This is so good and so easy!  I think I actually like it better than cooking it on the stove.  And it’s perfect for a day when you have a few minutes to pull dinner together in the afternoon.  It only cooks about 3 hours (you can stretch it to about 5 if you cook on low).  I love having dinner ready at dinner time, without doing any cooking right then.

I completely forgot to take photos of the finished dish, so you’ll have to make do with this ingredient photo.

I found the recipe at Crystal & Co. She used a jar of spaghetti sauce, but I didn’t have any, so I made up a quick homemade version.  The hands-on prep is still super quick.

Dinner doesn’t get simpler than this.

If you’re blessed with tomatoes growing in your backyard, you could start the water, pick a couple tomatoes and have the sauce finished by the time the ravioli is done.

I didn’t have fresh tomatoes for this, so I used canned.  The sweetness of the onions goes well with tomatoes.  Cheese ravioli is a perfect base for the sauce.

Here’s what you’ll need. 

No ingredient photo this time because I was cooking fast and forgot to take one.

• 2 bags frozen cheese ravioli
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• olive oil
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Boil the ravioli according to the package directions.  While it’s cooking, cook onion and garlic in oil in a skillet.  Stir in tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve over cooked ravioli.

So I just read the title and it is a bit misleading.  This recipe contains no shell of tomato, crushed or otherwise.

It does have pesto, crushed tomatoes and pasta shells.  And that’s it, except the mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top.  Because you know how I can’t resist cheese.

15 minutes, start to finish and that includes time to boil the water.  Throw a salad at it and call it dinner, and a good one too.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 lb. medium pasta shells
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 4 oz pesto (1/2 prepared jar)

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Stir the crushed tomatoes and pesto together in a saucepan.  Heat over medium-high heat while the pasta cooks.

Drain the shells and combine with the sauce.  Serve with a sprinkle of cheese, if you like.

The extra pesto can be frozen for later.

There are nights when I stare into my pantry, wondering what I’m going to fix.  On this particular night, the contents of the pantry made me consider making Italian Sausage with Bowties but I didn’t have any stewed tomatoes.  I decided to change the recipe up a bit and came up with this.

Like the original, it’s a cinch to make and quick too.  This one gets an added taste boost from the peppers.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 lb. bowtie pasta
• 1 lb. bulk Italian Sausage
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 cup half & half, warmed
• salt and pepper to taste

Boil the pasta according to the package directions.

In a large skillet, brown the meat with onion and garlic.  Drain and rinse under hot water to remove the extra grease.  Return to the skillet and add the bell peppers.  Cook for several minutes, till the peppers are tender crisp.  Add crushed tomatoes, oregano and basil.  Cook over medium heat till hot. Turn the heat to low.  Stir in half & half.

Drain the pasta and return to the cooking pan.  Add the Italian sausage sauce to the pasta.  Serve with Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese, if you like.  Serves 6-8 people.

This post is part of Tasty Traditions at Coupon Cookin’

We love pasta.  Especially if it’s in a creamy sauce.  This dish cooks in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.  You can’t beat that.

I made it even faster, by using chicken I had grilled, sliced and frozen.  A quick thaw in the microwave and it was ready to use.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Ignore the can of black olives in the photo.  I planned to use them, but changed my mind.

• 1 lb. bowtie pasta
• 1-1 1/2 lbs. grilled chicken, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed or crushed
• 4 Tbs. butter
• 1 cup half and half, warmed
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp. Homemade Seasoned Salt
• 12 oz jar roasted red peppers, sliced
• 1 cup mozzarella, shredded

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  While it cooks, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic till soft.  Whisk in half and half and chicken broth.  Stir in seasoned salt and mozzarella.  Lower the heat to keep the sauce from boiling.

Add the chicken and red pepper slices to the sauce.  Stir frequently and keep and eye on the heat so it doesn’t boil.  Drain the cooked pasta and stir it together with the sauce.  Add chopped parsley or basil when serving, if you’re lucky enough to have some.

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A sprinkling of fresh, chopped parsley would have done wonders for that photo.  Smart food photographers probably keep parsley in their fridge at all times.

Food photography faults aside, this dish was wonderful!  I based it off of a recipe for Chipotle Shrimp Scampi, from my friend Joyce’s new recipe blog. (Her photo is better than mine.)   One of my kids doesn’t like shrimp, so I decided to use the grilled chicken I had sliced and frozen.  Since I was using meat that was already cooked, I didn’t need to use the chipotle rub that the original recipe called for.  I used the sauce from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that I had stored in the freezer.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Angel hair pasta
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• olive oil
• 1-3 Tbs. adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3-6 Tbs. lime juice
• 5 Tbs. butter
• a few ladles of cooking water from the pasta
• 1 1/2 lbs. grilled chicken, sliced

Cook the pasta according to the directions.  Saute garlic in oil.  Add adobo sauce and grilled chicken.  Cook for a few minutes till the chicken is hot.  Remove chicken.  Add wine, lime juice, butter and a few ladles of cooking water to the pan.  Cook till hot and bubbling.

