On an evening when I just want to make a quick and easy dinner that looks and tastes stupendous with minimal effort, pasta with store-bought marinara sauce is one of the dishes I turn to. Store-bought marinara sauce no matter what the brand tastes rather bland in my opinion. Very often I like to jazz up store-bought marinara sauce with extra vegetables. Seriously, these little additions elevate an ordinary marinara sauce into something gourmet. The only effort in making this tastey dinner is cutting the veggies that go in it. Other than that, it is a quick 30-minute meal that tastes like you spent hours over the stove. Continue reading Spaghetti with Jazzed-Up Store-bought Marinara Sauce
Tag Archives: pasta
Oreccheitti Pasta with Dried Herbs & Vegetables
Pasta with fragrant dried herbs and a variety of vegetables is perfect comfort food on a cool fall-afternoon. Fresh herbs from my garden are what I reach for when making pasta but on this Sunday afternoon it was my daughter Sri who was making lunch and rather than take the few extra steps into the garden for fresh herbs she just reached into my pantry for my homegrown dried herbs. I have to say I was surprised how different dried herbs taste from fresh herbs. I would even say that dried herbs have a stronger flavor profile giving pasta a real kick of herb fragrance. In this oreccheitti pasta Sri used veggies that I had at hand which happened to be asparagus, mushrooms, and tomatoes. With a pinch of chili flakes and lots of garlic, this pasta tastes amazing with fragrant dried herbs and fresh vegetables 😋. Continue reading Oreccheitti Pasta with Dried Herbs & Vegetables
Creamy Goat Cheese Fettuccini with Spinach and Leeks
Here is a quick and easy weeknight pasta with baby spinach, leeks and fresh garden tomatoes, all tossed in a delicious creamy goat cheese sauce. This is the ultimate comfort food that is packed with good for you veggies and warm feel-good pasta. I love spinach and have started to really like leeks a lot too. I grew up with Mom making spinach often, and it’s to the point now that I miss it if I haven’t had any it in a few days. Any opportunity to use spinach I am all for it – in rice, quinoa, daal, curry, salads, and of course pasta! I especially love spinach in pasta, it wilts into the warm pasta so delicately and always tastes great. Try this gourmet tasting easy to make pasta with spinach and leeks and creamy cheese sauce for a stay-at-home Thursday night dinner or a Friday night dinner or on any night really. Continue reading Creamy Goat Cheese Fettuccini with Spinach and Leeks
Rigatoni with Asparagus Leeks Zucchini and Kale
This light and delicious pasta is packed with good for you veggies like asparagus, kale, zucchini and leeks and is the perfect healthy weeknight dinner. With a touch of garlic and black pepper and topped with Parmesan cheese, this simple pasta tastes outstanding, and even takes care of the veggie quota for the evening. Continue reading Rigatoni with Asparagus Leeks Zucchini and Kale
Garlic Pasta with Baby Spinach
Garlic pasta with baby spinach is our family’s all-time favorite pasta. I’ve been making this pasta for over twenty years and it always tastes the same – positively scrumptious 😋. I started making this pasta when my older daughter Sri was in preschool. She loved pasta (still does). Of course I made it with tomato sauce, and one with mixed vegetables, with pesto, one with cheese, and while they all tasted great, this version with garlic and baby spinach always got the best reaction. There is something about the simplicity of finely chopped baby spinach, crushed garlic, and a touch of red chili flakes that puts this pasta in a league of it’s own. Continue reading Garlic Pasta with Baby Spinach
Parmigiano Reggiano Fettuccini
The twins Anjali and Rani brought back a bunch of Italian goodies from their school trip to Italy recently -Parmigiano reggiano cheese, balsamic vinegar, pasta, and honey infused with balsamic vinegar. The parmigiano reggiano cheese was amazingly delicious 😋 and tasted so good that Hitesh asked me to make a pasta with just the cheese, and I did. Gosh, when food is made with quality ingredients it really doesn’t need much by way of flavor enhancers. I didn’t even add any herbs to this parmesan pasta, just olive oil and garlic with salt and pepper. What is it about pasta that makes one feel so good? Pasta has to be God’s gift to man, the ultimate comfort food. Continue reading Parmigiano Reggiano Fettuccini
Eggplant Tomato Pasta
This is a quick and easy recipe for a delicious tender eggplant pasta that takes just minutes to prepare. But before I share this pasta recipe let me share these beautiful and I mean BEAUTIFUL photos that one of my twins Rani took this week from guess where? La Dolce Vita!! Italy!! The twins Anjali and Rani are on a school trip to Italy this week! Why didn’t we go along? We tried, believe me!! But their school was very clear – only for students please! So here we are in California enjoying Italy vicariously through our kids. Rani texted these photos from Florence on day two of their trip and the pictures are just gorgeous! Continue reading Eggplant Tomato Pasta
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Simple, savory, sweet and scrumptious, this pasta is a breeze to make. I made this red bell pepper pasta after returning from a week away for Spring Break. When we came back home I had six red bell peppers in the refrigerator that I had bought before our trip and they were not as firm as when I first bought them. Roasting them with some olive oil to get them caramelized seemed like a great way to mask the “not so fresh” texture of these peppers. I was debating on what to make with the roasted peppers – a quinoa pilaf, or a sandwich, soup, or pasta? Rani happened to walk past and requested pasta. Roasted red pepper pasta it was to be 😋. Continue reading Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Minestrone Soup
Minestrone soup, what’s not to like about this Italian favorite? Chock full of vegetables, Italian herbs, legumes and pasta all cooked in a tangy tomato broth always hits the spot at any time of the year. Continue reading Minestrone Soup
Bitter Veggies, Beets and Brownies Birthday Dinner. A Menu Worth Replicating
It was Hitesh’s birthday last weekend and the kids and I were debating if we should make reservations at a nice restaurant for this occasion, but the girls pointed out that Dad will be coming back from a long week’s business trip and they assumed he would want to relax at home on his birthday on the weekend. So began the planning for a stay at home birthday dinner for Hitesh. Continue reading Bitter Veggies, Beets and Brownies Birthday Dinner. A Menu Worth Replicating
