Sometimes Simple is Best

One of the first dishes I taught my son to cook is pasta. He's not overly into cooking, but at times, he loves being in the kitchen learning from me. Pasta is the best dish or variation of dishes he knows how to make. He still hasn't mastered Lasagna yet, but that's ok. He'll learn.

For those of you who feel you're "kitchen illiterate", pasta is the safest bet. But you need to pay attention to what you're doing so you don't overcook the pasta. Can't have mushy pasta. I'm going to share two of the simplest pasta dishes you can make. There is no way you can go wrong with these recipes. Today I'm sharing my recipes for a simple Spaghetti & Meatballs with Meat Sauce (I know, that's a lot of meat but you won't be able to tell), and my Shrimp Broccoli Fettuccine that the guys on my son's football team love. You can make these dishes for two people, or a large group. You know how much you need to feed your household so edit or add accordingly. I do make a home made sauce, but for the sake of time and clarity, you'll be using jar sauce for both recipes. If you want to learn how to make home made sauce, contact me for lessons.

Easy Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ingredients:

1 Jar of 3 or 4 Cheese Pasta Sauce (Ragu, Prego, etc)
1 lb. Ground Turkey and/or Beef (you can use both)
1 Diced Medium Vidalia Onion
1 Diced Medium Green Pepper
1 Tbs Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Diced Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Chopped Sun dried Tomatoes
1 Tsp Cracked Pepper
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Oregano
1 Tsp Basil

1 Tsp Parsley
1-2 Tsp Adobo Seasoning (according to your taste)
1 Bay Leaf
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Box of Spaghetti or Linguine
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Egg

Start a pot of water to boil on low heat. Add a capful of Olive Oil and a tsp of salt to the water. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.

On a cutting board, dice your onion, green pepper, tomatoes and sundried tomatoes and set aside. You can purchase fresh garlic or buy it already diced in a jar. Remember, this is supposed to be a quick meal so I'm trying to make it as simple as possible.

For the meatballs, combine in a bowl the ground beef and/or turkey, breadcrumbs, 1/4 of the onions, 1/4 of the green pepper, 1/4 of the garlic and a beaten egg. Then add the seasonings to your taste. Combine all of the ingrdients by hand until the are well blended. If you want to kick up the taste, you can add a shot of hot sauce to the mixture. Form small round balls out of the meat. Take a baking dish and lightly spray with Olive Oil Cooking Spray. Place meatballs on the baking dish and bake in the oven until slightly browned.

Heat a pot and add olive oil. Saute the 3/4 of the green peppers. Then add 3/4 of the onions. Once the onions are translucent, you can add 3/4 the garlic. Cook until slightly brown. Don't over cook or the onions and the garlic will burn and taste bitter.

Break up half of the ground turkey and half of the ground beef. Add meat to the pot and season with pepper, oregano, onion powder, adobo, basil and parsley. Now let me say that I always prefer to use fresh herbs and chop them myself. But if you can't find them, don't know how to pick them out or just don't want the hassle, you can use the dried herbs. Mix the meat, seasonings and onion, green pepper, garlic mix. Cook until browned. Then add the sundried tomatoes and cook for about two minutes. Drain the liquid and return meat to the pot. Add diced tomatoes, bay leaf and the pasta sauce. Cook on medium heat and stir. Allow the ingredients to blend together as they cook. Reduce the heat to low. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer over a low fire for about 15 minutes.

Add some grated parmesan during the last two minutes of cooking the sauce.
In the pasta pot, take the pasta out of the box, break in half (more so that they fit in the pot). Cook for about 7-9 minutes or until the noodles are firm yet tender. Drain the pasta into a colander then return to the pot. Add a capful of olive oil and toss the noodles. At this point, you can either combine and toss the pasta and meat sauce & meatballs in one pot, or you can serve the pasta on a plate and dress with the meatballs and sauce based on the tastes of your guests or family. Remove the Bay Leaf before serving or plating. You can garnish the pasta with some grated Parmesan and fresh minced parsley. Serve with a side of Caesar or House Salad and home made Garlic Bread.

Shrimp Broccoli Alfredo
Ingredients:

1 Jar of Alfredo Sauce (Ragu, Prego, etc)

1 lb. Shrimp (peeled, deveined & cooked- you can buy it prepackaged or have your grocer peel & devein so you can cook. For time's sake, we'll go with prepackaged)
1 Bag of Frozen Broccoli
1 Diced Medium Vidalia Onion
1 Diced Medium Green Pepper
1 Tbs Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Cracked Pepper
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Oregano
1 Tsp Parsley
1 Tsp Basil
1 Bay Leaf
1-2 Tsp Adobo Seasoning (according to your taste)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Box of Fettuccine
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Start a pot of water to boil on low heat. Add a capful of Olive Oil and a tsp of salt to the water.
In another pot, preferably a steamer pot, bring water to a boil. Insert the steamer basket and add broccoli. Steam with the lid on until bright green and firm.

On a cutting board, dice your onion, green pepper, and set aside. You can purchase fresh garlic or buy it already diced in a jar. Remember, this is supposed to be a quick meal so I'm trying to make it as simple as possible.

For prepackaged shrimp, be sure to thoroughly wash the shrimp and remove the tails.
Heat a pot and add olive oil. Saute the the green peppers. Then add the onions. Once the onions are translucent, you can add the garlic. Cook until slightly brown. Don't over cook or the onions and the garlic will burn and taste bitter.

Add shrimp to the pot and season with pepper, oregano, onion powder, basil, adobo and parsley. Again, I prefer to use fresh herbs and chop them myself. But if you can't find them, don't know how to pick them out or just don't want the hassle, you can use the dried herbs. Mix the shrimp, seasonings, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook until shrimp turn just about pink. They cook really fast and you don't want to overcook them. Drain the liquid and return shrimp, etc. to the pot. Add the alfredo sauce and the bay leaf. Cook on low heat and stir occasionally until the sauce is slightly bubbling. Allow the ingredients to blend together as they cook. Add some grated Parmesan during the last minute of cooking the sauce.

In the pasta pot, take the fettuccine out of the box, break in half (more so that they fit in the pot). Cook for about 7-9 minutes or until the noodles are firm yet tender. Drain the pasta into a colander then return to the pot. Add a capful of olive oil and toss the noodles. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce. Combine and toss the pasta, broccoli and shrimp alfredo sauce in one pot. Using tongs to toss will ensure that everything gets evenly distributed. You can garnish the pasta with some grated Parmesan and fresh minced parsley. Serve with a side of Caesar or House Salad and home made Garlic Bread.

Happy eating!

Adrienne Graham

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