Italian dishes (ingredients, lasagne, mushroom, frozen)

[questionseeker]

Are there some favorite italian dishes people like, for any occasion? How 'bout any brand names that are good?

[HighlandsGal]

Oh geez, I will eat any kind of pasta, hot or cold, at any time. The options are endless. Why, just last night I made baked ziti with hot and sweet italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic, basil, chunky marina and a bunch of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese!

Then there's carbonara, veal marsala, eggplant parm, lasagna, on and on.....

I like Bertolli or Classico jarred sauces when I don't have time to make my own. Barrilla for pasta.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Highlandsgal that ziti sounds so good!

I like homemade pesto on gnocchi or other pasta.

Manicotti is filling and comforting.

I make lasagne every couple months or so.

Insalata Caprese is my favorite salad.

[Shopaholic]

Oh man, I LOVE pasta. My mom's husband is Italian so I love to go and visit them when he cooks. He makes the most unbelievable pasta sauce and pesto. I've learned to make the pesto on my own since it is my favorite. I usually sautee some chicken in the pesto then add it cheese tortellini with more pesto sauce. Since I live by myself I freeze the pesto in individual portions like this since a little goes a long way.

[nikkzone]

Freezing pesto in ice cube tray is a good idea. I freeze lemon juice the same way, since I have a lemon tree.

I like pasta, but my family only likes it like once a week. Here is a quick easy idea for weekday dinner.

You take some large frozen cheese (or any other filling really) ravioli and layer them in baking pan with meat sauce (or marinara sauce and some defrosted squeezed spinach). Top with some mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese, cover and bake in the oven until it's piping hot. Take off the cover and bake about 5 minutes longer. It'll look like you spent hours making lasagna.

[LaceyEx]

Any pasta is great. Linguine with white clam is my husband's favorite. Fettucine Alfredo-but not often-LOL.

Lasagne made with the Barilla no-cook noodles is fantastic.

I make my own "gravy" loaded w/chop meat, sausage, pork, meatballs.

Now I'm starving.

BTW-new name-I was Judogl44. Family member deleted my cookies and messed up my account.

[exhdo1]

Originally Posted by LaceyEx

Any pasta is great. Linguine with white clam is my husband's favorite. Fettucine Alfredo-but not often-LOL.

Lasagne made with the Barilla no-cook noodles is fantastic.

I make my own "gravy" loaded w/chop meat, sausage, pork, meatballs.

Now I'm starving.

BTW-new name-I was Judogl44. Family member deleted my cookies and messed up my account.

I was waiting for someone to jump on you about calling it "GRAVY". My grandparents immigrated from Italy in the early 1900's. My grandmother always referred to her sauce as "making a pot of gravy". Luckily my wife learned well from my grandmother, mother and her mother who is also Italian. My grandmother included all of the ingredients that you listed in her gravy along with braciola and usually the heel of a piece of parmigiana reggiano. When my wife cooks a pot now it's like Pavlovs theory for me. I can't help but to start drooling. She also makes a real good Pasta e Fagioli.

[LaceyEx]

Exhdo1-Thx for reminding me-I do put the rind of parmesean cheese in the "gravy." Isn't is funny how the discussions of sauce vs gravy can get heated? Sauce to me is marinara, alfredo, gravy is that wonderful heavy mouth-watering stuff! BTW-I'm not Italian but make the best-learned from best friend's Mom many years ago.

Making pasta fagioli this week-yum.