items are heated through and flavorful.

Serve over Basmati or similar long-grain rice!

Serves 4-5. (Really good leftovers, and I hate leftovers so trust me)

--Jirafa

Stuffed Shells (Or, The Only Food With Mystery Filling You WANT To Eat)

I’ll be the first to admit I have an obsession with stuffed pasta. It’s the novelty of it really. “Oh hey there pasta, let me cut you open. *GASP* What is this glorious surprise you have here for me?”

Well, that’s the idea. I imagine the people who eat my stuffed pasta think that since I spoil the surprise for myself by being the relatively unimportant figure behind the meal. *cough*

And they’re so easy to make I’m appalled that I don’t make stuffed shells more often!

Step 1: Glorious fiery bubbling sauce



Step 2: Messily stuffed ricotta-romano joy shells


Step 3: Cue Spice Girls: “When 2 become 1~~~~~” (+ cheese :D)


Step 4: Melty cheesy happy pasta goodness



Stuffed Shells:

Sauce:
1 zucchini, cubed
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ onion, chopped finely
½ lb ground beef
1 cup olives, diced
24 oz tomato sauce (jarred pasta sauce works fine, too)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp basil
Salt and pepper
(The spice measurements are all relative, as you have to adjust it to your own tastes, really)

Filling:
1 cup spinach leaves, chopped
½ cup parsley leaves, chopped
24 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper
¾ cup Romano cheese

1 box conchiglie (AKA super huge shell pasta)
1 ½ cups mozzarella and cheddar cheese, grated

Brown ground beef in a large pan; transfer to small bowl and set aside. Add 1 tbsp of oil to pan over medium-high heat. Toss in zucchini, garlic, mushrooms, and onion and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add olives, beef, tomato sauce, and spices. Stir well and simmer for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat.

Boil pasta as directed.

Mix all filling items together. Fill pasta shells with about 1 tbsp filling each. (Warning: pasta shells will be very hot so run them under cold water before handling!)
Line pasta shells in a 9x13 baking dish; cover with sauce. Sprinkle grated cheese over top and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with salad!

Serves 6-8.

--Jirafa

Fettuccine Experiments #1--Mushroom Chicken Fettuccine

I’ve started falling in love with fettuccine pasta. That and Target sells whipping cream in tall plastic bottles.

This recipe is basically me pulling a good old-fashioned “by-the-seat-of-my-pants” meal and creating something sinfully delicious.

And oddly enough, there’s no sugar. Could it be that there is sin sans sugar?

Fine, No Sin Sans Sugar (Or Whipping Cream). All better.



Mushroom Chicken Fettuccine:

½ lb fettuccine pasta
2 thinly-sliced chicken breasts (or 1 large), cut into chunks
½ onion, diced
1 ½ cups mushrooms, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup tomato/pasta sauce
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
½ tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil pasta according to package directions.

In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-heat. Fry garlic, chicken, mushrooms, and onion until chicken is cooked through (about 3 minutes). Add in the remaining ingredients, stirring thoroughly. Heat another 2-3 minutes.

Either mix cooked fettuccine into sauce or serve fettuccine in bowls, topped with sauce.

Serves 2-3.

--Jirafa

Chicken Spinach Pizza

It seems to be a spinach week. Now, without any attempt at transitioning, here’s a story. Sometimes I tell myself, “I love you.” Well tonight, I needed to prove this love to myself.

So I made pizza.

Really good pizza.




I got all my little ingredients on there, happy and willing to transcend their boring, lonely lives into something fun and delicious! And they were all so snug and I thought, this looks great. But what could really make this fabulous? I need to show that love.

I know, chicken.



It’s all about the love. <3

Chicken Spinach Pizza

1 personal-sized Boboli whole wheat pizza crust
¼ cup tomato sauce (more if you like saucy pizza, just keep it away from your relatives)
½ cup mixed mozzarella and cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup baby spinach
1/3 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 thinly-sliced chicken breast, sliced into strips and coated with salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Arrange pizza to preference. I like to do sauce, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and chicken lastly. But be wild. Mix it up. But do keep in mind that the spinach will burn if you leave it too close to the heat. So maybe don’t be too wild.

Pop pizza into oven heated to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

Plate, tell yourself “I love you,” and devour.

Serves one hungry college student.

