Pasta with Tomato-Blue Cheese Sauce

Prep Time: 2 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6

Ingredients
1-½ pound Pasta (angel Hair Or Thin Spaghetti)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole 28-ounce Can Diced Tomatoes, Drained
Dash Of Sugar
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, To Taste
¾ cups Crumbled Blue Cheese
¾ cups Heavy Cream
4 cups Baby Spinach
Half-and-Half, for thinning
Extra Blue Cheese Crumbles, For Garnish
Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package instructions.
In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. When hot, add minced garlic and cook for a minute. Pour in drained tomatoes. Add sugar, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to low. Stir in crumbled blue cheese. Add cream and stir, then a little splash of half-and-half if sauce is too thick. Cook for a minute or two, tasting and adding more seasonings as needed.
At the very, very, very last minute. toss in spinach. Immediately toss in the cooked and drained pasta. Serve immediately!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/pasta-with-tomato-blue-cheese-sauce/

Chicken Parmigiana

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6

Ingredients
4 whole (up To 6) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Trimmed And Pounded Flat
½ cups All-purpose Flour
Salt And Pepper, to taste
½ cups Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
¾ cups Wine (white Or Red Is Fine)
3 cans (14.5 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Sugar
¼ cubes Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 pound Thin Linguine
Preparation Instructions
Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate.
Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.
At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.
Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.
Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.
Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.
Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/10/chicken-parmigiana/

Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
1 can Artichoke Hearts (14.5 Oz. Quartered Or Whole) Drained
1 can Diced Tomatoes With Juice (14.5 Oz.)
1 cup Heavy Cream
½ cups Chicken Broth (More As Needed)
½ teaspoons Nutmeg
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 pound Thin Spaghetti
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated
2 Tablespoons Fresh Chives (or Other Herbs) Chopped
Preparation Instructions
Cook spaghetti till al dente. Drain and set aside.
Melt olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Stir and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not undersalt!) Cook over low heat until heated through, then turn off heat.
Place drained pasta in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 cup Parmesan. Pour sauce over the top. Add chives. Toss lightly to combine and coat; add a tiny bit of reserved pasta water if sauce seems too thick.
Delicious!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/10/wednesday-night-dinner-spaghetti-with-artichoke-hearts-and-tomatoes/

Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad

adapted from Ina Garten

Dressing (makes more than enough; spoon leftovers over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers)
1 7-oz jar sundried tomatoes, drained
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Salad
16 ounces corkscrew pasta
1 jar Kalamata or assorted olives
1 pint rip cherry tomatoes, halved
Several (10 to 15) basil leaves, chopped or julienne
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare dressing by blending sundried tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and vinegar until tomatoes are chopped. Blend while drizzling in olive oil; continue blending until mixed together.
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water until no longer hot. Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the pasta, add olives, and toss together. Add remaining ingredients, tossing together and adding more dressing until the salad is coated to your liking. Serve on a big platter with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/fourth-of-july-week-sundried-tomato-pasta-salad/

P-Dub’s Gazpacho

P-Dub’s Gazpacho

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 large cucumber, diced
5 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 zucchini, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
4 cups tomato juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup (more to taste) red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons (less to taste) sugar
Tabasco to taste
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Optional:
Finely minced jalapeno (for those of you who love heat)
Sliced avocado
Cilantro
Sour cream

Grilled shrimp

In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, Tabasco, and a dash of salt. Pulse until all ingredients are blended well; mixture will have a nice speckled, colorful texture. Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, and celery. (Reserve the rest of the diced vegetables for garnish.) Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding salt if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours; soup needs to be very cold!

Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with remaining diced vegetables, a sliver of fresh avocado, sour cream, and cilantro. Finally, place a grilled shrimp on the top and serve with grilled slices of bread.

This is a to-die-for summer dinner.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/gazpacho/

Ryan’s Bolognese

1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 large red onion, diced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons dried oregano flakes
2 tablespoons dried basil flakes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 cups red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
salt
pepper
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
1 cup milk
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes.
Make a well in the center of the mixture, then add in the ground beef. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.
Throw in oregano and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine.
When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat.
Add garlic and stir to combine.
Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together.
Add Worcestershire and stir.
Add canned tomatoes.
Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.

Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Scrumptious!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/ryans-bolognese-sauce/

Marinated Asparagus and Hearts of Palm

Serves 10 – 12

3 lbs. fresh asparagus
2 – 14.4 oz. hearts of palm, drained and cut into ½ inch slices
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Steam asparagus till crisp tender. Cool and combine with hearts of palm and tomatoes.

Combine the following:
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup cider or white vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup soy sauce

Pour over asparagus mixture. Chill 8 hours.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/marinated-asparagus-and-hearts-of-palm/

Patsy’s Wild Rice Salad

Serves 8

½ teaspoon salt
1 cup wild rice (real wild rice; don’t use a mixture of wild/white)
1 – 6 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained & halved
1 – 6 ounce can peas, drained (I used early June peas)
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Bring 2 cups water to boil and add salt and rice. Stir well, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 50 minutes.

Combine the cooked rice, artichoke hearts, peas, green pepper, tomatoes and ½ of the dressing. Toss well, cover and chill. Just before serving, toss again. Add more of the dressing if it seems dry. You may wish to sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds before serving.

Dressing
Combine the following ingredients and shake well. Refrigerate.

1 1/3 cup canola oil
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon paprika

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/patsys-wild-rice-salad/

Sherried Tomato Soup

6 tablespoons melted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 46-ounce bottle or can tomato juice
2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 to 3 tablespoons chicken base
3 to 6 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
Black Pepper
1 cup cooking sherry
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
chopped fresh parsley
chopped fresh basil

Saute diced onions in butter until transluscent. Add canned tomatoes. Add tomato juice, sugar, pinch of salt, and black pepper and stir. Bring to a near boil, then turn off heat. Add in sherry and cream and stir. Add in parsley and basil to taste, adjust other seasoning, and serve with yummy, crusty bread on a cold, blustery, dreary, depressing, rainy, snowy day. Then close your eyes. And give thanks for soups like this.

Love,
Pioneer Woman

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/sherried_tomato_soup/