Easy Angel Hair and Artichoke Pasta

Don't pay attention to the sloppiness of my picture taking, but I just wanted to show all the incredible flavors that you get out of this dish. (Olives,artichoke, tomatoes, capers, garlic... you can see it all!) 

I had this pasta at Johnny Carino's Intalian Restaurant two weeks ago and it was so amazing that I have not been able to stop thinking about it. Adam and I studied the dish that I was eating at Johnny Carino's and figured out that it shouldn't be that difficult to recreate. (And there was a leaf next to this dish on their menu meaning it's a low calorie dish which is always a plus!) My gift to myself for my birthday yesterday and my treat for being alone on my birthday was to try and make this dish. It took me around 10 minutes to cook it up and it probably would have taken less time if I wasn't watching Minute to Win it at the same time and was distracted. Hence the sloppiness looking of the dish and there was no one to impress so I just slapped in on a plate. But that's what I love about pasta dishes too- they don't have to be pretty because their taste makes up for it and they are supposed to get everywhere. Oh, and I have discovered that my new favorite flavor comes from a little thing called capers. Sooooo good!!

Angel Hair and Artichoke Pasta

Servings: 3-4

4 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped black olives

1/4 cup capers (or more if you love them as much as I do)

1 small jar of Artichoke hearts

Angel hair pasta 

Start boiling water to cook the pasta in. The sauteing part of everything else is really quick so you need to make sure your noodles don't put you behind.

Saute garlic in olive oil until done.

Add tomatoes, olives, capers, and artichoke hearts. Saute

Place cooked pasta in the pan with your sauce and mix it around. (I hear that's how the professionals do it)

Your done! Place on a plate and enjoy!!

The sauce. I cooked mine a little longer than I would have liked and the tomatoes began to get a little soggy, so beware of over sauteing.

Place pasta in the sauce and mix it around till it looks like......

......this! I'm sure yours will turn out prettier than mine. But it still looks yummy!!

Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing

Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing

Salad

1 bag American Blend Dole Salad

4-5 slices Red Onion

4-6 Black Olives

2-4 Pepperochini if you like a sweet pepper you could use a Banana Pepper

1/2 C. Croutons

1 small Tomato Quartered

Parmesan Cheese

Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place bag of salad in bowl. Place on top of lettuce but red onion, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top.

Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons Miracle Whip

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

Put everything in a blender with 1-2 tablespoons of water and blend together. 

Eat with:

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

Olive Garden's Bread Sticks

Makes a great soup and salad mix with bread sticks!

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

Zuppa Toscana Soup
1 lb ground Italian sausage

1½ tsp crushed red peppers

1 large diced white onion

4 Tbsp bacon pieces

2 tsp garlic puree

10 cups water

5 cubes of chicken bouillon

1 cup heavy cream

1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes

¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.

3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.

4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.

5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.

6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve.

I also like to cut up a fresh tomato and place it in my bowl of hot soup as well. Mmm.... Tomatoes make everything better.

I made this last night and made it with my Olive Garden bread stick recipe and my Olive Garden salad recipe.

Eat with:
Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing 
Olive Garden's Bread Sticks 

Chicken, Cheese, and Spinach Manicotti

This was our main dish for dinner last night to celebrate Valentine's Day! I was surprised at how much I liked it. I made 10 manicotti stuffed noodles and we had 2 each for dinner, then Adam had 4 more for a midnight snack!

Chicken, Cheese, and Spinach Manicotti

Servings: 5

1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken breasts (When I cooked the chicken, I sprinkled pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning on it to give it a nice flavor so it wasn't so bland)

2 cloves  garlic, minced

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained (We used real spinach and that probably made it better too)

1 container  (16 oz.) Cottage Cheese

2 egg whites

1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

10 manicotti shells, cooked, drained

1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce (We used Ragu's Tomato, Garlic, and Onion flavor and I really think that it made the meal more delicious because it's a sweeter sauce, but you can probably use whatever.)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 package Good Seasons Italian Mix

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COMBINE chicken and garlic in large bowl. Add spinach, cottage cheese, egg whites, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and Italian mix; spoon into manicotti shells.

PLACE in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with spaghetti sauce. (We put a lot...mmmm...)

BAKE 25 to 30 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella; bake 5 min. or until melted. Sprinkle with basil.

I got this recipe from Kraft foods.

Olive Garden's Bread Sticks

I have made this recipe a few times now and I love it everytime. It's not as wonderful as the real Olive Garden Bread Sticks but it's close! I made and Italian dinner for Adam and I last night for Valentines day and this recipe went perfect with our manicotti and salad. Mine don't look as good as the picture, but I think that's due to my average baking skills.

Olive Garden's Bread Sticks

Makes 12 to 13 bread sticks
(We halfed the recipe and it made about 4 breadsticks, so maybe I make the breadsticks too big...)

2 tablespoons gradulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
16 ounces bread flour (3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

On Top
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (we don't have garlic salt, so we sprinkled it with garlic powder instead and then we grinded some rock salt on it.)

1. Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or measuring cup and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes foamy on top.

2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to mix the softened butter into the flour. If you don't have a stand mixer, use a mixing spoon. When the yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the flour mixture and use a dough hook on your mixture to combine the ingredients and then knead the dough in a covered container and let it sit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size.

3. When the dough has doubled, measure out 2-ounce portions and roll the dough between your hands or on a countertop to form sticks that are 7 inches long. Place the dough on parchement paper-lined baking sheets, cover, set aside for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size again.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

5. Bake the bread sticks for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. When the bread sticks come out of the oven, immediately brush each one with melted butter and sprinkle with a little garlic salt.
(The first time I baked these, I baked them in the oven with the parchment paper and my whole kitchen began to smoke. So I just put the breadsticks on a baking sheet that I spray with cooking oil and that seems to work our fine. Maybe you'll have better luck with the parchment paper than I did.)

I got this wonderful recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. Great recipe book!

Eat with:
Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup
Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing