Marinara Sauce

Marinara is so easy to make.  I truly don't have a recipe to copy here because it changes every time I make it.  The basis is the same, and here's how I do it:

I don't love every vegetable in the grocery store, namely the squash family.  But marinara is a great way to add vegetables to your kids' diets and THEY'LL NEVER KNOW!  Plus, it usually makes a lot and these are cheap ingredients.

I usually add 2 zucchini, a bunch of tomatoes, carrots and celery, onions, bell peppers (roast them and skin them).
You could add a little fennel, spinach, broccoli, etc.  As long as the tomato is the star, it will be indistinguishable which other veggies are included.

I add a variety of spices including salt, black pepper, oregano, basil, marjoram, fennel seed, thyme, parsely, and garlic.

I also add canned tomatoes and tomato paste, plus water, and sometimes a bullion cube.

Cook it all down, toss it in a blender and blend until very smooth.  *a side note: if it is not fully smooth, the texture of the vegetables is too easy to distinguish and it's somewhat gritty and unpleasant. So blend well.
I usually put it back on the stove to cook further, adjusting some spices and adding fresh herbs and sometimes a few chunks of canned tomato reserved from the can.  Sometimes I add greek yogurt or neufchatel to make it slightly creamy.

Use this as a base for soup, jar it, or freeze for future uses.  Turn it into a vodka cream sauce and serve with penne for dinner one night.  Add into chili-seasoned beans and beef and serve as chili.  Use as base for tortilla soup, adding cilantro, jalapenos, and cumin.  Make meatballs and use their cooking juices to flavor the marinara.  Marinara is so versatile!  Have fun with it.

Spaghetti with spinach and sundried tomatoes

Simple and delicious!

Cook spaghetti and drain.  Save some of the pasta water and set aside.

In the hot pan, toss spaghetti with olive oil, sundried tomatoes, and LOTS of baby spinach until wilted.  Add in some pasta water and a handful of grated cheese to help bind the sauce.

You're done!  Serve with crusty bread and olive oil/balsamic vinegar or a salad.

Penne Porcini

One of my favorites!

I can only seem to find dried porcini mushrooms but that's perfect for this dish because the broth is the main flavoring.

Fact: I don't like mushrooms
Fact: I still cook with them sometimes

Ingredients:
3 oz dried porcini mushrooms
penne pasta
4 cups water
1/4-1/2 c. heavy cream
salt, pepper
tarragon
marsala wine
grated cheese (parm reg, romano, or pecorino is great)
beef broth (or veg if you're going vegetarian)
corn starch

Prepare:
Heat water until near boiling point (I usually use a microwaveable container for this)
Toss in mushrooms and let soak 20 minutes or more (covered with plastic wrap or lid.. to keep steam in)
Once mushrooms are rehydrated, squeeze them out and finely dice or mince them.  I prefer not to have too many pieces each dish, so I only use about an ounce of minced porcini in the actual cooking of the dish.  If you like mushrooms, go ahead and put in the whole 3 ounces.

Cook pasta

Strain the mushroom liquid into a saucepan, add the minced porcini and bring to a simmer
Add pinch of salt, pepper, and about 1 tsp of marsala
Simmer until reduced by half
Add heavy cream until sauce is light brown in color
Add 1 tsp tarragon
Add 1/4 cup grated cheese
Add salt and pepper to taste
Add corn starch slurry (corn starch and water)
Simmer until sauce is thick
(if you reduce the sauce too much, add beef broth or vegetable broth, unless you saved some extra mushroom broth just in case!)

Toss strained pasta into sauce to coat

Garnish with grated cheese and voile! A fabulous recipe created by yours truly from a dish I had as a kid.  So great with garlic bread!

Note: if you are cooking for more than two or three people, you may need to use more broth/mushrooms to create the bold flavor.  Or, you can add beef or vegetable broth in the simmering process.

Chinese (chicken) noodle salad

This is one of my favorites.  My mom first made it when I was in 6th grade for an "international day" at school.  It was a huge hit.  I forgot about it for years but in college she brought up this dish and I could not wait to try it out.

I often make a whole pound of it and it will last us a few days.  It works best with angel hair pasta in my opinion.

Recipe:
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tbl mirin (if you don't have it just skip it or use a tad more sugar)
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp-1 tbsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1-2 cans chopped or sliced water chestnuts
1 cup (or so) snow peas, sliced
1 cup diced chicken
1 lb angel hair pasta
crushed peanuts and scallions to garnish

*boil pasta. While that is cooking, mix all ingredients (except peas, water chestnuts, chicken, peanuts and scallions) together and put in fridge. Once pasta is done, drain and cool. 
Blanch snow peas in hot water until bright green (about 1 minute)
Cook chicken however you like (bake, sautee, etc) and let it cool (best is to have it cooked ahead of time and waiting in the fridge

Mix cool pasta with sauce, peas, chestnuts, and chicken. It's best to cool it for a while (it's a cold dish) but if you can't wait, top with scallions and peanuts and dig in!
*the sauce quickly settles to the bottom, so mix frequently and before serving.

please note- I used thin spaghetti for this photo because I did not have angel hair

I have not been making this with chicken, so I just leave it out or add more snow peas.  I hope you try this one!  It's great for next-day lunch.