Ham and Pasta Salad

I wanted to make a pesto salad, and realized that I forgotten to pick up more fresh basil at the store. Instead of completely scrapping the idea, I searched through my fridge, and was pleased to find that I still had a few basil leaves left. Basically, this is a great way to use up some leftovers when you have a bit of this and a bit of that.



Also, if you're good at multitasking the "in the kitchen" time only takes about 5 minutes (to chop veggies, start the noodles and grill the ham), then a quick 2 minute pasta drain and mix together.

This really can be tweaked to your own spicing taste, but this is what I used. Also, the ham can be left out, or substituted with chopped salami or pepperoni.

What you need:
1/2 box Bow-tie Pasta
4 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A handful of Black Olives, cut into thirds
3 large Roma (Italian) Tomatoes
1/2 medium sized Onion, chopped
1/3 cup of Parmesan Cheese
1 pinch of Thyme
2/3 cup of chopped Fresh Basil, or 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the dried seasoning
1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder (or 4-5 cloves, chopped and grilled with the ham)
2-3 tablespoons of Pine Nuts
3 thick slices of cooked Ham
Salt and Pepper to taste (approximately a teaspoon of each).]

Step 1. Start to cook your noodles in a pot of water with a little salt.

Step 2. Chop the onion, tomatoes, olives, ham and basil.

Step 3. Grill the Ham pieces (takes about a minute or two).

Step 4. After your pasta is finished cooking, drain it.

Step 5. In a large mixing bowl, mix the pasta, veggies, ham and spices. Add the olive oil and stir to coat the pasta well.



Let this chill in the fridge for about an hour, and enjoy! :)

FTW Lasagna

This is one of the simplest lasagna recipes in all of the lands. Whether you're elite at cooking, or just a noob starting off, it will work for everyone.

Couple notes: You will need an oven safe dish, and it should be around the 13x9 size. All of the prep you will need to really do is brown the ground beef (fresh, or thawed of course). You don't even have to cook the noodles first; making this recipe totally FTW!

The prep will take 8-15 minutes depending on how speedy you are in the kitchen. The bake is for an hour (45 minutes under foil, 15 minutes uncovered).

Mats:
1 lb ground beef (fresh or thawed)
1 egg. beaten
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 container of Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce.
1 cup water
1 box of lasagna noodles

Step 1: Start off by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Then you will brown your ground beef in a skillet.

Step 2: While you're browning the beef, mix your egg and 1-1/4 cups of your mozzarella cheese, the Ricotta cheese and about 1/4 cup of your Parmesan cheese. Blend these all together, and then set them aside. You should have extra Mozzarella and Parmesan that will be used (Step 7) to cover the top of the lasagna.

Step 3: At this point your ground beef should be about done. When it's finished, drain the as much of the grease out of the meat as possible. Then return the meat to your skillet.

Step 4: Stir in the sauce. If you used a jar of sauce don't throw it out just yet! Instead, add the 1 cup of water to the empty jar, close the jar give it a good shake. Then add this to the meat mixture. If you chose to make your own Nubsauce, be sure to still add this cup of water to your mixture. This is what will be cooking your noodles.

Step 5: spread 1 cup of your sauce onto the bottom of the oven-safe dish. Top this with 3 uncooked noodles. Then layer the noodles with the cheese mixture you made. Finally, top the mixture with your ground beef sauce. Repeat this process for 2 more layers.

**Noodles-cheese mixture- meat sauce.** This is going to be your rotation. =)

Step 6. After you have finished doing Step 5 three times, you're going to finish by adding 3 more noodles, and the meat sauce to your lasagna.

Step 7. Take the remainder of the Mozzeralla and Parmesan cheeses that you divided and sprinkle them on top of everything.

Step 8. Cover with foil, and Bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, you will want to remove the foil, and put the lasagna back in the oven for another 15 minutes to make the cheese bubbly.

After that 15 minutes you'll have yourself one tasty lasagna.



More Pasta Ideas!
Manicotti Made Easy, Spinach and Sausage Mostaccioli, WoW Ziti Dinner, Midsummer Special! Spinach Ziti, Nubsauce, My Favorite Ravioli, Chicken and Mushroom Linguine, FTW Lasagna, North American Goulash.

