Whole Wheat Pasta with Shrimp, Lemon, Parsley & Red Pepper Flakes

Sometimes simple recipes with just a few ingredients can be some of the yummiest and most flavorful! In fact this recipe is a staple in our household because of those simple facts. Most of the ingredients are pretty standard and are staples in our household which makes it a snap to put together in as little time as it takes my pasta to cook to al dente!

Now that's my kind of recipe...quick, delicious and easy! This recipe has just a few ingredients but when combined together are packed with flavor and will leave a lasting impact on your taste buds! Be sure to make extra; your family will be begging for more and as the flavors sit and continue to meld together they only get better! 

Whole Wheat Pasta with Shrimp, Lemon, Parsley & Red Pepper Flakes

Ingredients:

1 box whole wheat pasta

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 tablespoons butter

6 small to medium cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 pounds shrimp, more or less according to your preferences

2 lemons

1/2 cup parsley plus more for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare pasta according to package directions, being sure to cook al dente. While pasta is cooking, melt butter and oil in skillet. Once oils are hot, add garlic and let cook for about 1 minute. Add red pepper flakes, stir, then add shrimp and cooked until just pink. Turn heat off and add the zest of one lemon, the juice of two, and parsley. Stir to combine and check for needed salt and pepper. Add cooked and drained pasta to your skillet, toss before plating and garnish with more parsley.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

You know when you have a recipe that you love so much you will never ever ever even consider using another one for anything! Well this is one of my "best" recipes, and I will never ever ever ever use another tomato sauce for any recipe. I use it for pizza, chicken parmesan  pasta, and for anything that calls for a tomato sauce. You might be thinking, ya ya another tomato sauce recipe, they are all pretty much the same. No, wrong, stop right there!!! Tomato sauces are not all created equally! This is tomato sauce for the Gods people! This is lick your plate at a fancy restaurant good!

I'm talking once you start making this, you will never go back to using any other tomato sauce you ever thought was good enough, again! There are only 4 ingredients, but once in your oven I'm starting to think that a secret tomato sauce fairy materializes and starts working some kind of voodoo magic, until voila, masterpiece created.

The Best Roasted Tomato Sauce Ever

Ingredients:

3 pounds roma tomatoes, cored

1/2 cup olive oil

12 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large, 14 inch oven proof glass pan combine all of the ingredients. Stir to blend then place in oven to cook for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir. Place back into the oven for an additional 30 minutes to continue caramelizing. 

Remove and let cool for a few minutes. Transfer contents to a blender and process sauce until it is coarsely pureed. 

You may need to add a bit of olive oil to get it started. You can also add a bit of water or chicken broth to thin. You can use this sauce immediately or refrigerate for up to four days. 

Orzo with Zuchini, Feta & Dill

Oh how I love this salad. I can taste all of the flavors just looking at the pictures, and I am actually starting to salivate! I really do love orzo pasta so much and don't cook with it nearly as much as I would like to. Its just kind of one of those things that I forget about...that is until I make a few of my favorite recipes that include it and then I wonder why I don't use it more often! Orzo is such a meaty little grain that is shaped like a really big piece of rice and can be very hearty and satisfying as a main dish even without meat. This salad has a lot of loaded flavors with the marinade, feta and dill but they all work so cohesively together. Whats even better is that it makes great leftovers. Something about having all of the flavors sit and get to know each other for a bit longer makes it taste even better in the days to come :) 

Orzo Salad with Zucchini and Feta

Ingredients:

Salad-

1 box orzo

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 1/4 pounds small zucchini, cut into thin half moons

8 ounces feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Dressing-

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large zip lock baggie combine the oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add your sliced zucchini and let marinate, tossing occasionally, for a minimum of two hours or longer. To make dressing, combine all of the ingredients and set aside. Once the zucchini has marinated, sauté over medium heat with marinating liquid, briefly, making sure not to over cook your zucchini into mush. While the zucchini is cooking prepare your orzo according to package directions. To assemble salad, combine the orzo, zucchini, crumbled feta cheese and dill and taste for needed salt and pepper.