Tomato & Broccoli Pasta

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I eat pasta all the time. I always like changing up the way I make my pasta to add variety to what I eat every week, and usually use whatever is currently in my pantry. Last week, I made this pasta, and it was so delicious I had to share it with you! Keep in mind that I made it as a dinner for two, with no leftovers.

Ingredients:

½ box cooked pasta of your choice

1 head of broccoli

1 Roma tomato, diced

1 garlic clove

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

¼ cup milk

¼ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon basil

olive oil

Directions:

1. Cook your pasta according to package instructions and set aside with a small amount of olive oil mixed in.
2. After cutting broccoli into smaller pieces, boil broccoli until no longer hard.
3. In a medium saucepan, add minced garlic clove to olive oil on medium high heat. Once garlic is fragrant, add milk and spices, reduce heat to medium and stir.
4. Working quickly, add your shredded Parmesan cheese and stir rapidly to create a smooth sauce. If you don’t consistently stir, you’ll have a clumpy sauce.
5. Once all cheese is melted and blended smoothly, reduce heat to low. Add your diced tomato and stir in.
6. Add your broccoli and stir until coated with sauce and then toss with pasta.
7. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese and serve!
   

 

Bows and Arrows,

Lynda

 

 

Italian Style Burger Patties

Last summer, I posted my bruschetta burger recipe, and when I made it, I used a Bubba Angus burger patty. I usually make my own burgers, and now is finally the time to share that burger recipe with you!

These burgers are flavored with spices and are perfect for any Italian style burger you wish to make.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 egg

¼ cup shredded mozzarella

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon oregano

¼ teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg. (This helps the meat stick together during the cooking process.)
2. Add ground beef, cheese, minced garlic, and spices to bowl.
3. Using your hands, mix all ingredients together and begin to form burger patties. With 1 lb of ground beef, I can make 6 patties.
4. Over high heat, add your vegetable oil. Once oil is heated, reduce heat to medium and add 3 burger patties. Cook until meat is browned throughout, flipping halfway through cooking. Cook the other 3 patties in the same pan with juices from previous burgers.
5. Serve with your favorite burger toppings and enjoy!

If you try this burger out, let me know what you think!

Bows and Arrows,

Lynda

Lemon Pasta with Wilted Spinach and Shrimp

Earlier this week was the first day this year that I got to enjoy eating my dinner outside in the warmer weather before the sun had fully set. I love coming up with new dinner entrees and meals with what’s currently in my kitchen, and in my rush to beat the sunset (so I could enjoy watching it set while eating outside), I whipped up this pasta recipe quickly. It’s a lighter pasta option, which is great for those warmer days in our future.

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti pasta

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

4 garlic cloves

5 ounces of baby spinach

4 tablespoons of lemon juice

½ cup cooked shrimp

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Dried Thyme

Directions:

1. Cook your pasta according to instructions on package. (I always cook my entire package of pasta, and then divide it up so I can make multiple meals out of it. This recipe calls for half a normal package of pasta.)
2. Drain, set aside.
3. Chop up your 4 garlic cloves.
4. Coat your already cooked shrimp with grated Parmesan cheese and thyme, and set aside.
5. In a large pan, add your butter or margarine over medium high heat. Once butter is melted, add your chopped garlic, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add 3 of your 4 tablespoons of lemon juice to your butter and garlic mixture and reduce heat to medium-low.
7. Begin adding baby spinach to your pan. You’ll have to add it in increments, and once the first portion is wilted down, you can add more. (Otherwise it won’t all fit.)
8. Once all spinach is in pan and wilted, add your 4^th tablespoon of lemon juice and stir.
9. Now it’s time to add your pasta. Take your 8 ounces of cooked pasta, and add to your pan with everything else, being sure to stir well, so everything is integrated evenly.
10. Top with your Parmesan and thyme covered shrimp, and mix into pasta as well. Cook in pan on medium-low for an additional 5 minutes before serving.
11. Top with grated Parmesan, and enjoy!

Time to make: 20-30 minutes

Serves: 2 (with some leftovers)

My boyfriend really loved this dish. His favorite type of pasta is just simple buttered noodles, but he really enjoyed this twist on a basic noodle dish. It’s a great alternative to heavy pasta dishes as well, and contains way less calories (if you’re counting), than many other pasta options.

