Lotsa Pasta - Ways to Prepare Italian Pasta

By: Christine Steendahl Posted on: 2007-09-09 Downloads: 81 ** Print Article ** ** Copy Article ** Please Rate this Article 5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5  Not yet Rated

Article Summary: Spicing up meals with Italian pasta

Pasta is the most versatile Italian food. While it is increasingly popular here in the United States, believe it or not it is far more popular in Italy. Pasta is mainly created from flour. However, various types of grain can also make pasta. In order to make pasta flour is combined with water and sometimes also prepared with eggs. When the mixture is done, it is kneaded and formed into numerous shapes. The vast amount of pasta that is cooked is first boiled before served, however pasta can be baked, but before doing so it is usually boiled.

Pasta is very wallet friendly and can be very satisfying. It is a starch, and while most Americans are familiar with the dried pasta that is in long thin rods- spaghetti, it can also come fresh and in generally any shape including shells, tubes, spiral, very thick noodles, etc.
Italians refer to all pastas as macaroni, however, here in the U.S. we generally refer to macaroni as small shell type shapes of pasta.

Pasta with Tomato Meat Sauce
-16 ounces of pasta (spaghetti)
-1 16 ounce jar of tomato sauce
-1-1 ½ pounds of hamburger meat
-1 onion
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot boil water to ¾ full and add a teaspoon of olive oil and some salt. Once the water boils add in the pasta and stir for a minute or two to make sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom. In a frying pan, add some oil and then add some hamburger meat along with a diced onion. Cook the hamburger meat until medium or well done. In a sauce pan, add contents of tomato sauce. Let simmer on a low to medium flame. Do not cook the sauce quickly, it will only scorch it and dry it out. Once all items are complete, mix all ingredients, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot. Yields about 4 servings.

Stuffed Shells in Tomato Sauce
Stuffed shells are a great way to make dinner out of pasta, cheese and tomato sauce. They are easy to create and can be cooked in about 20 minutes. Here is the recipe:

-1 16 ounce box of large pasta shells. (Make sure that the shells are already pre cooked and ready to be baked. If not, you will have to first boil them and then bake them.
-1 pound of ricotta cheese
-1 16 ounce jar of tomato sauce
- Side dishes that go well are spinach, green beans, mushrooms or a Greek Salad

Heat your oven to about 350 degrees. Fill the shells with ricotta cheese. Usually each shell can be stuffed with about 2 tablespoons of cheese. Once stuffed, place the shell on a baking pan and cover the shell with foil. Cook for about 20 minutes. In a medium sauce pan with a low to medium flame simmer tomato sauce. Once complete spread shells with sauce. Other variations include adding meat to the sauce, spinach, etc.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Christine Steendahl
Christine Steendahl, "The Menu Mom", www.themenumom.com is known online for her popular meal planning programs. For her personal favorite stuffed shells recipe go to http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/stuffed-pasta-shells.htm