Lets Talk Pasta Sauces - First Marinara and Alfredo

So one of the easiest meals you can make is pasta. Anyone can do it its cheap, fast and delish! So many people now a days feel that the best thing to do is just get the pasta sauce out of the bottle. This is a big no no. Not only are these full of bad preservatives but also full of sugar and salt. So to make it fresh takes no time and is much healthier for you

First we are going to discuss the simple Marinara. This sauce is basically just garlic, olive oil, fresh basil a can of crushes tomatoes a can of diced tomatoes, and salt and pepper for taste. It takes about 10 minutes to make and is delish.

Now on to my very favorite sauce of all time. Alfredo. Alfredo is very simple you just need to make sure to watch it or it will burn. It is also very fatty so not something you would want to make a staple in the household. Also i find this sauce best served with spinach fettuccine. You want to take 1 TBSP of butter and melt it in the bottom of a pot then you add on e garlic clove chopped let sizzle a bit, you then add 1 cup of Whipping cream. you will need to reduce this to have. So have on a medium heat and whisk constantly once the cream has come to a boil it is ready. So you then add 1/2 cup of Parm cheese, and let it come to a soft boil to thicken. Serve over your pasta and delish. you can also add chicken, shrimp or mushrooms.. yummy!!

There are so many more sauces to come but this is it for now.

Ciao

Eggplant Lasagne

This recipe can be alternated to have any type of filling in the lasagne, so feel free to experiment.

Now I know a lot of people that do not like eggplant and the biggest problem is most people just aren't sure how to cook it before preparing it. The big secret is to first slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch pieces and put them in a strainer and then sprinkle course sea salt over them for at least 1 hour before cooking them. You can then rinse them off and pat them dry. This helps get out all the acidity from the eggplant and will take away the not nice after taste that can come from that.

Now you will want to make a basic marinara sauce. for this you will need 3 cloves of garlic, a bunch of fresh basil ( dried is fine to but only a tsp if using dried) and a can of died tomatoes, a bottle of strained tomatoes (tomato puree) and a TBSP of tomato paste. and salt and pepper for taste.

So first you put a good glug of olive oil in a pan and let it heat then add your chopped garlic and your chopped basil (add dried basil after you put in the tomatoes) let cook for 2-3 minutes add all the tomatoes and let simmer, add a salt and pepper to taste and let simmer on low on your stove.

For pasta I find your best bet is the fresh pasta you can get, it is relatively inexpensive and you can get it at any Italian grocery store or even at the local supermarket. It is the quickest and easiest way to do it because you can just pop the whole thing in the oven and you don't need to pre cook the noodles!

Now for the eggplant... how I like to do it is add some olive oil maybe 1/4 cup and then fry the eggplant until its is brown on both sides, you will know when to flip when the olive oil has seeped through to the other side of the eggplant.

For cheese you will need 1 cup ricotta, 1 egg, and 1/2 cup parm, mix together

So add some sauce to the bottom of your lasagne pan, then add first layer of pasta, (depending how big your pan is will depend on how much pasta you need) then add more sauce and another layer of pasta, then add cheese mix and then another layer of pasta, you then add thin layer of sauce and you eggplant and then another layer of pasta. you can add lots of sauce to the top and top it all off with some fresh mozza grated or sliced and put on top. Baked at 350 for 35 minutes let sit for 3 minutes before serving!

Great with the Caesar salad!!!

You can also make ahead of time and freeze for an impromptu guest.