Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:
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5 Lasagna Noodles
1 handful Spinach
1 cup sliced mushroom
Tomato sauce( i use Ragu 7 herbs )
white sauce(recipe below)
Roughly 2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp italian seasonng
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 cup onion
1 Loaf pan

Method:
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Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.

For the White Sauce or Bechamel:
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Ingredients:
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2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups milk Heated
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
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In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until blended, 1 minute.Add the bay leaf.
Gradually add the Heated milk, whisking constantly.
Reduce the heat to low and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt,white pepper and Nutmeg.Discard the bay leaf and add parmesan cheese.Keep aside

Saute Vegetables:
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Heat a pan,Add EVOO,when hot add chopped garlic,onion,Mushroom and spinach.Saute for 2 mins.Add chopped parsley and italian seasoning.season with salt and pepper.Keep aside.

Lasgna Assembly:
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I use a loaf pan for making this recipe.Serves 2
Pour a thin layer of tomato mixture into the loaf pan.

Top with a layer of lasagna noodles placed side-by-side. Add a layer of sauted vegetables; sprinkle some of the mozzarella cheese over the vegetables.Top with a layer white sauce.

Add another layer of lasagna, more tomato sauce, another layer of Vegetables, mozzarella cheese, and white sauce; Continue building the lasagna, alternating layers of noodle, red sauce,Vegetables,cheese,white sauce until all the noodles are covered. End the lasagna on a layer of red sauce and top it off with the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes until the noodles are tender and the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes to let the lasagna set. Cut with serated knife.Serve.

Spinach Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 slice(1 oz)soft multi grain sandwich bread
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups 1 % low fat milk
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp minced garlic
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
4 oz fontina cheese,shredded
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp kosher salt and cayenne pepper
8 oz penne reigate pasta 1 (60z) bag baby spinach leaves

Method:
Heat oven to 350 degree F.Arrage four inividual 2-cup ovenproof glass bowls on a baking sheet.(you cn also cook the whole recipe in a 9-inch square baking dish).Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil.

Meanwhile pulse bread in a food processor until fine crumbs form.Melt butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat;add breadcrumbs and cook,stirring often,for 3 minutes or until golden brown and toasted.Transfer breadcrumbs to a small bowl and stir in 2 tbsp of the parmesan.

Wipesaucepan clean.add milk,flour,and garlic and whisk until blended.Then, whisking frequently,bring to a boil over medium high heeat.Redue heat and simmer for 3 mins or until thickened.Remove from heat and stir the remaining parmesan,cheddar,fontina,mustard,salt and cayenne pepper until cheese is melted and sauce smooth.Cover,keep warm.

Cook pasta in boiling water,2 mins less than the recommended cooking time or until very al dente.Add spinach to pot and stir until wilted.Drain pasta mixture in a colander,rinse under cold water,and drain again.Transfer to a large bowl;stir in warm cheese sauce.Spoon into ovenproof dishes.Sprinkle tops evenly with the crumb mixture.Bake until tops are golden and sauce is bubbling,about 25 to 30 mins.

Pasta with White Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

2 lbs cooked pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Method:
1 Melt butter over low heat in wide sauce pan, or deep skillet.
2 Stir in flour and mix with a wooden spoon until blended.
3 Slowly add milk to pan, careful not to burn it.
4 When milk is fully intergrated into rue, increase heat and reduce for 10 minutes, stir often to prevent burn.
5 If sauce too thick, add more milk.
6 If too thin, add more flour.
7 Add salt and pepper to taste.
8 Pour over warmed buttered pasta, and cover with cheese.
9 Serve immediatlly.

Tip:for richer taste you can use 1/4 cup Broth and 3 tbsp halfnhalf instead of milk.

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients

32 jumbo pasta shells
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fennel seed
2 teaspoons dried basil
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
3 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, gently place pasta shells in boiling water; bring water back to boil. Cook until noodles are just tender; drain well.
Squeeze spinach dry. Combine spinach, ricotta, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, fennel, basil and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper; mix well.
Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Fill each pasta shell with the spinach cheese mixture. Arrange the shells, filling side up in the baking dish. Spoon remaining marinara sauce over the shells. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on top of the shells.
Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven until heated through; about 30 minutes.

Creamy Alfredo Parmesan

Chickpea and Tomato Penne Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 pound penne pasta or whole wheat penne
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, a couple of healthy pinches
• Black pepper
• 1 can, 14- to 18-ounce, chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 can, 28-ounce, Italian crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, a handful, chopped
• Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, to pass at table

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

Meanwhile, heat EVOO, 3 turns of the pan, in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, rosemary, red pepper, salt and black pepper. Cook 7-8 minutes until very tender.

Pulse-process the chickpeas in a food processor to fine chop them. Add the chickpeas to the onions and garlic, add tomato paste and stir to combine for 1 minute then stir in the chicken stock and crushed or puréed tomatoes. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.

