Clams Casino Linguine

I honestly don't really care much for clams...their texture is a little off-putting. I don't care much for Clam Chowder either...so why would I want to make a clam pasta?! I have no idea...it just sort of sounded good. I know, strange :-)

I found a recipe on How Sweet It Is, which is a great food blog. I changed it ever so slightly b/c I don't care much for cooked peppers. It turned out quite delicious and pretty healthy...no cream, small amt of butter, and some cheese. I used whole wheat noodles to pump up the fiber. You could substitue turkey bacon if you'd like to cut down calories. Anyway, here is the recipe. It was fresh and light (and pretty inexpensive)!!

Ingredients

1 shallot. minced
3 cloves of garlice, minced
1 T olive or grapeseed oil
2 cans (6.5oz) clams, including their juice
1/2 cup white wine
2 T butter
3 strips of bacon
1/2 pound whole wheat linguine
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Boil water (add salt to flavor water). Add pasta and cook until al dente. Meanwhile cut bacon into small pieces and cook until crisp. Drain of paper towel. In a seperate pan, saute onion and garlic over medium heat until soft...be careful not to burn the garlic...it will taste very bitter and you'll have to start over. Add wine, both cans of clams with juice. Simmer for 5 min. Add butter, parmesan cheese, cooked pasta, cooked bacon, and parsley. Let flavors combine for 1-2 minutes. TASTE...season with salt and pepper if needed. Top with freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese...use the grated if thats what you have. ENJOY!!!

Pizza Pasta

I'm always trying to make healthy meals for my family that they love. Its not an easy task...especially with a picky toddler and a picky husband! Everyone loves pizza, right?! I decided to make a pizza pasta using whole wheat noodles, low sugar tomato sauce, mushrooms, low fat mozzarella cheese, and turkey pepperoni. You can add any vegetable or any meat...I chose turkey pepperoni to keep calories down. It turned out really good and was very easy!!

1/2 pound whole wheat pasta of your choice, cooked al dente
1/2 cup heart healthy tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
1 jar mushrooms
20 turkey pepperonis, quartered
Italian seasoning

Cook pasta. Drain. In separate bowl, mix tomato sauce, half of cheese, mushrooms (and any other vegetables), half of pepperonis, and salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta. Pour into a greased 8X8 baking dish. Top with remaining pepperonis and cheese...sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Cover and bake on 375 for 30 min...remove foil and bake until cheese is golden brown. You can adjust ingredients to double recipe or to your taste. Enjoy!!!

Caprese Pasta with Grilled Chicken

Here's another great recipe from How Sweet It Is...Its just delicious!!! I love caprese salads so when I saw a pasta dish with the same name....OH YEAH!!! And I even used whole wheat noodles and tomatoes from my garden. 


Ingredients

1 pound whole wheat pasta (noodles such as penne work best)

1 cup of your favorite pasta/tomato sauce

1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes

1 pint of grape tomatoes (I cut some in half and left some whole)

1 bunch of fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil water and cook pasta according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat tomato sauce over low heat in a large saucepan. Once warm, stir in heavy cream and grated parmesan. Once pasta is done cooking, drain and dump into the sauce, mixing to coat and turning off heat. Fold in mozzarella cubes and tomatoes, then chop 3-4 fresh basil leaves and add them in too. Once combined, spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the entire pasta mixture into the dish. Top with fresh mozzarella rounds. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Top with additional fresh basil and grated cheese. Serve with garlic bread. You can also add in chicken, steak or seafood for some protein.

Bayou Pasta

Pasta is one of my favorite meals to eat; however, I really try to limit my pasta intake due to the enormous amount of carbs. The original recipe came from All You magazine and uses regular white pasta but I use whole wheat. This is an quick meal to throw together and doesn't cost much. Total cost is about $10. Serve with a little side salad. I'm actually making this tonight and can't wait!!!

Ingredients

12 oz penne

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 1/2 Cups half and half

1/2 Cup grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 Tbsp Cajun spice blend

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

2 tsp vegetable oil
2 firm ripe Roma tomatoes, cored and diced


Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook penne according to package directions.
Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour; stir for 1 minute. Add half and half; stir until thickened, 6 minutes. Remove from heat; add Parmesan, salt and pepper. Cover.
Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound with a rolling pin to 1/2 inch thickness. Rub Cajun spice and cayenne, if using, evenly over chicken. Warm oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until no longer pink in center, 6 to 8 minutes. Slice chicken.
In a bowl, toss pasta with sauce. Top with chicken and tomatoes and serve.