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World Tour: Good Italian eats!

January 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Archele's Spaghetti ©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

I’ve come up with yet another way to get my Italian food fix since I haven’t accumulated enough United Airlines points to book an international flight the country infamous for its pasta, pizza and beautiful people. I put a little twist on my spaghetti that I found to be quite tasty and so I thought I’d share it with all of you. All I did, was substitute ground beef with ground turkey and I added a sauteed medley of zucchini, fresh mushrooms and diced tomatoes to the mix. I used my store-bought tomato sauce of preference and added hot sauce and sugar until it had just the right flavor. It was quick, simple and absolutely mouthwatering!

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Simple Shrimp Pasta

September 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Much like the character Bubba in Forrest Gump believed, shrimp is extremely versatile. You can fry up a batch, stuff ‘em in quesadillas or just eat them as is with a fresh serving of cocktail sauce. Besides the variety if offers, I love shrimp because it’s quick and easy. Here’s my SUPER quick, go-to shrimp recipe.

Ingredients (Servings based on dinner for two)

1/2 pound raw, jumbo shrimp
1 tomato
1/2 box of rotini pasta
Italian dressing (amount will vary based on personal preference)
Ragu Roasted Garlic Parmesan Sauce (about 1/3 – 1/2 the jar)
Old Bay Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Basil
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions

Bring a pan of rotini pasta to a boil. Clean and devein shrimp.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

Add shrimp to pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Season with Old Bay Seasoning*. Sautee shrimp until both sides have color.  Add freshly cut tomatoes.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

Season shrimp-tomato mix with basil and garlic. Add Italian dressing and mix well.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

Add Ragu Roasted Garlic Parmesan. Use your taste to judge how much to add. You will want enough to mix evenly throughout your finished pasta dish.** Mix well.  

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

Drain rotini and remove Parmesan-Shrimp mixture from heat. Mix all in a large bowl and serve.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

Enjoy! 

Archele’s Tips
*Season to taste. Old Bay has a very bold flavor and may be a bit spicy to some.
**If you don’t want to use the Ragu Roasted Garlic Parmesan, feel free to use your personal preference.

Filed Under: Food.Fun.Stuff. Tagged With: ,

Johnna’s Easy as Kale

September 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Ingredients

1 lb. kale (*1 bunch of kale)

2 slices of bacon (*Suggested: Wellshire Dry Rubbed Bacon, can be found at Whole Foods)

6 tbsp. olive oil

Directions

Wash and remove the stems from the kale. In a saucepan, add in 2 tbsp. olive oil over Medium-High heat.

Cut bacon into ½” to 1” pieces and add to the saucepan.

Allow it cook until browning, about 3-5 minutes.

Add in the kale and allow it to cook down until wilted, about 8-10 minutes.

Toss slightly to combine the bacon with the kale.

Remove from heat and serve.

*Johnna’s tip: E-A-S-Y. That’s what I’m about these days. The easier the better but I still believe in the fresher the better. This recipe combines a few of my favorite things: greens, olive oil and smoky flavor. The bacon can be substituted for turkey bacon or Morning Star bacon. If you are adamant about no bacon whatsoever, then try about a tbsp. of liquid smoke, which should do the trick.

Filed Under: side dish Tagged With: , ,

Johnna’s Duck Spaghetti

September 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Ingredients

1 boneless, skinless duck breast

4 cloves of garlic

2 tsp. fresh thyme

1 (25 oz.) Lidia’s Tomato Basil sauce

1 lb. spaghetti (*I used Lidia’s Spaghetti for this recipe)

Olive Oil

Directions

In a Dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil to Medium-High heat.

Add in the garlic cloves and thyme and sauté for 1-2 minutes.

Add in the duck breast and cook on both sides 3-5 minutes, be careful to not overcook, meat should be just lightly browning.

Add in Lidia’s sauce, reduce the heat to Low to Medium Heat and cover. Cook for on Low-Medium Heat about 30-45 minutes until the duck breast is fully cooked within.

Remove the duck breast from the oven and slice into 4 pieces. Add the pieces to the food processor. 

Pulse on High until the duck meat is completely ground up into small pieces.

Add the duck back to the pot and stir.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

Toss with the spaghetti, garnish with any additional thyme sprigs and serve.

*Johnna’s tip: The original idea for this recipe was shredded duck breast but I totally forgot that “pulsating” duck in my food processor would ground it into small bits. Either way it turned out great and if you notice, I did not add any additional salt or pepper. Duck meat already contains enough salt so adding more could possibly ruin an entire dish (*trust me, I have done it plenty o’ times…). Add in a 1 tsp. (*or 2) of red pepper flakes for more spice and enjoy!

*Johnna’s tip, tip: A few months ago, I told you about my trip to Eataly which was successful and fulfilling. I could not leave without bringing some of that goodness home with me which is why I chose Lidia’s Tomato Basil sauce. Try this recipe with your own homemade sauce or any other tomato sauce you have on hand.

Filed Under: main dish, sauces Tagged With: , ,

Creamy Prosciutto and Pea Pasta

August 3, 2011 By 2 Comments

2-3 tbsp. olive oil

1 package of prosciutto

3 cloves fresh garlic (finely chopped)

1 shallot (finely chopped)

2 ½ tsp. fresh thyme (*Add an additional tsp. to this if you would like to use as a garnish)

1 container of Philadelphia Cream for Cooking

½ cup frozen green peas

1 lb. linguine

Salt (to taste)

Fresh black pepper (to taste)

Prosciutto

In a medium skillet over Medium-High heat, heat 1 tbsp. of the olive oil and add in the prosciutto.  Cook on both sides for 3-5 minutes or until crisp; remove from heat and drain; set aside.  In another pot, prepare the linguine according to package instructions.

In a medium Dutch Oven, add in 1-2 tbsp. of the olive oil and bring heat to Medium.  Add in the garlic and shallots; cook until the shallots are translucent (*about 1-2 minutes) and be sure not to burn the garlic.  Cook green peas according to package instructions.

In the Dutch Oven, add in the Philly cream, the peas and the thyme and stir to combine ingredients.  Allow this mixture to heat in the Dutch Oven for about 2-3 minutes.  Meanwhile, cut the prosciutto into small pieces and add it into the Dutch Oven; stir to combine.  Toss together the (drained) pasta and sauce; garnish with any remaining prosciutto and/or thyme.  Serve.

*Johnna’s tip: I overcooked the pasta. I’ll admit it. I would suggest watching this part the closest because the sauce will become to gooey when paired with the pasta if it is overcooked.  Overall, I am impressed by this little box of creaminess because it cuts out the sauce making process and makes for a quick, weeknight meal.  Thanks to So Good Blog for making me aware of this meal time saver.  Pair together with any pasta, the meat/veggie of your choice and Enjoy!

Filed Under: main dish Tagged With: , ,
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