Not Your Typical Pasta

Pasta is one of the cheapest and easy meals any college student can make. All you do is boil water, cook pasta until soft, drain, and sauce. Voila!! You have a meal. Now, what do you do when you eat pasta at least three times a week? Change the sauce. You can go traditional with garlicky basil and tomatoes, classy with stroganoff, spicy with habanero pesto, or crazy with pumpkin sauce. Hmm which reminds me - I should add my creamy garlic sauce and garlic butter sauce soon.

Here are two more pasta varieties. I only recommend the pad thai only if you absolutely love peanut butter. By love, I mean sitting there with a jar and a spoon and happily eating away. I love PB, but the taste was a little intense. However, it tasted better the next day, so maybe it just needed time.

The Mediterranean pasta I made myself. To be traditional, you would use kalamata olives. However, I only had a can of black pitted olives.


Pad Thai with Creamy Peanut Sauce




8 oz rice noodles (or substitute linguine or spaghetti)
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/3 tsp lime juice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 chicken breast, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup peas

Sauce
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/8 cup peanut butter
1 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp ginger

1. Place sauce ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth, about 30 sec. Set aside.

2. If using rice noodles, soak them for 30 minutes in hot tap water; drain. They should be flexible but not soft. If using linguine or spaghetti, cook in boiling water until done.

3. Combine water, sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, chili powder and lime juice in a small bowl.

4. Saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. Add garlic and onions; cook until tender. If using rice noodles, add to pan. If using linguine or spaghetti, do not put in pan. Pour ketchup mixture over chicken.

5. Push chicken mixture to side of the pan. Add egg, stirring until cooked. Add peas. If you are using linguine or spaghetti, add to pan as well. Mix in peanut sauce. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Cooking with Carnation Evaporated Milk, 2006 p.14


Mediterranean Pasta



8 oz. pasta, your choice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 small can tuna, drained
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped and drained
1/2 cup olives, sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese

Bring water in a small saucepan to a boil. Cook pasta until soft. Meanwhile, saute garlic and onion in oil until tender. Add tuna, tomatoes, and olives. Cook until warm. Add to cooked pasta. Sprinkle with feta. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Recipe by me



Sorry for the horrible lighting, but my dad took a video of Murray being impatient for Christmas.


He's still waiting.

A New Favorite

WARNING - This is the most amazing beef dish I've ever cooked/eaten. This is definitely a meal I could make weekly. You must marinade the beef in order to get the flavor factor. The recipe called for 4 hours up to overnight, but I marinaded it for an hour. Tasted amazing to me. It also says to grill or broil; I fried it in a skillet. Not the healthiest, but hey. As far as changing the ingredients, I adjusted the amount to one serving and forgot to add the sesame seeds (which I do have). I also left out the green beans.

Thai-inspired Beef and Pasta



3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 curry powder
1 cup uncooked penne
1 beef eye round steak (I have no idea what kind of beef I had)
1/4 cup thinly slice onions
1 cup red pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/8 cup sesame seeds

1. Mix together 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice, 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 1/2 Tbsp oil, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp ginger, and 1/8 tsp curry powder. Place beef in a freezer bag. Pour marinade into the bag; cover the meat as best as you can. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight. The longer it sits, the better the flavor.

2. Once the meat is ready, pour some oil into a skillet and fry meat until no longer brown. If you're having trouble getting the middle to be brown, cut the meat into chunks. Once the meat is brown, cut into bite-size chunks (if you haven't done so already).

3. While the meat is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until done.

4. Pour remaining lime juice, soy sauce, oil, sugar, garlic powder, ginger, and curry powder into a second skillet. Saute onions, red pepper, and sesame seeds. Add browned beef. Add in cooked pasta. Sprinkle the top with feta cheese.

Makes two servings

Source: Recipe Zaar