Penne Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto

This is a delicious pasta recipe with ham as the main ingredient. It can add real favour to the dish. This is a simple recipe to prepare, it looks kinda delicious, doesn't it? If you wish to, you can use chicken slices instead. A healthy recipe for you and your family.

Spaghetti and Meatballs For a Crowd

Cooking for a larger family can be quite expensive. Coming up with meal ideas that are nutritious, taste great, and don't break the bank can be a real challenge. Although Spaghetti and Meatballs is not new or unique, this rendition meets the above criteria. This recipe has it all - moist meatballs, and good balance of flavor in the sauce. Providing 12-16 servings, it is also very economical.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sauce

1-1/2 cups chopped onion 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cups water 1 can tomato sauce 2 cans (12 ounces each) tomato paste 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley 1 tablespoon dried basil 1 tablespoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Meatballs

4 eggs, lightly beaten 2 cups soft bread cubes (1/4 inch pieces) 1-1/2 cups milk 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 3 pounds ground beef 2 tablespoons olive oil

Hot cooked spaghetti

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add water, tomato sauce and paste, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50 minutes. Combine the first seven meatball ingredients. Add beef; mix well. Shape into 1-1/2 inch balls. In a skillet over medium heat, brown meatballs in oil; drain. Add to sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve over spaghetti. Yield: 12-16 servings.

There you have it, a delicious meal for a crowd that won't break the bank. You may find that this becomes one of your most-requested recipes. Buon Appetito!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marie_Dadd

Advantages of Simple Pasta Recipes

Easy pasta recipes are extremely well liked by a lot of people and this article talks about the reasons for this, such as its versatility and cheapness. A cheap and tasty tuna salad recipe is also shown.

Almost everyone loves easy pasta recipes because they have many advantages to eating it. It isn't expensive at all and makes feeding a family very easy and inexpensive. Quick pasta recipes can also be in many different forms ranging from popular dishes like macroni to the much less used like pasta soups. Basic ingredients can also be used with these simple pasta recipes. Those involved in sports also make good use of this popular ingredient because of its ability to release energy slowly, which can help with endurance sports.

It is useful to sports people because it helps with the creation of energy due to the carbonhydrates it contains. This makes it an important nutrient for athletes and aiding them in getting the best results. It is stored as glycogen in the muscle where they perform as a willingly accessible energy souce during lengthly and strenuous competitions.

Water, eggs and flour are used to make it and you can use these ingredients to make your own also. They are sometimes coloured and the flavour changed, by adding dye and herbs and spices. A bit of extra taste can also be added to the food by filling the pasta with tomatoes or different meat types.

There are also many different types of this food for many different uses. These include spaghetti used in meals such as bolognaise; noodles that can be used in chicken noodle soup; sheets for use in lasagne dishes; and different shapes used in, for example, macaroni cheese; and dried and fresh pasta also. They all help to provide a wide range of tasty, easy recipes that anyone can easily make. A tuna salad recipe is shown below.

Ingredients: - Pasta for 2 - 1 can of tuna - Rocket leaves, watercress, spinach - Cucumber, sliced - 8 cherry tomatoes, halved - 1 pepper, chopped - Few tablespoons of salad cream
What to do: 1. Follow the packet's instructions for cooking the pasta properly 2. Once cooked, mix with everything else and stir well

That's it. Very easy and quick!

The reasons stated above in this article are why Italian food is liked so much by people from many different countries, other than just Italians. Anybody, anywhere can make great meals from easy pasta recipes, with all the simple ingredients that are used.

This article was brought to you by Andrew, the author of http://www.easy-pasta-recipes.net. If you like easy pasta recipes then have a look around the site. A free Italian recipe e-book, with more simple pasta recipes, is also available.

Enjoy Two of the Best Authentic Italian Pasta Recipes

There are a lot of variants of making Italian pasta and they are all very simple. Typically, pasta or noodles have to be cooked in lightly salted water for 10-20 minutes (cooking time depends strongly on the type of flour used and the type of products). Salt is not necessary, it completely replaces spices. By the way, it can be eaten without cooking, washing it down with something. In any case, do not allow cooking in the mess. Suffice it to macaroni become opaque (white) and softened.

If you do not want to pour water, and with it part of nutrients, take in 100 grams of spaghetti around a glass of water and simmer with the lid on low heat. Then all the liquid has been absorbed or boiled out. The same can be done in a microwave oven, but a satisfactory result is not guaranteed.

Pasta in a literal translation from the Italian word for means "dough". This term means any pasta. Pasta should be of hard wheat, besides Italians love pasta "al dente", that is undercooked. This is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber. Most types of pasta, which can be seen on store shelves, cook pasta cereals. Pasta - affordable and nutritious base of any dish, just add smoked meat, vegetables, meat, nuts and legumes - and you expect a great meal. Add spinach, asparagus or beans, and pasta will be even more nutritious and useful.