Toss al dente pasta together with sauce and serve in shallow bowls. Top with parsley and lots of grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:
6 ounces uncooked fettucine
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts,cubed
1 small onion chopped
4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp butter
4-1/2 all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups half n half
1 cup frozen peas thawed
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method:
Cook fettuccine according to package directions .Meanwhile,in a large skillet,saute the chicken,onion,garlic,salt and cayenne in butter until chicken in no longer pink.stir in flour until blended.
Gradually add the half n half,peas and cheese.Bring to a boil;cook and stir for 1-2 mins or until thickened.Drain fettuccine;toss with chicken mixture.

Garden-Fresh Fettuccine

Ingredients:
1 package fettuccine
1 large zucchini,julienned
2 medium green peppers or sweet red peppers,
cut into strips
2 medium onions chopped
5 garlic cloves,minced
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
4 medium tomatoes,peeled,seeded and chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Method:
Cook fettuccine according to package directions.Meanwhile, in a large skillet,saute zucchini,peppers,onions and garlic in oil until tender.
Add the tomatoes,salt ,pepper and pepper flakes;saute 4-5 mins longer.drain pasta;add vegetable mixture and toss to coat.sprinkle with cheese.

Spinach pesto pasta

Ingredients

* Salt
* 1 pound penne rigate pasta
* 4 cups (packed) baby spinach, divided
* 1/4 cup shelled pistachios or whole almonds, toasted
* 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
* A few grates fresh nutmeg
* Zest of 1 lemon, juice of 1/2
* Ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* 1 pound fresh or frozen artichoke hearts (defrosted, if frozen)
* 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

Preparation

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil. When the water reaches a bubble, salt it and drop the pasta.Cook just shy of al dente according to package directions.
Just before draining, reserve a large mugful of the starchy cooking water. Drain pasta and reserve.

While the pasta is cooking, combine half of the spinach, the nuts, stock, Parmigiano Reggiano, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice, some salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the machine to chop everything up then stream in about 1/4 cup EVOO (eyeball it) with the machine running. Reserve.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the artichokes and garlic to the pan, and cook until slightly golden. Add the wine and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes.

Add the pasta, pesto, reserved cooking water (about 1 cup) and remaining spinach to the pan and toss to combine and wilt the spinach, 2-3 minutes. Serve warm with an extra sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Fettuccine alfredo Veg pasta

ASPARAGUS:

Only the young shoots of asparagus are eaten.

Asparagus is low in calories, contains no cholesterol, and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of folic acid, potassium, dietary fiber, and rutin. Nutrition studies have shown that asparagus is a low-calorie source of folate and potassium. Its stalks are high in antioxidants. Folate is also critical for pregnant mothers, since it protects against neural tube defects in babies. Several studies indicate that getting plenty of potassium may reduce the loss of calcium from the body.Particularly green asparagus is a good source of vitamin C, packing in six times more than those found in citrus fruits.

INGREDIENTS

• 24 ounces dry fettuccini pasta
• Veg (i used asparagus,mushroom,Broccoli ,carrot,spinach)
  
• Basil
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• Alfredo Parmesan Sauce.
  
• 1/2 small onion chopped
• crushed garlic-2
• olive oil
  

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccini and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until done; drain.
Steam vegetables and set aside.
In a large saucepan, pour some olive oil. Add chopped onion ,garlic, salt, pepper .saute until onion turns soft.add steamed veggies.Add the alfredo sauce and pasta .Garnish with chopped basil leaves. Use enough of the pasta so that all of the sauce is used and the pasta is thoroughly coated. Serve immediately.

Veg Pasta

Ingredients:-

Vegetable of your choice-2 cups(I used a combination of Broccoli, Carrot, Celery, Mushroom, Spinach, bell pepper)

Dry pasta of your choice-1 cup

Cilantro chopped-1/4 cup

salt & pepper

Curry Sauce -Recipe follows

Curry Sauce:

olive oil

Onion finely chopped-1/4 cup

Garlic minced -4 cloves

All purpose flour- 2tsp

Curry powder -2 tsp

chilli powder/cayenne pepper -1/4 tsp

Vegetable /chicken Broth- 2 cups

Cornstarch -1 tbs

water-1/4 cup

Method:-

For Curry sauce

Add 2 tsp olive oil to a medium saucepan;saute onion, garlic for 2 to 3 mins.

Stir in flour,curry powder and chilli powder.Cook 1 min, stirring

1. Add Broth and heat to boiling.
2. Mix cornstarch in water and add it to the boiling broth mixture,stirring until thickened.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Assembling the pasta:

1. Steam the veg and tossing them with olive oil.season with salt and pepper.
2. cook pasta as per the package instructions
3. Combine together the steamed veggies , pasta and the curry sauce.garnish with cilantro.