Farm Fresh Pasta

I was at a Pampered Chef Party and the host made a wonderful dish. I decided to adapt it for those of us who don't have all the fancy tools. I made this for dinner last night and it was a total hit!

1 tub of grape tomatoes (grocery store size or costco size depending on how many people you are serving)

3 cloves of garlic sliced (not diced or grated... do not use the store kind in the jar)

2 TBSP of olive oil

Kosher or sea salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 375... in a baking dish and mix all of the above ingredients place in oven and cook for 12 minutes

While the tomatoes are cooking boil some whole wheat or gluten free pasta (1lb) Rigatoni, or bowtie would be great for this (you can boil it in chicken broth if you want to add a little more flavor to it. (Heck you could even microwave the pasta in 3 cups of chicken broth for 10 minutes and the pasta will absorb all the chicken broth and flavor)

While Pasta is cooking grill 4-5 (depending on how many you are serving) chicken breast or cutlets..I use one cutlet for each person. When done grilling cut up into bite size pieces.

When tomatoes are done crust them in the baking dish (I use a potato masher to do this) the tomatoes, garlic and olive oil will become a sauce.

Drain pasta.

Mix all the ingredients together in the baking dish and top with fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese to taste and serve immediately

It tastes so fresh you can taste each ingredient and it really just tastes great and is super easy!

Melissa d'Arabian does it again...

This was AMAZING!! Edric and the kids could not get enough, I should have doubled it! This is one recipe where I will always make sure I have the ingredients on hand or in the freezer so that just in case we have an unexpected guest or want something a little special for dinner we can whip it up... it was ready in minutes.

Lemony Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Recipe courtesy Melissa d’Arabian

Ingredients

6 garlic cloves, pressed or grated

2 lemons, zested and juiced

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pound medium shrimp (21 to 25), peeled, deveined and butterflied (reserve shells)

1/4 onion

3/4 pound thin linguini

2 tablespoons butter

1 small bunch parsley, leaves chopped

Directions

In a bowl, combine the garlic, zest and juice of 1 lemon, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, to taste, and the shrimp. Set aside.

Meanwhile make a quick shrimp stock: In a small pot, over medium heat, add the shrimp shells and onion. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain into a bowl and discard the shells and the onion.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a generous amount of salt. Add the linguini and cook until just tender, 2 minutes less than instructed on the package. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water.

Heat a skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink and start to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate and add the remaining marinade. Let cook a few minutes then add about 1 cup of shrimp stock and about 1/2 cup pasta water. Continue to cook until sauce reduces by half. Add the zest and juice of the remaining lemon, the butter and the parsley and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. Add in the shrimp and pasta and toss to combine with the sauce. Turn out into a serving bowl and serve immediately.