If you’re looking for a flavorful, hearty and simple meal, this is the one for you. It’s delicious and the use of the campanelle pasta gave this dish added dimension. I had first thought of using bow ties (farfalle) or rotini but I had some campanelle sitting in the pantry for some time and decided to use this instead. I had a small plateful but hubby was the one who ate most of it. I must say that this is going into the “Go-To” list when I’m stumped for something scrumptious and easy.
“What’s for dinner?”
“Meatballs and pasta”
“Beef meatballs?”
“No, turkey”
*Eerie (like that from horror or sci fi movies) silence*
And I knew that was coming too because my PIC is stubborn to change. He likes what he knows. Could you imagine my shock when I fed him brown rice for the (maybe) 15th time the other day and he turned to me and said “Babe, listen if you’re serving Saltfish, anything Asian or curry chicken, please give me white rice. I don’t want this brown rice. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” (I know this is besides the point of the pasta and meatballs but I mentioned it to say, this guy just likes what he’s accustomed to) My mother in law says I have to train him. Good grief, this is not easy work. He would have preferred the old Spaghetti and Meatballs but long story short, I’m trying to be healthy around here and what I cook will be eaten. Point blank. Period. So in summary, my pasta and delicious turkey meatballs were gobbled down for dinner and lunch the next day by both members of this family. They’re healthy, jam-packed with flavor and so very scrumptious. Find my recipe below BUT if you have any variations on turkey meatballs and different ways to prepare them, please share your recipes. We will be eating a lot more turkey meatballs around here (I don’t care who likes it or not), so the more turkey meatball recipes we have, the better! And no, this wasn’t an angry-ish post. I was actually typing in my most loving “voice”.
There’s no story to go along with this dish other than my local supermarket had a sale on lobster tails. I believe it was $4 or $5 per tail so I just couldn’t pass it up. I figured I wouldn’t get much meat from the tails so to make up for it in the dish, I added shrimp. I chopped both shrimp and lobster into same sized pieces and began making my lovely pasta! There’s one pasta dish I revert to every time I am in a rut and just don’t know what to make. This recipe is based mostly on that. The only difference is the addition of chicken stock and the lobster. I mostly use all of the same ingredients. See my Bow Ties in Light Tomato Sauce and my Pasta and Vodka Sauce post for an idea of how I do most of my pasta, tomato dishes. This lobster and shrimp one, however, kicked things up a notch as lobster isn’t something we eat around here all the time so it made for a special and extra wonderful meal.
Pasta gets cooked over here at least twice a week (and then rice three times, and potatoes twice). Like clockwork. But I have to admit that pasta is my favorite thing to cook. Italian styled traditional dishes are my speciality. This dish I’m about to share really could have been served without any shrimp (or chicken/meat for that matter). The inspiration was actually a meatless recipe. It’s extremely rich and filling but like Emeril, I always have to kick things up a notch. Not as extravagantly as he does, but still I try.
This is another classic, hearty and tasty Italian-styled dish. I first had shrimp alfredo in a restaurant many moons ago and totally loved it. It was comforting and delicious. I have made this dish a few dozen times and can never get tired of it plus it’s so easy and quick to prepare. Can’t go wrong with that right? Some people opt to leave out the alcohol that I see in many recipes but if you’ve visited my blog enough times, you’ll know Tia misses no opportunity to incorporate liquor into her meals. I used a dry vermouth in place of the recommended white wine but it was great all the same.
This is the most delicious pasta meal I have had in a while. I mean, I think the pasta dishes I make are good but this one was out of this world tasty! And it is the first meal in weeks that they weren’t any leftovers. Next time, I’m definitely making a ton load of it. Yes. It was that good!
This dish is another of my favorites to order at Chinese restaurants. And if you can’t tell by now, I love shrimp. There’s always shrimp here and I love incorporating it into delicious meals. When I made this I could have given Rachel Ray some serious competition. (Side Note: I do not watch her show (anymore) because I find her just a tad bit annoying. Is she still on Food Network? I digress…) The competition factor came from the time it took to prepare this meal; less than 30 minutes. Shrimp + Vegetables + Noodles = One Dish. Easy Peasy Meal. My PIC actually stood around the entire time watching (and helping) me make this. I was (and AM) happy about that because I’m confident that if I ever drop sick in the future, well, he’d be able to make me this absolutely delicious and comforting meal.
Breathe in. Hold it. Breathe Out. Repeat. Ready? I don’t know how to put this. Alright, I’ll just come out and say it. Wait. Before I say it, I just want to say that I don’t know why this happened. I don’t know how I allowed this to happen. I can’t explain it. It’s just the way things are. Cool? Well….Until I made these last week, I had never had stuffed shells. Not once. I saw the recipes all the time. Saw them on Italian restaurant menus. Saw them on ads on television. Saw them in the frozen aisles at supermarkets. Saw them in the dining hall in college (and passed them straight). They were everywhere and I never once bothered to try them…..until I realized that my collection of Italian recipes were a little repetitive. I insisted on shaking things up a bit. Hence, I sought out this Stuffed Shells recipe and made it. Yes. Veni. Vidi. Vici.
I cook so much Italian (styled) food, it’s sad…NOT! And it seems that it’s mostly dishes people would consider comfort food. I mean, life is hard so a little loving in my tummy goes a very long way. In the list with my favorite pasta dishes, regardless the season or the temperatures, spaghetti and meatballs is close to the top. I had bought a family pack portion of ground beef (almost 3 lbs) (I only did it because the family pack is cheaper than the 1lb or less sizes. You have to be conscientious in this rough economy, right?). I had made lasagna with some, burgers with some more, and the last portion sat frozen in the freezer begging for some love and attention. I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I made these delicious meatballs to go atop spaghetti. MMM, MMM, GOOD!
If there’s any food I can cook well, it’s Italian food. Sometimes, I think I’m better at cooking Italian dishes than West Indian ones. Pasta? Who doesn’t love pasta? Italian food just practically screams rich, hearty and delizioso! Right after lasagna, pasta with italian sausage is my favorite Italian dish to prepare and eat. It’s simple (there’s my favorite word) and filling. I look forward to the days when I cook sausage. I usually use a mixture of the Italian sweet and Italian spicy sausages. I learned this term on HGTV a few months ago, when people were describing houses, so I’ll throw them in when talking about my food. This combo of hot and sweet sausages gives dishes “a lot of personality and character”. And can you go wrong with either? Me thinks not!