North American Goulash

This is a twist on the elbow macaroni goulashes that are often included in cookbooks. Not only is it a great way to use up left over ground beef (or cubes), it is so easy to make. True this is not a Hungarian stew, but it is sure to please. :)



What you need:
1-1.5 lbs of cooked ground beef (or cubes); seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley, onion flakes, and basil.
1 box of Rotini noodles
2 cans of Italian style, diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce (for seasoning, try the Nubsauce recipe)

Top with some Parmesan and/or Mozzarella Cheese

Step 1. Cook your noodles, and brown your seasoned ground beef.

Step 2. Add the canned tomatoes to the drained noodles.

Step 3. Add your Nubsauce to the cooked beef. Let this simmer, covered and on low heat for about 15 minutes.

Step 4. Mix the Beefy Nubsauce to the noodles and tomatoes.



Presto! A delicious meal for 4-6 people.


More Pasta Ideas!
Manicotti Made Easy, Spinach and Sausage Mostaccioli, WoW Ziti Dinner, Midsummer Special! Spinach Ziti, Nubsauce, My Favorite Ravioli, Chicken and Mushroom Linguine, FTW Lasagna, North American Goulash.

My Favorite Ravioli

Undecided if you like meat or cheese raviolis better? Don't choose! Mix them together! This is a carb-fest that is so good that when you brag about it on vent, your guildies will be jealous, even if they deny it!

This is a great dinner to make when you're running a bunch of dungeons, and need long periods of time to focus on things other than your dinner!



What you need:
1/2 bag of frozen cheese ravioli
1/2 bag of frozen meat ravioli
1.5 cups of sauce (the Nubsauce is great here!)
2 Pinches of Shredded Mozzarella
Parmesan Cheese (to taste)
Pinch of oregano

Really, if you can boil water then you can make this dish.

Step 1. In a large pot (for spaghetti or soup) fill 2/3 of the pot with water. Shake in a little salt. This will take approximately 15 minutes.

Step 2. Boil.

Step 3. Add in the raviolis and reduce the heat to medium (cover). These will cook for about 15 minutes.

Step 4. Drain the water and add the sauce to the ravioli.

Step 5. Stir, and put onto the plates. Add the cheeses and oregano to flavor.



**This will make a ton of ravioli, so if it is just you use half the amount of raviolis.



More Pasta Ideas!
Manicotti Made Easy, Spinach and Sausage Mostaccioli, WoW Ziti Dinner, Midsummer Special! Spinach Ziti, Nubsauce, My Favorite Ravioli, Chicken and Mushroom Linguine, FTW Lasagna, North American Goulash.

WoW Ziti Dinner

Busy pwning noobz and your wife is going to be home soon? Here is an easy meal that you can make to impress her when she gets home. You will need about an hour, but no worries! That is mostly for cooking time, where you can be in WG or running around in Ulduar!



What you need:
Box of Ziti noodles.
Can of your favorite tomato sauce (26 oz)
15 oz (small container) of Ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese, shredded


Step 1. Grab a large pot and fill 3/4 of the way with water. Add a little salt, cover, and bring to a boil (this will take about 10 minutes to boil). Return to WoW and make sure that you have all your buffs, and start fight.

Win or lose on the boss, run into the kitchen and go to Step 2.

Step 2. Pour a box of ziti noodles into the pot and mostly cover (leave enough space to vent and prevent it from boiling over). Cook for approximately 8-10 minutes. About half way through stir the noodles to prevent clumps. Return to the game. After the full 8-10 minutes is up, test a noodle to make sure that they are soft.

Step 3. Drain the pot. Add some cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom. Squish them, and drain them again.

Step 4. Add a small container (15 oz) of ricotta cheese. If you have the large container use about 1/2.

Step 5. Add half a can of tomato sauce.

Stir contents evenly.

Step 6. Using a large rectangular baking pan (9.5"x13" or so), pour noodles and spread evenly.

Step 7. Coat with a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Step 8. Sprinkle with a little garlic powder and a little parsley and oregano.

Step 9. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy! Your wife will love that you cooked more than mac-n-cheese, and you'll be happy that you mostly made your way through an instance!



More Pasta Ideas!
Manicotti Made Easy, Spinach and Sausage Mostaccioli, WoW Ziti Dinner, Midsummer Special! Spinach Ziti, Nubsauce, My Favorite Ravioli, Chicken and Mushroom Linguine, FTW Lasagna, North American Goulash.