Pasta
Basic Marinara Sauce with Linguini
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
30 leaves fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
8 ounces linguini
Fresh grated cheese (optional) – parmesan or pecorino romano
Directions
1. In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on high until shimmering. Add chopped onions and stir to coat with the oil. Cook, stirring frequently until onions become translucent and give up their juice.
2. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring constantly until you can smell the garlic.
3. Add the tomatoes (and all the juice from the can), salt, thyme, (basil if using dried) and oregano to the pot and stir everything together. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes fall apart – about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the bottom is not burning, and crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
4. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
5. Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain.
5. Stack the basil leaves; roll the long way, and chop, making thin ribbons of basil. Just before serving the sauce, stir the basil ribbons into it.
6. Drain pasta and place on plates. Spoon the sauce over the pasta. Serve with grated cheese on the side.
NOTE: this stores well in the fridge for up to 4 days (and actually tastes better if it sits overnight) or can be frozen for up to 6 months – so feel free to make a bigger batch. To freeze, measure ¼ cup servings into small bowls. Place bowls on a cookie sheet and place in freezer overnight. Remove sauce from bowls and store in a zip-lock freezer bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. All of the following recipes use this basic sauce, so make big batches and spice up your routine with the other ideas.
Basic Marinara.pdf
Baked Rigatoni
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
16 ounces rigatoni
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup (3 oz) grated parmesan cheese
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on high until shimmering. Add chopped onions and stir to coat with the oil. Cook, stirring frequently until onions become translucent and give up their juice.
3. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring constantly until you can smell the garlic.
4. Add the tomatoes (and all the juice from the can), salt, thyme, basil and oregano to the pot and stir everything together. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes fall apart – about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the bottom is not burning, and crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
5. Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain.
6. Add the heavy cream and ½ cup of the grated parmesan cheese to the sauce. Stir in the drained rigatoni and stir to coat the pasta with the sauce.
7. Transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish and top with remaining ¼ cup parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes; the cheese should be melted and a little browned. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Baked Rigatoni.pdf
Marinara Sauce with Olives, Basil and Feta
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
8 ounces penne
½ cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
½ cup fresh basil leaves
¾ cup (3 oz) crumbled Feta cheese
Directions 1. In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on high until shimmering. Add chopped onions and stir to coat with the oil. Cook, stirring frequently until onions become translucent and give up their juice.
2. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring constantly until you can smell the garlic.
3. Add the tomatoes (and all the juice from the can), salt, and oregano to the pot and stir everything together. Reduce heat to medium low, and cook until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes fall apart – about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the bottom is not burning, and crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
4. Cook the penne according to the package directions.
5. Stack the basil leaves; roll the long way, and chop, making thin ribbons of basil. Just before serving the sauce, stir the basil ribbons, olives and Feta into it.
6. Drain pasta and place on plates. Spoon the sauce over the pasta.
Marinara Sauce with Olives, Basil and Feta.pdf
Marinara Sauce with Sausage*
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon dried thymeo
1 tablespoon dried oregano
½ lb of sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed*
8 ounces linguine (or any pasta you prefer)
1 cup ricotta cheese
Directions
1. In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on high until shimmering. Add chopped onions and stir to coat with the oil. Cook, stirring frequently until onions become translucent and give up their juice.
2. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring constantly until you can smell the garlic.
3. Add the tomatoes (and all the juice from the can), salt, thyme, and oregano to the pot and stir everything together. Reduce heat to medium low, and cook until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes fall apart – about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the bottom is not burning, and crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
5. In a frying pan on high heat, cook the sausage (or whatever ground meat you choose) until no pink remains. Using a slotted spoon to let the fat drip off, add to the sauce.
6. Drain the pasta and place on plates. Spoon the sauce over the pasta and serve with ¼ cup ricotta cheese crumbled on top.
* or any other ground meat: beef, turkey, pork or veal – if using any meat other than sausage, add basil back into the sauce recipe.
Marinara Sauce with Sausage.pdf
Marinara Sauce with Shrimp
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
8 ounces fusilli pasta (corkscrew shaped) – or any you prefer
40 medium frozen shrimp – tail-on, raw
30 leaves fresh basil (about ½ cup) or 1 tablespoon dried
Directions
1. In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on high until shimmering. Add chopped onions and stir to coat with the oil. Cook, stirring frequently until onions become translucent and give up their juice.
2. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring constantly until you can smell the garlic. 3. Add the tomatoes (and all the juice from the can), salt, thyme, (basil if using dried) and oregano to the pot and stir everything together. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes fall apart – about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the bottom is not burning, and crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
4. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
5. Defrost the shrimp by placing in a colander and running under cold water – about 4 minutes. In a non-stick frying pan, fry the shrimp until they just turn pink, turning them over as necessary. Add to the sauce.
6. Stack the basil leaves; roll the long way, and chop, making thin ribbons of basil. Just before serving the sauce, stir the basil ribbons into it.
7. Drain pasta and place on plates. Spoon the sauce over the pasta.
If you have marinara sauce in the freezer: take out as many ¼ cup servings as people you are feeding. Defrost 10 shrimp per person. While the pasta is cooking, put the frozen marinara sauce in a covered pot and heat over medium. Check often to stir and prevent burning. Once it’s heated through, add the shrimp and simmer until the shrimp turn pink. Drain pasta and serve.
Marinara Sauce with Shrimp.pdf
Shrimp with pasta and vegetables
Serves 4
Ingredients
6 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped or squeezed through a garlic press
1 bag, frozen shrimp, uncooked, without shells (1 lb)
2 cups carrots, chopped into small pieces
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups frozen corn (or fresh kernels cut off the cobb)
½ lb pasta
Directions
1. Put shrimp into a colander, and run cold water over them until defrosted
2. Put pasta water on to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
3. When there are 5 minutes left for the pasta, heat olive oil on medium-high in a sauté or frying pan until shimmering. Add garlic and cook just until you can smell it (about 45 seconds), stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn.
4. Add shrimp and carrots and cook shrimp on one side until the tail turns pink – about 2 minutes. Turn shrimp over and add peas and corn. Cook until shrimp are fully pink and vegetables are softened – about 2 more minutes.
2. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring constantly until you can smell the garlic.
If you have marinara sauce in the freezer: take out as many ¼ cup servings as people you are feeding. Defrost 10 shrimp per person. While the pasta is cooking, put the frozen marinara sauce in a covered pot and heat over medium. Check often to stir and prevent burning. Once it’s heated through, add the shrimp and simmer until the shrimp turn pink. Drain pasta and serve.
Shrimp with Pasta and Vegetables.pdf 
Download Adobe Acrobat