Orzo Pilaf

Melissa's Notes: Side dishes are hard for me, I always revert back to a simple garden salad and rice when I'm at a loss. Which is tasty, but sometimes can be a little boring. Here is a side dish that is a little off the beaten path, though a little more labor intensive than rice-a-roni. It can be eaten hot or cold, I tried both and liked it either way. It would also be easy to substitute your favorite veggies in it.

recipe courtesy of Favorites

Orzo Pilaf

3 c. chicken broth
1 c. orzo
4 slices bacon
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. grated carrots
1/4 c. finely chopped green pepper
1/4 c. finely chopped red pepper

Bring chicken broth to a boil and add pasta. Boil for 10 minutes (you may need to stir it a little near the end of the 10 min.). Cook bacon and crisp and crumble; set aside. Drain all but 3 Tbsp. of bacon drippings from skillet and cook onion and garlic until tender. Add orzo, carrots and peppers. Heat through, tossing to coat and sprinkle with bacon.

Tomato Sauce

Melissa's Notes: Ever since I have been cooking for my family, I have been searching for the perfect homemade tomato sauce. I have tried many different recipes, and all fell a little short, in my opinion. I just could not understand why my sauces from scratch were not tasting wonderful. Then, I found out what the trick is. You have to boil the sauce for 15-20 minutes, and for some reason, that gives you the rich, robust tomato sauce that we all love. And it gets rid of the "canned" tomato taste. So, it really doesn't matter which recipe for sauce you use (I don't think), just remember to boil it down and thicken it! Here is the recipe I used, so simple, and very yummy!

courtesy of The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Quick Tomato Sauce

3 Tbsp. EVOO
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes (I used Hunt's)
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes
3 Tbsp. minced fresh basil (optional)
1/4 tsp. sugar
salt, to taste, about 1 tsp.

1. Cook oil and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes (you may have to turn the heat down). Stir in the crushed and diced tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 15-20 minutes.
2. Stir in the basil and sugar. Season with salt to taste. When tossing the sauce with pasta, add some of the pasta cooking water as needed to loosen the consistency of the sauce.

*This recipe can easily be doubled, but increase the simmering time by 10 minutes.

Summer Tomato Basil Pasta

Melissa's Notes: This is a perfect summer dinner, especially if you grow your own tomatoes and basil. I don't grow my own tomatoes, but I bought a basil plant at Trader Joe's the other day, and was so excited to use it. I didn't use fresh mozzarella (just the block kind), but I thought it was fine, although fresh would be best, I'm sure.

Summer Tomato Basil Pasta

recipe courtesy Bobby Flay

Ingredients
4 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced (I used only 2 cloves, and minced them)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (I left this out)
1/4 c. basil chiffonade
salt
1 pound pasta of your choice (I used angel hair), cooked al dente
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cubed

In a large serving bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes and basil, season with salt. Add the pasta and mozzarella and stir to combine.