Italian Food Recipes

Try these easy Italian food recipes and pasta recipes that the whole family will love!

Easy Lasagna

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef or ground pork
1 8 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 8 ounce can tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
dash of sugar
1 bay leaf
6 lasagna noodles
1 egg, beaten
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Heat oil in large skillet on medium high heat. Add garlic and onions and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add ground meat and stir until cooked. Drain the fat and return to stove. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Add spices, bay leaf, and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat, and remove bay leaf.

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions and drain. Mix together in a bowl egg, ricotta cheese, and Parmesan cheese.

In a 9 1/2 X 12 inch casserole dish, begin by layering bottom with 3 cooked noodles. Next spread half the cheese mixture, then half the meat mixture, and repeat. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake in a 375F (190C) degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve while hot.

Make ahead of time: cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, then bake the next day by covering with foil. After 30 minutes, remove foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes.

Chicken and Avo Pasta

1 whole roasted BBQ chicken
2 avocados (one soft, one slightly firm)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 cup peas
1/2 cup black or green olives, pitted
pine nuts
French dressing
spiral pasta

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Remove skin and bones from chicken, then chop chicken into bite-sized chunks. Slice cherry tomatoes in half. Slice firmer avocado in half, remove seed, peel and cut into large chunks. Add ingredients to pasta.

To make dressing, take soft avocado, remove seed, peel and spoon avocado into a blender. Add about one cup of French dressing. Blend for one minute. Pour dressing over pasta and stir.

Stromboli Pizzoli

1 recipe basic pizza dough
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup pizza sauce
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
4 ounces pepperoni slices

Lightly grease a baking tray. Separate the dough into two and flatten out two halves in a rectangular shape on the tray. Brush oil on top of the dough. Next spoon on pizza sauce down the middle from end to end lengthwise. Leave about one inch around the ends. Next add a layer of cheese and a layer of pepperoni (you can add any other fillings you like). Fold dough and seal the edges by pinching them so that no filling spills out. You should have two loaf shapes. Brush top with oil and poke a few holes across the top with a fork.

Bake at 475F degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly brown. Remove from oven, cool only slightly as these are best eaten hot.

Thick Pan Pizza

Homemade Pizza Dough:

3 cups flour
1 active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons oil

Homemade Pizza Sauce:

1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 8 ounce can chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Pizza Topping Suggestions:

sliced mushrooms
green peppers
black olives
pepperoni, ham, or ground beef
pineapple chunks
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

For dough, beat together on, low speed or by hand, half of the flour, yeast, salt, warm water, and oil for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Then beat on high for another 3 minutes. Turn out the dough on a clean, floured surface. Gradually add the rest of the flour and knead dough for about 7 minutes until elastic. Place the dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes.

For sauce, heat small saucepan with oil. Add garlic and onions and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes and stir. Add spices and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

When dough has risen, grease two pizza pans and sprinkle with cornflour. Grease fingers and pat dough into pizza pans. Bake crust for 20 minutes at 375F (190C).

Remove from oven and spread pizza sauce over the crust. Place meat and veggie toppings around pizza. Cover with shredded cheese. Bake for another 20 minutes.

You won't believe what a difference it makes when you make your own pizza dough and sauce. Delicious!

Veal Parmesan

6 pieces of veal beef round steak, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 clove garlic
3 egg whites
2 cups breadcrumbs
3-4 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon dried orgegano, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1 bay leaf

Crush garlic and rub on both sides of each piece of steak. Place egg whites in a shallow bowl. In a separate shallow bowl, mix breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and cheese. Dip each piece of steak in the egg whites first, then in the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides well. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours (this is the secret to keeping the crumbs from coming off while frying).

Make sauce in saucepan by mixing tomato sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, basil, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, stir, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in skillet and fry steaks for 2 minutes on each side. Make sure you don't crowd the skillet or steaks will not cook well. Steaks should be nice and golden.

Serve steaks on a platter while still hot with bowl of sauce on the side. Pour sauce over each steak.

Italian Flag Noodles

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 8 ounce package green spinach egg noodles
1 8 ounce package egg noodles
1 8 ounce package red tomato egg noodles
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
1 8 ounce package frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup light cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup Parmasean cheese

Cook green onions in olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for about 1 minute. Add peas and stir for about 3 minutes until peas are both tender and slightly crispy. Add salt and pepper.

In a bowl add egg yolks, cream, nutmeg, and cheese and beat together.

Boil water and cook pastas according to package instructions. Drain with a colander then transfer pasta to a large serving bowl. Next add some olive oil and toss in peas and cream and egg mixture while pasta is still hot. Stir well so cream and egg mixture clings to noodles.

Spaghetti and Eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1 bay leaf
pinch of sugar
dash of salt and dash of pepper
6 eggs
1 package thin spaghetti

Boil spaghetti according to package directions.

Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Add garlic and onion and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add 1 can tomato paste and 1 cup water. Add spices, sugar, and bay leaf.

Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn heat back up to boiling and crack eggs in saucepan side by side. Sprinkle a little salt over eggs, cover, and let eggs poach for about 3 to 5 minutes.

When eggs are cooked, the sauce will soak into the eggs and they taste delicious! Separate eggs with a serving spoon and serve on top of spaghetti with sauce. Nice with a salad.

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