Tag: pasta

American Chop Suey

American Chop Suey is Meghan’s comfort food.  It’s quick to cook so I can generally make it on short notice, when I know she’s had a really bad day.

The instructions below are meant for multi-tasking and making everything come together at the right time — an expression of an unplanned dinner made on short notice.  🙂

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of small-shape pasta (elbows, mini-shells, or rotini are all good)
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  • 2-5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 15 oz or so, depends on how saucy you like it
  • 1 or 2 cups shredded mozzarella
  • olive oil

You’ll also need a large skillet and a 9×13 glass pan to go in the oven.

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Put on a pot of water to boil, and put on a large skillet on the stove with medium-low heat
  3. Dice onion and pepper
  4. When the water is very close to boiling, turn up the skillet to medium heat, add some oil, and throw in the onions and peppers
  5. When the water boils, add the hamburger to the skillet and brown it with the onions and peppers
  6. Put the pasta in the water and cook to al dente; strain.  If the meat isn’t done yet, toss with a little oil to keep it from sticking.
  7. When the meat is brown, drain off the fat and mix in the jar of sauce.  Put back on medium heat until the sauce starts to bubble.
  8. Pour the cooked pasta into the 9×13 pan, and stir in the meat sauce.
  9. Sprinkle (or if you’re like me, shovel) the cheese on top, cover with foil, and cook at 350° for 20 minutes

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

  • 24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (about one 12 oz box)
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
  • 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • ½ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese or cheddar cheese

Toppings:

  • 8 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
  • 8 tablespoons salsa
  • ¼ cup sliced black olives
  • ¼ cup sliced green onions

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Cook pasta shells according to package directions; drain.
  3. Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
  4. Stir in salsa, tomato sauce, corn, and beans.
  5. Spoon beef mixture into pasta shells and place in a 13×9 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.
  6. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Top with sour cream, salsa,, olives, and onions.

Original recipe page

Pasta Twists with Broccoli Sauce

From http://www.momswhothink.com/quick-and-easy-dinner-recipes/pasta-twists-with-broccoli-sauce.html

Ingredients

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 medium stalks broccoli
  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • ¾ pound pasta twists (about 4½ cups)
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • ¾ teaspoon oregano
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  2. Finely chop the garlic and onion.
  3. Separate the broccoli tops from the stems, cut the stems and tops into bite-size pieces. Coarsely chop the red bell pepper.
  4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, or according to package directions.
  5. While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, warm of 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
  6. Add the garlic onion mixture and stir-fry until browned, about 5 minutes.
  7. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the broccoli tops and stems, the bell pepper, oregano, salt, and black pepper.
  8. Stir fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
  9. Add the heavy cream and Parmesan and bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat.
  10. Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
  11. Drain the pasta and toss with the vegetables and sauce. Serve with warm Italian bread.