Jen's Manicotti

Thanks Jen!

Time involved: 30 minutes Serves: 4 Total Cost: Around $20.00

*Manicotti noodles (not oven ready)
*Low-fat skim Mozzarella cheese (2 bags)
*Low-fat Ricotta Cheese (small container)
*Low-fat Cottage Cheese (small container)
*Basil (I prefer fresh, but dried works good as well)
*Jar of your favorite pasta sauce
*Grated Parmesan Cheese


Spray cooking dish with non-stick cooking spray. (Crisco Olive Oil is good)
Cook pasta, drain, and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
While the pasta is cooling, mix your filling.
Stir together:
3 c Mozzarella cheese
1 c Ricotta cheese
1 c Cottage cheese
6 tbsp Basil

Preheat oven to 350.
Spoon 2 c sauce into baking dish.
Using a teaspoon, spoon filling into the pasta.
Place pasta into dish.
Pour remaining sauce over pasta.
Sprinkle remaining Mozzarella on top.
Bake 15 minutes.
Remove and add Parmesan cheese.
Bake another 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Mara’s Shrimp Alfredo

*Shrimp, peeled and de-veined
*Olive oil
*Garlic, three cloves crushed
*Red onion, chopped (about half a small-sized onion)
*Orange (or lemon)
*Dry white wine (or Sherry)
*Heavy cream
*Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
*Fresh basil
*Salt & Pepper

Put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Once the pan is nice and hot, add garlic, onions and shrimp.

Cook, constantly stirring until onion and garlic browns slightly.

Throw in a splash of white wine to deglaze pan.

Cook until shrimp are almost cooked, and deglaze the pan again with a squeeze of juice from the orange.

Let get hot again and add cream to pan.

Stir in cheese until sauce is thick, but not gooey.

Top with fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste.

Angelic Crab Pasta

*2 sticks of butter
*olive oil
*crab meat (fresh is best, but whatever is good)
*1 lb fresh angel hair pasta (you can find it in your grocer's fridge)
*grape tomatoes, halved
*1 block of frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
*nutmeg
*pine nuts (buy the cheap raw ones in the ethnic aisle and toast them yourself in a skillet with a little butter and olive oil)
*1 clove of elephant garlic (or 2 or 3 regular ones)

Melt a half a stick of butter and about a half cup of olive oil in a skillet

Add the garlic and saute until brown, on medium high heat

Add the spinach and a few dashes of nutmeg. Always add nutmeg to your spinach. Always.

Trust me

Throw in the other half a stick of butter and a few more tablespoons of olive oil.

After your pasta is cooked, toss it with a stick of butter and about a half cup of olive oil.

Toss this with your spinach

Top with crab, tomatoes, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese.

Call 911.

You might kill someone with this.

Talk to your doctor before eating this.

Even if you don't end up with a cardio vascular problem, you might die from sheer bliss. Of course you can modify the amount of butter and olive oil, but this is the way that it tastes best.

Spaghetti With Spicy Cherry Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella and Basil

* 1 pound spaghetti
* 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 2 large cloves garlic, minced 1 to 2 small fresh red chiles, such as Thai chiles, minced
* 1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
* Kosher or sea salt
* 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped
* 1 dozen kalamata olives, pitted and halved
* Approximately 1 dozen fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
* 3/4 pound fresh whole-milk mozzarella, at room temperature, in 1/2-inch cubes

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes.

2. While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce.

3. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and saute until lightly colored.

4. Add the chiles and saute briefly to release their heat, then add the cherry tomatoes and salt to taste. Raise the heat to moderately high and cook at a brisk simmer, stirring, until the cherry tomatoes begin to soften and release their juices; do not let them collapse completely. Stir in the capers, olives and basil. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep warm over low heat.

5. Drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot over low heat. Add the sauce and toss to coat. Remove from the heat, add the mozzarella, and toss vigorously. Divide among warm bowls and serve immediately.

Per serving: 630 calories, 22 g protein, 68 g carbohydrate, 30 g fat (10 g saturated), 44 mg cholesterol, 452 mg sodium, 7 g fiber

Pasta with Aglio y Olio

Don't worry, when ordering just say A.E.O. We'll know what you mean, cuz.

*some garlic, chopped
*some fresh basil, cut into strips
*some fresh ground black pepper
*some olive oil
*some pasta from the back of the cupboard
*some grated cheese
*some of whatever else you want in there

Put some oil in the skillet and heat

Add some chopped garlic and brown

And then the basil

Toss cooked pasta with olive oil until covered, then throw in the garlic and basil mix.

If you have a can of stewed tomatoes, drain them and put those in there. Leftover seafood from last night? That goes. Squeeze some lemon in there if you like that. Tuna? Okay. Chicken? If that's what the kid likes. Bell peppers are always good. Sausage? Go ahead fatty. That is probably good in there too.

Penne di Parma

*1 box of dried penne
*4 tbsps of butter
*4 cloves of garlic or 2-3 cloves of Elephant garlic if you can get it. That is the giant cloves of garlic next to the regular ones at the store
*3 cups of thinly sliced fresh mushrooms
*4 oz/ 1 1/2 cups of prosciutto, thinly sliced. If you can't get this where you live, any smoked ham will do
*2 cups milk
*1 cup light cream
*1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
*1/2 cup parsley

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the garlic and mushrooms

Cook 3 minutes or until the shrooms are tender, stirring frequently.

Add milk, ham, and cream, and boil

Reduce heat to medium, simmer uncovered until mixture is reduced by half, about 6 minutes

Remove the sauce from the heat and add some Parmesan cheese and parsley. Toss with the cooked pasta and sprinkle with the remaining ham

Penne Rosa

*16 oz dried Penne pasta
*2 tbsps butter
*2 tbsps minced garlic (if you can get Elephant garlic, please do. They are the really big garlic bulbs next to the little ones at the store)
*2 cans diced tomatoes, drained with the liquid reserved
*1 tsp dried basil
*1 1/3 cup heavy cream
*2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, fresh if you've got it, Kraft is good too
*Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta while you melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat

Add the garlic, and cook for a minute- don't brown the garlic!

Add tomatoes with 1/4 cup tomato liquid, basil, salt, and pepper then heat it to boiling

Reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes or until most of the liquid is reduced.

Add the cream and heat until thickened, about a minute

Toss the pasta and sauce, and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Feeling naughty? Throw three or four tablespoons of vodka in when you add the cream.

Serve with bruchetta, lots of wine, Peroni, and after dinner mints. Sleep with gum in your mouth and brush your teeth immediately upon waking up.