Drain pasta.  Stir chicken and sauce into the pasta.  Add more pasta water if the dish is too sticky.

A few notes:  I used the lower quantities of adobo sauce and lime juice, but next time I will increase both.  It was good, but the yum factor would be upped with more of each of these.

I buy chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the small cans.  Most recipes only use a small part of the can, but the rest freezes great.

Cilantro or parsley would be great to add to this too.

Linked to:

This dish is full of flavor – garlic, red onion, black olives, basil, parsley and Parmesan all in white wine sauce.  It pairs up beautifully with grilled chicken, although the chicken didn’t make it into the photo.

Best of all, it is quick to fix.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Boneless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Angel Hair pasta, 1 lb.
• 4 Tbs. butter
• 8 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 ladles of cooking water from the pasta
• Parsley, 1 handful, chopped
• Basil, 1 handful, chopped
• Pitted ripe olives, whole – 6 oz can
• Parmesan, 1 cup shredded

Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients.  There’s really not much to this dish, but it looks long when the salt, pepper and cooking water are listed.

Season the chicken with Kosher salt and black pepper.  Grill outdoors until done.  Slice it thin to serve with the pasta.

While the chicken grills, cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Melt the butter in a skillet.  Cook the onion and garlic for a few minutes.  Add the wine.  I freeze wine in zip top bags.  It thaws quickly on the counter.  Let the wine cook with the onions and garlic for a minute or two, then add 2 ladles of cooking water from the pasta.

Stir in the parsley and basil and season the sauce with Kosher salt and pepper.  Stir in the olives.  Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce.  Add the cheese to the pasta and stir to combine.

Serve with grilled chicken.  I also served this with warm bread and Seasoned Olive Oil for Dipping and a green salad.

Soccer season is presenting a real challenge to dinnertime.  We’ve been picnicking on the field while we watch the games.  But sandwiches can get old, especially if you’ve packed one for lunch too.  I created this easy pasta salad to take with us one night.  It’s creamy and flavorful with homemade ranch dressing.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 lb. Penne
• 1/2 lb. bacon, cooked
• 5 Roma tomatoes
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp. dill
• small bunch parsley, chopped

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Chop the tomatoes and crumble the bacon.

Mix the mayo, sour cream, garlic, seasoned salt, dill and parsley together in a bowl.

Drain the pasta and run it under cool water.  Mix the pasta, tomatoes, bacon and dressing together.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

How often do you eat dinner while watching your kids play sports?  What’s the best “sports picnic” you’ve eaten?

This tasted like something from a good restaurant.  It can be made in the time it takes to boil water and cook the ravioli.

I found the Asiago cheese in the cheese case near the deli.  It was the same price as Parmesan, which can be substituted if you can’t find it.  The label states that Asiago has a “mild and nutty” flavor.

Oh, I’m detecting nuttiness.

Name that movie.

I’m pretty sure Remy and Gusteau would approve of this dish.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 bags frozen cheese ravioli
• 4 Tbs. butter
• 1/2 red onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups half and half, warmed
• 1 cup Asiago, shredded
• handful fresh basil, chopped
• black pepper, to taste

Bring water to a boil for the ravioli and cook it according to the package directions.

Melt butter in a skillet.  Cook the onion and garlic until softened.  Add the white wine to the skillet and cook for a minute.  Whisk in the half and half.  Stir in the cheese and let melt over medium-low heat.  Add the basil and pepper.

When the ravioli is cooked and drained, combine with the sauce and serve.

This would be excellent with Tomato and Artichoke Heart Salad.

If you don’t drink wine, you can freeze it for other recipes.  If you don’t have wine, you can just leave it out of the recipe.  It won’t be quite the same, but it will still be good.

I’m showing this off at The Green Backs Gal’s Meatless Monday link up.

I used to think that homemade pasta sauce took a long time to make.  That’s the way my Grandma made it and hers was always so good.

But pasta sauce doesn’t have to be an all day deal.  This one only takes about 10 minutes if you already have the Italian sausage browned out.  Add an extra 10 minutes if you need to do that step too.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (small handful of leaves)
• 1/2 lb. bulk Italian sausage, browned
• 1 tsp. sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet.  Cook the onion and garlic until soft.  Stir in the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste till well blended.  Add the basil, sausage, sugar, salt and pepper.  Let simmer until the pasta is finished cooking.

I had sausage already cooked in the freezer, which made this meal super fast.  If you don’t have fresh basil, use a teaspoon of dried.

How often do you eat some version of spaghetti with sauce?  What is your favorite or what kind do you eat most often?