Farfalle is Italian for butterfly . . . and American for bow tie pasta

Italian Vegetable Farfalle


8 ounces Barilla farfalle
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
salt and pepper
1 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped
1 medium yellow squash, coarsely chopped
1 jar (26 ounces) Barilla Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce
Grated parmesan cheese

Cook farfalle according to package directions and drain.  Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet.  Add chicken; cook and sir over medium-high heat until cooked through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add zucchini and yellow squash to skillet; cook and stir 5 minutes.  Reduce heat; stir in pasta sauce.  Cook 5 minutes.  Pour sauce over hot drained farfalle.  Sprinkle with cheese.

For all of my loyal readers out there (some of you are reading right?), sorry for not posting a recipe last week.  Who knew going to the rodeo, homework, and getting sick wouldn't leave time for cooking and blogging.  Well I'm back in action this week with a simple yet tasty recipe that can be whipped up in no time.  Seriously, this could not have been easier to cook.  Minimal ingredients and quick cooking time, I'm all over that.  You could probably sub out the zucchini and squash for other veggies if you had a preference.  This basic recipe could really be changed up to be whatever you wanted.  I'm guessing this recipe was from a Barilla advertisement considering it lists buying their brand of pasta and sauce.  I'm sure you could use whatever brand you wanted if you were feeling rebellious.  Oh, and in case you were still wondering, farfelle is bow tie pasta.  

This week's real recipe

Carrot-Banana Bread


1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium-sized)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs.  Mash bananas in small bowl.  Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Blend in flour mixture alternately with bananas.  Combine mixture with egg-butter-sugar mixture.  Stir in carrots and nuts.  Turn into greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.  Bake in 350 degree oven 50 to 60 minutes, or until cake tester inserted comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes, turn out of pan and cool completely.  Makes one loaf.

This is a very sneaky way to eat carrots for someone like me who doesn't really care for carrots. A tasty recipe, however I like my own tried and true banana bread recipe better (if anyone is interested in that recipe, just let me know, I'm more than happy to share).  I did not add the chopped nuts because I don't believe nuts belong in bread.  I am a bit of a bread purist.  I had some issues getting the loaf out of the pan.  I greased and floured it since the flour tends to help that, but part of it still got stuck and the loaf broke apart.  

Even when I tried to slice it the slices crumbled.  The bread was plenty moist, so I'm not sure what was going on.  It just didn't hold together very well.  

Better late than never . . . and it's not really a recipe

Italian Bread Crumbs

2-3 cups bread crumbs
3 cloves garlic, minced (or more to taste)
3 green onions, minced
3/4 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano

Combine in a food processor and pulse until mixed.  Store in a zip-locked bag in the freezer.


Ok, no picture for this one.  I didn't think anyone would want to see a ziplock bag of bread crumbs.  This was the recipe I picked last week and as I have been reminded by some, I didn't post last week.  Sorry, the week kind of got away from me.  But I'm back at it so here it is.  The only thing I can say about this one is that is smelled good.  I didn't taste them.  A spoonful of bread crumbs just didn't sound appetizing.  I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with a big bag of bread crumbs just yet.  I have some leftover chicken in the freezer, maybe I can make chicken fingers with marinara for dipping.  If anyone has any other ideas on how to use these bread crumbs, please feel free to share.  These are definitely going to last me a while.  If I still have the bag in my freezer a year from now, you will all be the first to know.  

New year, new recipe

Macaroni and Cheese


1 (1 lb) package elbow macaroni, uncooked
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch black pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Cook macaroni as package directs; drain.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In saucepan melt butter, stir in next 4 ingredients.  Blend in milk and worcestershire.  Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.  Add 1 1/2 cups cheese, stir until melted.  Combine macaroni and cheese sauce, blend well.  Pour into a 2 quart casserole, bake 20-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.  Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, broil just until light golden.

Well, after a break last week for the holidays the shoebox is back in action for the new year, randomly throwing out recipes in this culinary adventure.  And if this recipe is any indication of how the new year is going to go, then 2012 is going to be a bland year.  This recipe had no flavor . . .  at all.  And I was so excited when I pulled the recipe from the box.  For those of you who know me, macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite foods.  However, this version of macaroni and cheese is not.  I've never made mac and cheese from scratch and I'm not even sure what I would do to change this up to make it better.  If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.  Or if you have a better mac and cheese recipe you're willing to share, that would be even better!