{Make this}: Simple Tomato Meat Sauce with Ground Beef and Pork.

We are so bad about leftovers. Even worse? We're bad about using the rest of ingredients from a meal we've made. Half of a can of tomato paste? Our intentions are so good... we cover it, date it, and put it in the fridge. And there it sits until the quarterly fridge sweep I perform (you know, when something starts smelling funky and you go rouge on the kitchen).

Lately I've been working to be a better person in the kitchen. So our new game is to buy ingredients needed for one night of dinner the day of (as not to waste things - we always overbuy if we do a big grocery run). So what we do is see what we need to use up. This particular night it was ground pork, left over from a delicious goat cheese pesto pizza from the night before. Naturally I turned to my favorite recipe book, Google. And there I found this recipe on the website Simple Foodie:

http://www.simplefoodie.com/recipes/simple_pasta_sauce_with_ground_pork.htm

We added in ground beef to pair with the ground pork (mostly because we didn't have enough ground pork left) but otherwise mostly followed the recipe. One suggestion - use less salt than they recommend. That is a lot of salt.

A note - sometimes we've had trouble finding ground pork. It isn't the same as ground sausage and we found ours at Fresh Market.

We used the rest of the pappardelle pasta from Lucchesi's Pasta and ate green beans with it. The sauce came out quite well - it tasted like something you'd get at your neighborhood Italian restaurant. Next time you want a simple tomato meat sauce, try this recipe out. Better than the jarred stuff, not as pricey as eating out at a restaurant. Here's the link again:
http://www.simplefoodie.com/recipes/simple_pasta_sauce_with_ground_pork.htm

In cooking anything with pasta,

{Make this}: Pinteresting Pasta.

I've got this board on Pinterest called "I Should Make..."Basically this is one of my go-to's when I get burned out and am not sure what to put on the weekly menu for dinner. Problem is? 99% of the recipes that I've pinned on the board are pasta recipes! Now I do love some pasta but I hear it isn't great for the waistline so I have to control myself.

So Sunday of this week when I was trolling the pinterests for recipes, I saw one I had pinned a bit back that looked semi-healthy.... spinach? greek yogurt? SOLD.

I followed the link back to the blog "Back to Her Roots" and read the original recipe (found here). So last night when I wanted a quick, filling meal, this was our choice.

I followed the recipe for the most part except I omitted shrimp and mushrooms (because I don't like them... sorry Jake!). It was easy and tasted great. I'd definitely recommend it for a weeknight meal.

Here's our result:

Follow the link above to make your own version of this pasta! I call it my "Pinteresting Pasta." How punny!


In dinners on the patio,

{Make this}: 3-ingredient Spaghetti.

Last week on Sunday night I wrote a goal in my (absolutely precious) planner. The goal was to cook at home 3 of the 5 week nights last week. Now I realize for some that is no lofty goal, but with a busy medical student and a tired teacher, you have to understand how alluring eating out at the end of the day can be. So with my budget and waistline in mind, the goal was set. Challenge accepted.

Day one of the three-day challenge was our go-to easy dinner: a grab and go rotisserie chicken. We added a salad and some fried okra and it was delicious. Day two brought our Mexican Pita Pockets (which were delicious). So here we were. Thursday. On a roll. Can't stop now.

We were *this* close to giving up. To going out. But instead, I decided to make our go-to spaghetti recipe. And I'm so glad we did. First of all, it can be made with THREE ingredients. THREE. All three are pantry staples so it is a great last minute dinner. Secondly, it is legendary. This spaghetti recipe has made the rounds on the interwebs and I've decided to help spread the gospel. So here we go:

3-Ingredient (Poor Man's) Spaghetti 

You'll need:
large can whole San Marzano tomatoes
1 stick unsalted butter
1 white onion, halved
spaghetti noodles, cooked

You'll do:
1) dump your tomatoes, butter, and onion in a large saucepan
2) cook the sauce on medium low for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and pressing the whole tomatoes against the side until they are finally broken up
3) Discard of the onion and pour the sauce over your spaghetti. enjoy.

It's that easy! And now you know.

In meeting goals and spreading the word,

{Make this}: Simple Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Red Pepper Flakes.

When the weather turns nicer and the days are brighter longer, for dinner I really crave something light and fresh. I love eating on our back patio and just simply being outside.

This recipe is perfect for that kind of night. Simple enough for a school/work night but still delicious. When you read what is in it, you'd think it wouldn't have flavor but oh does it!

I used this recipe from Yum Sugar as a base but went to the comments section to get ideas on how to improve it (hint for making something off an internet recipe - the comments are always helpful).

You'll need:

spaghetti pasta
fresh garlic, minced (as much as you prefer - for me, that is LOTS)
good extra virgin olive oil
red pepper flakes (about 2 teaspoons)
fresh parmesan or romano cheese, grated

You'll do:
1) Boil the pasta - make sure to watch and not let it get too cooked. You want it "al dente" for this since it is the feature of the recipe.