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Lynda

Quick & Easy Broccoli Alfredo

Alfredo is a simple recipe you probably already know how to make. And if you don’t, well, here’s my recipe! This is the perfect recipe to make for dinner after a busy day at work.  And since it’s Valentine’s week, why not make this simple recipe for a loved one! 🙂

Ingredients:

1 lb fettuccine

1 head of broccoli

1 clove of garlic, minced

¼ cup butter or margarine

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 + 1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp parsley

1 tsp olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large pot, bring water to boil. Add fettuccine and cook according to package.
2. In a small pot, bring water to boil. Add broccoli florets and continue to boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a small saucepan, add olive oil and garlic over high heat.
4. Once garlic becomes fragrant, pour in heavy cream and butter. Reduce heat to medium.
5. Continue stirring until butter if fully melted. Once butter is melted, add Parmesan cheese and continue to stir. Keep over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken.
6. Add parsley and broccoli to sauce, stir, and remove from heat.
7. Top fettuccine pasta with sauce and enjoy.

Time to make: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Have a great week everyone!

Lynda

Parmesan Orzo with Mushrooms & Spinach

Last week, I decided that I wanted to come up with a dinner dish that didn’t include any meat. Typically, it’s easiest for me to include chicken or beef in my dinner entrée’s, but I wanted something to make that could easily transition into a lighter lunch option for the next day. So I came up with this, and it was exactly what I was hoping!

Ingredients:

1 lb orzo pasta

8 oz Cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 cup of baby spinach

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp dried thyme

Directions:

1. Cook orzo pasta according to instructions on box. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on high heat. Once oil is heated, reduce heat to medium heat and add all of your mushrooms. Stir constantly to prevent any of the mushrooms from drying out.
3. Once the mushrooms start to change color (about 3-4 minutes), add your garlic cloves. Continue to stir around.
4. Once garlic starts to produce a stronger aroma (after about 2 minutes on heat), add in your cup of baby spinach, and reduce to medium-low heat. Once mushroom, garlic, and spinach are well integrated, add your thyme.
5. After the spinach has wilted, add your entire pot of orzo to the skillet as well as your Parmesan cheese and stir together.
6. Serve with topped Parmesan cheese.

Time to make: 20 minutes

Do you have a go-to dinner option that doesn’t include meat? If so, let me know in the comments because I’m looking for more options and I’m always open to ideas and suggestions!

Thanks for reading,

Lynda

Maryland Style Crab Cakes

It wouldn’t be a trip to Maryland without having something crab related! One night during my trip last week, my dad made crab cakes for us to have for dinner, and they were so incredibly easy to make (and delicious), I thought I’d share them with you!

Ingredients:

 2 slices of bread (your choice)

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

2 tsp parsley flakes

½ tsp yellow mustard

1 egg, beaten

1 lb crabmeat

 

Directions:

1. Break up the 2 slices of bread into small pieces into a mixing bowl.
2. Add your mayonnaise, Old Bay, parsley flakes, and mustard into mixing bowl with bread.
3. In a separate bowl, add your egg and whisk it until the yolk and whites are mixed together.
4. In your mixing bowl with all your other ingredients, add your 1 lb of crabmeat and beaten egg.
5. Fold the egg and crabmeat, and mixture of other ingredients together.
6. Using your hands, form patties with the mixture.
7. If you’re using a George Foreman grill, spray or butter your grill and then place down the patties and cook for 3 minutes, flipping, and then cooking for an additional 3 minutes. You can also cook these in a skillet over medium heat, also cooking for 3 minutes, flipping, and cooking for an additional 3 minutes.
8. Remove from heat, and enjoy! These can be eaten on buns as sandwiches, or alone with side options.

Let me know if you try out this recipe, and thanks for reading!  And thanks to my dad for sharing this recipe! 🙂

Bows and Arrows,

Lynda

Asian-Inspired Lettuce Wraps

I decided to try and make something new, which is also something I’ve only had a handful of times out at restaurants. Lettuce wraps. Every time I ordered them, I really enjoyed them, so I thought I’d try to make something similar at home. I was also told that mine taste very similar to the P.F. Chang’s version, which I’ve never had, but I’ll take that as a compliment!