(By the way, I'm sure it tastes just as fabulous without chicken, for those of you who would like to avoid eating feathered friends)

--Jirafa

Spinach-Ricotta Manicotti

Winter quarter begins tomorrow so I held a farewell winter break luncheon today. Manicotti seemed like the perfect food to have on a chilly day. Yes, what really is better than manicotti, salad, and Torchwood season 1?

Manicotti shells that boiled intact, maybe. Lo and behold, ALL of the shells went into the water whole and came out aldente and like flat tortillas instead of round tubes.

Fine. Manicotti is essentially lasagna enchiladas anyway, no reason to not treat it as such. If this happens to you, fill the pasta, curl it into a tube shape and place it into the pan seam side down. It comes out looking and tasting just the same and it’s really a lot easier to fill this way!



Spinach-Ricotta Manicotti:

1 80z package manicotti pasta
1 ½ cup medium cheddar cheese, grated
1 ½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Sauce:

½ lb lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 24oz can or jar of tomato sauce
1 cup sliced black olives
1 tablespoon basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Ricotta filling:

2 cups fresh baby spinach
15oz ricotta cheese
¾ cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 cup parsley
Salt and pepper

In a medium sauce pan, brown the ground beef on medium-high. Transfer to bowl; cook onions and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Return ground beef to pan, as well as all remaining ingredients. Turn heat down to low; cover and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Boil pasta as directed. While pasta boils, combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Run pasta under cold water, as it will be very hot. Then, using a small spoon (or your fingers, it’s a messy job), fill the manicotti tubes with the spinach-ricotta filling. Line manicotti in a 9x13 glass pan.

Cover manicotti in sauce; finish by covering in both cheeses.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Serves ~6

--Jirafa

Quick and Dirty Tuna Spaghetti

I got the idea for mixing tuna with tomato sauce from my French Éclair, who fed me one weekend while we practiced our Japanese. In truth, I stole the idea. Stole it, ran away, and—okay, I’ll stop.

Some of you are still eating Thanksgiving leftovers.

I’m not quite sure if that makes you lucky or not. I cooked a small dinner for my two roommates. What was your Thanksgiving like? Huge family or close-knit group? Did you eat with friends? Roommates? If you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, did you have a great Thursday? :D

At any rate, leftovers are gone at my place and I was hungry.




Good college fare. And not “good” in the “can be nuked in the microwave” kind of way. I’m still frightened by most microwavable food.



This is me making use of the only leftover vegetable from Thursday. Don’t judge me.

Tuna Spaghetti:

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
6-8oz angel hair or spaghetti pasta
2 cups pasta sauce of choice
1 small can chunk tuna in water
Various spices

Boil pasta according to directions. In the meantime heat 1 tbsp oil in a small frying pan. Add celery and garlic and cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the pasta is al dente, drain and return to the pot. Add cooked celery/garlic, pasta sauce, tuna, and whatever spices you’ve chosen. I find that canned sauces come lightly seasoned so I like to throw in basil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, a dash or two of lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cook until heated through and serve with parmesan cheese.

+This would also be great with some diced onions. Just throw them in with the celery.

-Jirafa

Mama Pita's Pasta Sauce

Mama Pita’s Pasta Sauce



I had a spoiled childhood. I didn’t start eating jarred pasta sauce until college because I learned that 1) some jarred sauces are pretty good when modified and 2) when you want food NOW, there’s no time to make a sauce that takes nearly an hour to cook.

But Mama Pita taught me well and while jarred sauce might work for an I-have-an-essay-due-in-nine-hours-and-I’m-starving kind of occasion, it will never do for such things as lasagna and manicotti. Such food deserves the best sauce I can give it and this is that sauce.



What makes the sauce so savory and good is not only the meat but the vegetables that are snuck in. I ate this for years before realizing that it was good for me. I actually felt a little betrayed when I found that out.



I’ve made some slight modifications to my mother’s recipe and you’re welcome to make changes of your own. This sauce is very forgiving and VERY delicious.

Mama Pita’s Pasta Sauce

1lb lean ground beef
1 zucchini, grated
1 carrot, grated
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 26oz can tomato sauce
1 cup sliced black olives
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large frying pan, brown ground beef over high heat. Drain the fat and lower the heat to medium-high. Add carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, and olives; cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, add the rest of the ingredients and stir thoroughly. Turn the heat down to low and cover. Allow the sauce to simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce begins to look too thick, add a little chicken stock to loosen it up.

Serve overtop of plain pasta, lasagna, manicotti, or stuffed shells.