If you are looking for the best Italian pasta recipes, this article is perfect for you. It will present you two top-rated pasta recipes which have shown the biggest number of positive reviews.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Mozzarella You need: 400 g of any noodles or spaghetti, 1 bunch of basil, 12 green olives, 1 tbsp salted capers, a pinch of fiery red pepper 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 large cloves of garlic, 400 g tomatoes: 150 grams of mozzarella cheese. Wash tomatoes in hot water and peel them. Cut into small cubes. Mix with chopped basil, chopped olives and capers, pepper, olive oil. Let it brew for 5-8 hours. Boil noodles. Tomato mixture when it's heating, add to noodles and finely diced cheese.

Pasta with Garlic and Chili You need: 450 g spaghetti, 120 ml extra virgin olive oil (Extra Virgin); 5 large cloves garlic, chopped, 3 dry fiery red chili pepper, 1/4 cup of parsley. Put the spaghetti boil in salted water. While its cooking, heat oil in a small heavy saucepan. Add the garlic and chili and fry until they begin to sizzle, but not yet browned. Remove from heat. Once the paste is prepared al dente, leave a part of it from the pot, where it was cooked, a small cup of water. Then drain the remaining water. Return the pasta to the saucepan, add garlic and chilies in olive oil. Put on medium heat and stir well until the paste becomes hot. If pasta seems too dry, add a little water, molded from the spaghetti. Then add the parsley, mix well and serve.

To learn more about preparing authentic Italian pasta and how to benefit from using the best pasta maker, try visiting bestpastamaker.com, where you will find this and a lot more tips including how to choose the right Imperia pasta maker to enjoy your homemade pasta together with your family.

Homemade Pasta Recipe - Pasta the Way it Should Be!

There are many slight variations in homemade pasta recipes, this is one of the easiest methods - follow it and you'll be making fantastic pasta in no time!
Ingredients: (enough for 2 people)

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Step 1
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl or food processor and mix well, the dough should stick together if you press it with your fingers, the texture should be rather like uncooked rice. If it is too dry, you can add a little more water, or if it's too sticky add a little more flour.

Step 2
Mould the dough into a ball and leave it in the bowl, covered with a damp cloth, for around 10 minutes. The dust your worksurface with a little flour and knead the dough until it feels smooth, this should take 5-10 minutes.

Step 3
Now it's time to roll out the pasta. Set the pasta machine to its thickest setting. Take 1/3 of the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin so it's thin enough to fit into the machine. Put the dough through the machine 3 times, turning and folding it each time. Turn the machine to its next setting (one notch thinner) and put the same piece of dough through the machine 3 times as before. Repeat this for all the width settings on the machine. The pasta will get thinner each time.

Step 4
By now you will have a long, smooth sheet of pasta. Place it on the table and cut it into your desired length, about 10 inches long. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Now pass the sheet of pasta through the cutters on the other side of the pasta machine. Set the width of the cut to your preference, for example a setting of 1/8" would give you linguini, 1/4" for fettucini. Turn the handle with one hand, using your other hand to catch the finished pasta.

Step 5
Place the finished pasta on a clean tablecloth, trying to keep the strands as separate as possible. Allow it to dry for an hour or so.

To cook the pasta, add 1 tablespoon of salt to a large pan of boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Tips

The following tips will help you to make perfect homemade pasta every time:

• Making coloured pasta is easy, simply add puréed tomato or spinach to the dough for red or green pasta. You can also make black pasta by adding squid ink.
• When letting the dough 'rest' before kneading it, make sure to cover the bowl with a damp cloth, or wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm so it doesn't dry out.
• There is no need to add oil to the pan when cooking your pasta. Stirring occasionally will prevent it from sticking.
• Don't cook your pasta for more than 3 minutes. Overcooking will ruin your pasta! Once cooked, eat it straight away with your preferred sauce, it should not be allowed to cool.

Visit http://www.createfreshpasta.com now for more tips and tricks for making perfect homemade pasta, and also information about pasta machines. Making pasta is fun and rewarding -- you really should try it!

Tuna Fish Spaghetti Recipe

It is ironic that one of my favorite spaghetti sauces is one that I was almost too afraid to taste! But thankfully I did because not only is it delicious, it's also extremely easy to make.

I still remember my reaction when my sister-in-law told me she was making tuna fish spaghetti for one of my first visits to her and my brother's apartment. I loved spaghetti but with tuna? I tried to finagle a way out of eating it. Luckily I was unsuccessful because the dish turned out to be an excellent alternative to the pasta dishes I normally prepared. It is delicious and simple to make, plus it is great for a tight budget!

Assemble the following ingredients:
3 large cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 28 oz. can tomato puree
1 small can tomato paste
2 6 oz. cans tuna, preferably in oil
Salt to taste

Peel and mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and lightly brown the garlic. In a pinch, you can use garlic powder (not garlic salt), but the fresh garlic gives a better flavor. Stir in the tomato puree and tomato paste. Simmer for an hour.

Drain the canned tuna, leaving a little oil for flavor. Add the fish to the tomato sauce and heat until the tuna is hot. If you like, you can add salt.

This sauce tastes wonderful with homemade pasta but the store bought variety works well too. Top each serving with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Serve with garlic bread and a side salad with vinaigrette dressing. Mangiare!

Mary Tinat has worked for more than 20 years in the fields of writing and public relations. That expertise, combined with her commitment to a healthy lifestyle for herself and her family, led her to write articles about diet and wholesome food. For more information on her work, go to http://www.wordformers.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Tinat