2) In a saucepan, heat your olive oil on medium heat. Once it gets hot, add your garlic and pepper flakes and let them infuse in the oil. Be careful not to let the garlic burn so only leave it on about 2 minutes.

3) Toss the olive oil/pepper flake/garlic mixture into the pasta and stir in grated cheese.

We served with a fresh spring mix salad. And there you have it! That easy!


In garlic-laden meals,

{Go there}: Old Venice Pizza Company.

Usually on Sundays Jake and I go to our favorite, Garabaldi's. But a few Sundays ago, Garabaldi's was closed for Easter. So we had to branch out - we headed to a place we never go because it is always too crowded - Old Venice Pizza Company on Perkins in East Memphis. Apparently on Easter Sunday not too many people eat out for dinner (too much ham and deviled eggs at lunch, perhaps?).

So there we were, dining out to celebrate our own little Easter. And what I'm about to say will shock you - we went to a restaurant that serves pizza. And we didn't order pizza. I know. But I was craving pasta so there we were, looking at the menu of delicious pastas:

Jake chose the Trausclaire and I got the Godfather:

While we were waiting for our food, I took in the rustic Tuscan environment (Old Venice? Tuscan?). I called the style "ruscany" - I think it will catch on.

We both ordered caesar salads. Old Venice does these well - light enough but still lemony and a caesar zing. Croutons seemed to be homemade, perhaps from the breadsticks they provide before dinner (which were delicious - we ate those without a picture, THAT is how good they were).

And before we knew it (no really, the service was great), it was on to the main show: PASTA. Sometimes I just really want to eat the crap out of some pasta. And now I've found the perfect place to do so (well, second most perfect but Lavoro's Italian is too far out East for the everyday).

My Godfather pasta was like they took an inventory of my favorite things and put them in one dish - gorgonzola cheese, vodka cream sauce, pepperoncinis, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and chicken. And let's talk about the chicken. It wasn't chunked, questionably uniform chicken pieces like some places. It was thinly sliced freshly cooked chicken breast that tasted unreal.

Jake reports that his pasta was also life-changing. He even tolerated me taking these pictures at dinner, which is his way of saying that it was so good that it deserves to be blogged about. So there you have it. If you're in Memphis and love pasta as much as me, you better check out Old Venice.

In pasta with a side of carbolicious breadsticks,

Make this: Gorgonzola Spinach Pasta with Chicken.

Last night, I looked in the fridge trying to figure out what to make based on what was needing to be used. I had gorgonzola cheese and fresh spinach. And with that, a recipe was born.

This is a pasta in cream sauce with spinach and gorgonzola, with shredded chicken mixed in. It was relatively easy to cook (the hard part was getting the cream sauce to thicken without boiling it) and the taste is spot on.

You'll need:
a bigger pasta (rigatoni, large macaroni shells, etc)
1 pint heavy cream
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
2 cups shredded chicken (*we used rotisserie but you could use chicken breast)
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese

 What you'll do:
1) Boil your pasta (throw in some olive oil and salt)
2) Pour the cream into a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add rosemary and garlic and simmer - don't let it boil. Heat until the cream reduces by about half.

 3) Once the sauce has reduced, stir in gorgonzola cheese and let the sauce thicken. Once it has thickened enough, add in the spinach and chicken. Flavor with salt and pepper, if desired.

4) Add in the pasta and stir to coat.

 And serve!

 **This recipe was inspired by one I had pinned on Pinterest, found here.

I'd say this one is a keeper - only 6 ingredients, took 20 minutes to make, and tasted delicious. Try it yourself!

In heavy cream,

Make this: Dad's Bolognese Spaghetti.

My dad is an incredible chef. I love almost everything he makes and this bolognese sauce is no exception.  I love a good meal at home. Isn't there something comforting about eating dinner with family?

I snagged a picture of his recipe for the bolognese sauce - printed from an online recipe site, it appears (not the newspaper one, but the one behind it):

The recipe, taken from All Recipes.com

Ingredients -
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, shredded
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 (28 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes
6 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound pasta

Instructions -
1. In a large skillet, warm oil over medium heat and sauté bacon, onion, and garlic until bacon is browned and crisp, set aside
2. In a large saucepan, brown beef and pork. Drain excess fat. Stir in bacon mixture, mushrooms, carrots, celery, tomatoes, tomato sauce, wine, stock, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to saucepan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer one hour, stirring occasionally.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente, drain.
4. Serve sauce over hot pasta.

Makes about 10 servings

Here's the result:

Delicious. Already craving it again. Well done, pops!

In pasta and bread,

Make this: Garlic Parmesan Orzo

Warning - if you are not a garlic fan, do not proceed. 


But... if you want a very simple, tasty recipe for a side dish, and you love garlic, this is definitely for you. 

You need:


Orzo pasta
Garlic clove, minced (we used 3 cloves)
Shredded parmesan cheese (must be fresh or it won't melt)


You cook the pasta according to the package and drain - put in a serving bowl. Stir in garlic and cheese and serve. 


