Veggie Pasta

I remember having this plateful of pasta with "vegetarian" sauce not too long ago at Vienna Kaffeehaus.  Pure vegans would not think it is really vegetarian since it has a cream base and it is drizzled with a lot of Parmesan cheese.  However, for those who would prefer to have meatless pasta for a change, this dish could just save you from an untimely heart attack!

If memory serves me right, this "vegetarian" sauce is composed of onions, button mushrooms, red bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, and asparagus drenched in heavy cream sauce and served on steaming hot spaghetti noodles.  Buttered bread slices are also part of the ensemble.

Buon appetito!

Creamy Bacon Mushroom Pasta PLUS Chicken

It was my aunt's birthday last Saturday and on Sunday, my uncle asked if I could make spaghetti with white sauce. They are among the "tasters/testers" of the stuff that I cook so I said yes. They wanted me to make tuna with white sauce but since I haven't tried doing that yet (promise I'll try that soon and post it here), I decided to play safe by making something I am already familiar with.

I decided to make a variation of my Creamy Bacon Mushroom Pasta - I added chicken to the recipe! The ingredients and directions for cooking are the same except for the chicken... Just chop up a chicken breast and sauté it with the onion and garlic before adding the sliced button mushrooms. Try adding a chicken bullion for more flavor.

Do you want your food to taste really good? Here's a tip you will find valuable: SMILE WHILE YOU ARE COOKING... :-)

Tuna Garlic Mushroom Pasta

Tuna Garlic Mushroom Pasta

Here’s another batch of pasta from the kitchen! I know a lot of you might find tuna “fishy” but I fooled my “food tasters” with this recipe…They didn’t even know it’s tuna that’s in the sauce!

Ingredients:

• Onion - 1 medium bulb, chopped
• Garlic - 10 cloves, minced
• Button Mushrooms - 1 can, half sliced, half finely chopped
• Hot and Spicy Tuna Flakes - 1 small can, drained
• Tomato Sauce or Spaghetti Sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oregano – dried
• Cheese
• Pasta - Spaghetti or Macaroni, cooked al dente

Directions:

• Heat oil in pan and toast the minced garlic. Take them out from the oil and heat.
• Sauté onions, mushrooms and tuna. Add tomato or spaghetti sauce. Add cheese in the sauce and half of the toasted garlic.
• Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.
• Add to pasta.
• Serve with cheese and toasted garlic on top!

Buon appetito!

Meatless Spaghetti

Images: No good photos... Ugly phone cam... :-(
Food: YUMMY!!! :-D

I love spaghetti (I can't say though that everybody does). Yesterday I came across some gourmet spaghetti sauces in the supermarket and my mother told me too cook spag. I only said yes if it's ok with her that I wouldn't put meat in the sauce and she agreed. I was supposed to take some of this meatless spaghetti to Odessa's because we were supposed to meet and do some brainstorming BUT the weather didn't cooperate and we were both not feeling very well.

Anyway, here's the recipe. Try it out! ;-)

Meatless Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• spaghetti, cooked al dente
• oil
  
• 1 head garlic, minced
  
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
  
• 1 can sliced button mushrooms
  
• salt
  
• pepper
• ground oregano
• parsley, finely chopped
  
• Del Monte's Gourmet Beef and Mushroom Sauce (hey this is free advertising! hahaha!)
• cheese

Directions:

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Cook it al dente...don't ruin the pasta...drain.
• Sauté garlic, onion, and mushrooms in oil. Add parsley and spaghetti sauce.
• Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.
• Add cheese.
• Simmer for a while.
• In a plate serve pasta with sauce and cheese.
• Eat!!! Buon appetito!

*Strict vegetarians may find this recipe non-vegetarian since the sauce is beef flavored. Well I didn't say that this is supposed to be a vegetarian recipe BUT it has no meat in it.

Creamy Bacon Mushroom Pasta

I made this last night. My own recipe...

Creamy Bacon Mushroom Pasta

Pasta (spaghetti or penne)

Onion, chopped

Garlic, minced

Black Pepper, ground

Oregano, ground

Parsley, chopped finely

Bacon

Button Mushrooms, sliced

Cream

Butter

Cheese

Salt

Water

• Cook pasta according to package directions or until al dente. Drain and toss with butter.
• In a pan, cook bacon without oil until it turns into a crisp. Once crispy, crumble into flakes and set aside.
• In the same pan, remove some of the melted bacon fat and leave just enough for sautéing the onion and garlic. Add mushrooms and a bit of butter.
• In a pot, melt butter and add cream and some water. Stir in one direction and make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan by keeping the fire low.
• Add cheese, salt, pepper, oregano and parsley. Stir.
• Add sautéed mushrooms and a few bits of flaked bacon. Simmer for a few minutes then mix with the pasta.
• Serve with cheese and garnish with bacon and parsley.

Chicken Macaroni Soup

Cold afternoons are inspiration for me to cook up big pots of soup and share them with my family and relatives who live nearby. I have learned to cook chicken macaroni soup from my aunt when I was still young and over the years I developed my own recipe by using various herbs and different flavors.

The other Sunday's version of the chicken macaroni soup was different from my usual combination. The following is the recipe. Try to fix yourself something like it if you want. It's really goooood!!! :D

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1 medium onion (chopped)

ginger (finely chopped)

2 chicken breast fillets (chopped)

3 medium sized carrots (chopped)

3 celery stalks (chopped); leaves (finely chopped)

1 small can evaporated milk

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 liters water

elbow macaroni (cooked according to package instructions)

dash of ground dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

grated cheese and celery leaves for garnish

Directions:

• In a big pot, heat oil and toast garlic until golden. Once garlic turns golden remove from oil and set aside.
• In the same oil, sauté the chopped onion and ginger. Add chopped chicken and continue cooking until tender.
• Add the carrots and celery stalks to the sautéed chicken. Stir up for a few minutes.
• Add water, milk, and chicken cube in the pot and let boil.
• Add pre-cooked macaroni.
• Add a dash of oregano, salt, pepper, the toasted garlic and the finely chopped celery leaves to the soup and simmer for a few minutes.
• Serve in bowls with grated cheese and celery leaves on top.

Wacky Macaroni

Baked macaroni with tomato sauce and herbs, and white sauce and cheese on top. I love putting oregano in pasta dishes...makes the food more tasty and pleasant-smelling... :D