Bring on the Pasta for a Quick and Easy Meal! How About Spaghetti Bolognese or Tomato Basil Linguine

By Linda Carol Wilson

Pasta is a great standby for quick and easy meals. If you want to add some variety to the pasta dishes you usually turn to, try these recipes for a tasty Spaghetti Bolognese or a Linguine topped with Fresh Tomato and Basil! Your family with love this Spaghetti Bolognese recipe. It is quick, easy, and family friendly. Using the whole-wheat or whole-grain spaghetti give this dish a healthy touch by adding more fiber to your family's diet. It is practically sugar-free, contains meat, vegetables, grain, and a touch of dairy with the grated Parmesan. Add a tossed salad or steamed broccoli for a healthy meal. For a lighter pasta dish, try the Fresh Tomato and Basil Linguine. It is so good and it is guilt-free! Now that is a real deal!!

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (15-oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8-oz) tomato sauce
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
8-oz thin whole-wheat spaghetti
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat cook the ground beef and onion until the beef is crumbled and browned; drain well in a colander. Wipe skillet out with a paper towel and return beef and onion to the pan. Stir in the undrained tomatoes and the tomato sauce. Add the bay leaves, Italian seasoning and the Worcestershire sauce. Cover skillet and simmer about 25 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves before serving. If you want to serve a crusty whole-grain bread with your pasta, try serving it with the Bread Dipping Sauce at the end of this article. One tasty family meal coming up!

Meanwhile cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.

To serve, spoon the sauce over the hot spaghetti and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.

Yield: 4 servings

FRESH TOMATO AND BASIL LINGUINE
8-oz uncooked linguine
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup fresh basil that's chopped fine
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook the linguine according to the package directions.

While linguine cooks, mix the tomatoes, olive oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the cooked and drained linguine and the Parmesan cheeses to the tomato mixture and toss to coat.
Serve immediately while linguine is hot.

Yield: 4 1-cup servings.

BREAD DIPPING SAUCE
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper to suit taste
Crusty bread

Yield: 1 serving
For more servings, multiply the ingredients by the number of servings needed.

Enjoy!

For more of Linda's quick and easy recipes visit http://grandmasquickfixrecipes.blogspot.com
For her slow cooker and crockpot meals visit http://grandmasslowcookerrecipes.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Carol_Wilson

Cooking Pasta Made Easy

By Dragutin Filipcic

Now that we have covered some of the more time-consuming aspects of pasta, like making pasta from scratch, let's move on to more familiar territory. Have you ever noticed how big the pasta aisle at the super market is? It's because pasta is a quick meal that can be tailored to fit any tastes, no matter how sophisticated or how picky. Dry pasta can be used to make hot or cold meals. It stores well and doesn't lose its flavor. There are even some excellent jarred sauces that make preparation even quicker. The following dishes use dry pasta and some prepackaged ingredients for the sake of expediency.

Baked pasta dishes are great for a crowd or for leftovers the next day. Dinner that can also feed everyone lunch the next day? Perfect! This version of baked ziti uses store-bought pesto, but this can easily be made fresh if you prefer.

Baked Ziti

1 package Hot Italian Sausages, casings removed

4 cloves Garlic, diced

1 large White Onion, diced

1/2 of a package Pesto, the kind found in the refrigerated section works well here

1 28 ounce can Tomatoes, diced and peeled

1 package Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and drained

8 ounces Mozzarella cheese diced into cubes

1 cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated

3 cups cooked Ziti or Penne Pasta

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 inch Pyrex pan.

Sauté sausage, garlic and onions until slightly browned. Add Pesto and diced tomatoes. Allow this mixture to simmer on low for 30 to 40 minutes.

In a bowl combine, spinach, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Add the Ziti to the spinach mixture. Combine Ziti and tomato mixture. Mix thoroughly and pour into greased pan. Cover with foil and bake Ziti mixture for 30-40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the top is slightly browned.

The spinach and sausage in this dish make it extremely tasty, and the cheese gives it a satisfying creaminess.

An Easier Pasta Dish

For an even easier dish cook the Ziti or Penne and let it cool slightly. To this add your choice of chopped olives, chopped pepperoni, cubed mozzarella and chopped roasted red peppers (these can be found jarred in the pickle section of your supermarket). Dress this with Italian dressing. Allow to sit 30 minutes before serving. This is a great dish to serve on hot days or as a side dish. It can be modified a million different ways by adding fresh produce or different kinds of cheese.

A good place to find easy pasta dishes is on the box of dry pasta itself. Depending on the type of noodle you will find hundreds of recipes this way.

You will find more on Making pasta site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dragutin_Filipcic

Losing Weight With Shirataki Noodles

By Tricia Mowatt

Pasta is a key ingredient in many world renowned dishes. While this has led to a variety of flavorful dishes, it has also led to the food becoming tainted by manufacturers. This once healthy ingredient has now largely grown to contain high levels of carbohydrates, MSGs, sugar, calories, fat and even gluten. These new ingredients are well-known to cause severe health problems and prevent weight loss. For this reason, losing weight with Shirataki noodles has become a popular choice.

Health enthusiasts have begun to remove all traces of pasta from their meals. However, a new trend is helping to change that. Shirataki noodles are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to conventional pasta. This food, in its unaltered state, contains none of the harmful ingredients mentioned above but makes the perfect addition to almost any dish. Even noodles created out of tofu contains only 40 calories in each serving (compare that to over 200 in conventional pasta noodles). This is why losing weight with Shirataki noodles is an easy and tasty endeavor.

But the weight loss benefits of Shirataki noodles continue even further, as there are more reasons why losing weight with these noodles is a healthy choice. What this super food lacks in fattening ingredients it makes up for in its essential vitamins and nutrients. Fiber, which is found in this food, is well-known for its health benefits. From lowering cholesterol to helping prevent certain types of cancer, fiber is an important supplement that is available in abundance with each serving of these noodles. It's also known for helping you feel full for a longer period of time, a key aspect of losing weight with this super food. Other important ingredients are also included, and both the taste and health benefits of these noodles can be enhanced by preparing them with vegetables. After all, losing weight with Shirataki noodles is about more than just reducing your pant size; it should also promote your overall health.

Of course, as with any healthy dish, it's important not to consume too many noodles in a short period of time. Consuming an overabundance of fiber can actually lead your digestive system to use more energy than it should. This is because excessive amounts of fiber are difficult to digest and may even be pushed through before the noodles have been broken down. Although losing weight with Shirataki noodles is a great way to get in shape, you should hold off if you find pieces of noodles in your waste.

You can find plenty of additional information about losing weight with Shirataki noodles by visiting Shirataki Noodle Facts. Tricia Mowatt, the administrator of this helpful blog, has conducted extensive research regarding the subject.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tricia_Mowatt