It is that simple! We served with breaded chicken cutlets and broccoli and it was cheap and easy - for my med student, it was "just what the doctor ordered." 

Ten for Two Challenge.

With summer coming to a close and school on the horizon, I got in a cooking rut. After having the kitchen lovelies as my personal chefs (albeit not the best food... but made with love) for all of June then traveling most of July, dinners cooked at home just wasn't in the routine. 

So what better way to get back into a routine than to make a blog challenge out of it? I'm challenging myself to do ten for two dinners. Ten dollars, two people, fed. And now, here's the first one:

Spaghetti and a Greek Salad (that somehow pictured really funky):

This was my first of the challenge and so I didn't think to take a picture of the receipt (but I did from then on out!). The spaghetti recipe I used is one I blogged about last year - poor man's spaghetti. Breakdown below:

- San Marzano Whole Peeled Tomatoes - $2.99
- butter (already had)
- onion - $1ish
- spaghetti noodles - $2ish
- romaine lettuce - $3
- feta (already had)
- salad dressing (already had)


Total? $9. Gotta love a delicious spaghetti sauce that only uses three ingredients. And you'd think 45 minutes with whole peeled tomatoes, butter, and an onion would be lacking in the flavor department, but I don't even like red sauce and I'd drink this.


Onto the next ten-for-two challenge...

Make this: Knock-off Bosco's Gorgonzola Chicken Pasta

I have a thing for Bosco's Midtown. I love it - it's close, it's chill, they have good beer for Jake, the parking is accessible. I love their food too. I HIGHLY recommend getting the garlic parmesan fries as an app (it is off the menu) and if you feel like going even more under-the-radar, ask for the fried pickles (they are off the menu too). 


As much as I love Bosco's, it isn't the price of food I'd go for every week. But I love their Gorgonzola Chicken Pasta. Love isn't even strong enough. I lovvve it. Every single time I go I either get a cheese pizza and add gorgonzola and sundried tomatoes or get this pasta (either way, it is pretty much the same thing). 


So, of course, I tried to make a knock-off the other night and I think I did a decent job. I mulled around on the internet and found this recipe that seems to have some of the same elements. 


With research in hand, I gathered my ingredients:

-Box of Pasta (penne or the like)
- Chicken (cut into 1/2 inch pieces, about 1 lb)
- sun dried tomatoes (about 5, chopped up)
- gorgonzola cheese (about 8 oz)
- white wine (about 1/4th a cup)
- chicken broth (about 1/4th a cup)
- whole cream (1 cup - we used half and half)
- garlic (4 large cloves, minced)
- red pepper flakes (a few pinches)


And the steps:
1) start cooking your pasta
2) cook your chicken in oil over medium heat, browning the sides - once brown, add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for one minute
3) add in white wine, scrape bottom of pan for browned bits
4) add in broth and cream, stirring and cooking until sauce thickens (about 5 minutes)
5) add in gorgonzola and sun dried tomatoes, let cook for a few more minutes
6) your pasta should be done - drain it and toss in sauce


I served with fresh grated romano cheese and a caesar salad:

I'd say this comes pretty close to Bosco's - it isn't exact but it has a flavor I like anyway. It is definitely a keeper and maybe even company worthy. It was pretty fast and easy to make. 




In eating on our dining table for the first time since January,

Make this: Cheesy Baked Pasta with Spinach and Artichokes

If you're looking for an easy, quick, and cheap dinner, you've found the right meal. We made this recipe from Real Simple Magazine last week, after planning to for some time. It was excellent - quick, cheap, and mildly good for you (well, less bad for you than other things?). 

Their picture:

And our take:

 A dimly lit kitchen and lack of food photographers make for an ugly picture on our part but it was delicious. Check out the recipe!

Budget Breakdown:
1/2 box rigatoni (about $2 - we already had this)
artichoke hearts ($5 on sale at Kroger)
frozen creamed spinach ($1ish)
grated cheeses - on hand

= super cheap ($6 for us, maybe $10-12 for someone with none of the ingredients)

Make this: Fresh, Simple Weeknight Pasta

When it came to dinner tonight, I wanted a pasta that used the ingredients left over from the prior night's meal. So, in logical fashion, I googled the ingredients. This pasta dish, adapted from my favorite Cook's Country, is what I came up with. Try it out for yourself, if you wish...

 What you need:
- pasta (calls for fusili, but we used bowtie)
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can diced (we omitted, as we did not have any)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 3 tblsp olive oil
- 8 mini mozzarella pearls, halved
- grated parm cheese
- 1/2 teasp salt
- 1/4 teasp sugar
- 1/4 teasp red pepper flakes


1) heat the olive oil over medium high, add garlic and red pepper flakes until golden
2) add in tomatoes, let simmer 15-20 min until thickened (we added red wine here - why not?)
3) after 15-20 min, add in basil, salt, sugar, stir
4) pour over pasta, which has boiled by now and been strained
5) stir in mozzarella balls
6) serve with fresh grated parm.