Italian Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1 box tri color rotini
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/2 orange pepper, sliced
1/2 box grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 can black olives
1/2 pkg. italian dry salami
1/2 cup crumbled feta, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1 bottle Olive Garden Italian dressing (or similar)

Directions:
1. Cook pasta, rinse, and cool.
2. Mix all the ingredients with the cooled pasta. Add more vegetables if you like.
3. Pour 1/4-1/2 bottle of dressing to salad the night before and refrigerate overnight.
4. Add remaining dressing before serving if you want more flavor.

Source: Joanne Cooper

Soba Noodle Salad

Ingredients:
15 ounces dried soba noodles
1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
juice from one lime
zest of one lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)
1 cup diced cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works well)
1 cup finely grated carrot
1/2 -1 red pepper, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 can water chestnuts, sliced
1/4 cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. In a large pot, cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse noodles with cold water, and set aside.
2. Pour into a large bowl the sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and lime juice. Mix in lime zest, brown sugar, garlic, and red pepper flakes; stir until sugar dissolves. Toss in chicken, carrots, red pepper, water chestnuts, peanuts, and cilantro.
3. Cut noodles into 3-inch lengths. Stir into dressing mixture. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
4. Toss salad again before serving. If dry, splash with soy sauce and vinegar. Serve cold.

Source: allrecipes.com (adapted)

Pasta with Roasted-Tomato Meat Sauce

Ingredients:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
9 ounces 80% lean ground pork
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 canned anchovy fillets in oil, drained and chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place cherry tomatoes on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until tomatoes are lightly browned.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
4. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, garlic, salt, pepper, and anchovies to pan; cook 4 minutes or until pork is browned, stirring to crumble. Add sherry to pan; cook 30 seconds, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add tomatoes and vinegar; cook 2 minutes or until tomatoes release their liquid and sauce is slightly thickened. Combine pasta and sauce in a large bowl; toss to coat. Sprinkle with basil.

Source: Cooking Light

Pasta with Kale and Walnut Pesto

Ingredients:

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons walnuts
1 bunch kale, thick stems discarded and leaves torn (about 12 cups)
1 cup grated pecorino (2 ounces), plus more for serving
1 small clove garlic
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 pound fusilli, penne, or some other short pasta

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes; let cool. Chop 2 tablespoons of the walnuts and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale and cook until bright green, 30 seconds. Transfer the kale to a colander (reserve the cooking water); squeeze dry when cool enough to handle.
3. In a food processor, combine the kale, pecorino, garlic, the remaining ⅓ cup of unchopped walnuts, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Process until finely chopped. With the machine running, add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream.
4. Bring the reserved cooking water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the pesto and ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water and toss to coat (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry). Serve the pasta sprinkled with the pecorino and chopped walnuts.

Source: realsimple.com

Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:

Cooked chicken breast

Spaghetti

Pine nuts

Sun dried tomato

Pesto sauce (see recipe)

Directions:

Cook pasta and top with pesto sauce, chicken, pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes.

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta (20 ounces)
1 1/4 cups grated zucchini (from 1 medium zucchini)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
1 large egg, beaten
Coarse salt and pepper
3 cups marinara, divided
28 jumbo pasta shells (7 ounces total), cooked according to package instructions
26 small pepperoni slices (2 ounces total)
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (3 ounces)

Directions:

1 .Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, zucchini, basil, and egg; season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Spread 1 cup marinara in a 9-by-13-inch broiler-proof baking dish. Fill each shell with 1 heaping tablespoon ricotta mixture and arrange in an even layer in dish. Top with remaining 2 cups marinara, then pepperoni and mozzarella.
3. Cover with foil and bake until sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Heat broiler, remove foil, and broil until cheese is browned in spots, about 3 minutes. Top with additional basil and serve.

Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/945312/pepperoni-pasta-bake

Linguine with Tuna, Walnuts, Lemon, and Herbs

Ingredients:

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 pound linguine
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 6-ounce cans tuna packed in oil
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/2 cup mixed chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, and thyme

Preparation:

1. In a small frying pan, toast the walnuts over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Or toast them in a 350° oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the linguine until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over moderate heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the tuna and its oil and break up the tuna with a fork. Remove from the heat. Toss the linguine with the tuna mixture, the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, herbs, and the toasted walnuts.

Source: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/linguine-with-tuna-walnuts-lemon-and-herbs