Penne with Tomato and Cheese Sauce

 I was all ready to make lasagna and discovered I didn't have

lasagna noodles or ricotta cheese. 

So I thought I would use penne pasta and a cream sauce instead.

It worked out pretty well.

Recipe:  3/4 pound of penne pasta

1/2 pound of ground beef

14 oz. of pasta sauce

home made cream sauce

1/2 cup of mozzarella

salt and pepper

 Cook the pasta and spread a layer in a 12 by 12 inch dish.

 Cook the ground beef and add the sauce .

(Reserve about 1/8 cup of sauce)

Layer on top of the pasta.

 Put another layer of pasta on top.

(A little more than what is pictured above.)

 Make a roux with 3 TB. of butter, 3 TB of flour and

1 and 1/2 cups milk

Cook for 3 minutes on medium low heat and then add cheese.

 Spread cheese sauce on top of the second layer of pasta.

Put a third layer of pasta on top of that.

Put a little left over pasta sauce on top.

Bake at 350 degrees, covered, for about 30 minutes.

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Vegtables

Recipe: 4 oz. spaghetti

1 tomato (chopped)

2 carrots (chopped)

2 zucchini (chopped)

10 cooked shrimp

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Chop vegtables into small cubes and mix with 1 tablespoon

olive oil and dried basil.  Spread on a parchment lined baking

sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for about

12 minutes.

Warm the tomato sauce and stir it together with the cooked

shrimp, spaghetti, and vegtables,  in a large bowl.



Zucchini Boats

Zucchini Boats can be used as a main course but I think

I would rather use them as a side dish or appetizer.  Lots

of different ingredients can be used.  My recipe was based

 on what I happened to have in the kitchen today.

Recipe:  Four zucchini

1/2 cup cooked ground beef

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup pasta sauce

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning

Salt and pepper

Shredded cheese

 Slice zucchini in half and chop off the stem.

 Score the zucchini to make it easier to scoop out pulp.

Use a spoon to hollow out the zucchini to 1/4 inch thickness.

 I cooked the tomato, green pepper and zucchini pulp in a

pan with olive oil, for a few minutes.  Then mixed all the

ingredients in a bowl.  The recipe can easily be changed

to suit your taste.  Meat is optional.

 Arrange boats in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees

for 30 minutes.  Top with your favorite cheese and let it

melt on top for a minute, in the oven.

 You can pick them up like a hot dog and eat.