 Ingredients:

Ingredients, minus the soy sauce

 

1 lb ground beef

2 tsp vegetable oil

2 stalks green onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp red pepper flakes

¼ cup hoisin sauce

Head of lettuce, leaves separated

Directions:

1. Add vegetable oil to skillet over medium-high heat and add in pound of ground beef, cooking until brown (approximately 5-7 minutes).

2. Add green onions, garlic, soy sauce, ground ginger, red pepper flakes, and hoisin sauce to skillet with ground beef and stir in for 2-3 minutes, making sure to mix in well.

3. Once blended in evenly, remove from heat and serve with cleaned lettuce leaves.

 

 

 

Time it takes to make: Approximately 20 minutes

Servings: 4

This recipe is extremely easy to make and is very filling. It’s also just as delicious the next day for leftovers during lunch.

Thanks for reading!

Bows and Arrows,

Lynda

How To: Steam Clams

If you didn’t grow up near the ocean like I did, I’d assume its’s not second nature for you to just know how to cook all different types of seafood.  I grew up expecting seafood as a meal at least once a week, and leaving that lifestyle when I moved to Raleigh was a bit saddening.  Now, when I find good deals of seafood that is wild caught, I sometimes just can’t pass it down, which is why this weekend, I purchased some little neck clams caught at the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

I thought I’d share with all of you how to steam clams, in case you didn’t know!  It’s very easy and requires minimal effort!

1.  Place 2 dozen fresh clams into a large stock pot and add 1/2 cup of water to pot.  This will not cover clams, but you don’t want it to!

2. Place on stove, covered, at low to medium heat.  Your water will begin to simmer, but you don’t want it to boil, so don’t place your heat setting too high.

3.  Once you hear clams start to “pop open,” remove from heat.  For two dozen clams, this takes about 10 minutes. 

4.  Remove clams from shell and enjoy!

Thanks to my dad for teaching me how to cook seafood!

Bows and arrows,

Lynda

Beer Brats & Sauerkraut

This is probably my boyfriend’s favorite recipe that I make, and he requests it for dinner often, so I thought it would be something easy to make that I could share with everyone! It is definitely full of flavor and doesn’t take long to make at all. Also, if you don’t like sauerkraut, you can still make these, minus the kraut, and substitute with some other side.

Ingredients: 

1 package of Beer Bratwurst, thawed (any brand is fine)

2 tbsp olive oil

½ yellow onion

1 can of light beer (I used Coors Light)

1 lb sauerkraut

Fennel and parsley for garnish

Time to make: 20 minutes

Serves: 2-4

 Directions:

Chop up ½ yellow onion and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil and begin to brown onion over medium high heat.

Once onion starts to brown, add all bratwurst to skillet from package making sure each of them is fully touching the bottom of the pan.

Add a small amount of olive oil to the tops of each of the sausages.

Pour your beer from the can into the skillet until it reaches halfway up the sausage.

Once your beer begins to simmer (but not boil), reduce your heat to medium. Add a bit more beer to reach half way up the sausage again (some of it will have been absorbed).

In a strainer, drain your package of sauerkraut.

Once your beer begins to simmer again, add your package of sauerkraut to the skillet. Stir until all sauerkraut is warmed and serve.

Remember, sausage should be heated to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Try it out, and tell me what you think!

Bows and arrows,

Lynda

Easy Italian Chicken

When I get home from a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is cook. This chicken recipe is one of my go-to recipes for days like today, because it basically requires no effort except having your chicken thaw in the fridge while you’re off at work during the day!

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed

1 cup Wishbone Light Italian salad dressing

Dried basil

Dried rosemary

 Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Line a glass baking dish with aluminum foil and place chicken into dish. Make sure chicken is laying flat and not overlapping.

3. Shake dried basil and rosemary on chicken breasts, flip, and repeat.

4. Pour 1 cup of Italian dressing on top of chicken and evenly coat dish around chicken.

5. Bake chicken for 25 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from oven and serve.

Time to make: 30 minutes

Serves: 2

Try it out on a busy weeknight, and let me know how it works for you!

Bows and Arrows,

Lynda