Too many boxes of pasta

Cafe Society
1

I have several boxes of pasta. Lots of different kinds–far from spaghetti (although I also have that as well), I have twirls and curls and itty-bitty kinds and everything in between. I have the plain enriched pasta and I have whole wheat pasta and I have the multi-colored what-flavor-is-this pasta. I’ll be honest here, and say that I buy it largely on impulse because it looks interesting, and quite frankly, it’s rather inexpensive. (Big Lots has lots of cool pasta for 80 cents per box or so.)

Here’s the catch–I don’t particularly like pasta. It’s okay, but it’s never my first (or second) choice for dinner. I’m not one of those women who would kill for a plate of linguine or a bowl of spaghetti smothered in tomato sauce. (Thinking about it makes me gag.) Macaroni and cheese? I don’t see the appeal. (Even home made, baked in the oven, with bubbling cheese I find rather…um…not appetizing.)

However, I have several boxes of pasta and I have no clue what to do with them. It’s the summer, so anything that requires baking in the oven (ziti, I’m looking at you) is out. Occassionally, I’ll make pasta salad with some unusual twisting pasta, throwing in artichoke hearts, cubed motzerella, and salami, but how many bowls of that can one person eat? (This person, not so many.)

So, I’m searching for easy pasta dishes that will use up my variety of pastas. Anyone?

I know I could donate them to a food bank to feed the hungry, and that’s always an option, but I’d honestly like to use them, since I have a hungry 13 year old boy at home.

2

Cook pasta, drain, toss with olive oil and crushed red pepper (add steamed broccoli to this if you have some on hand).

Cook pasta, drain, toss with olive oil, grated parm cheese and lightly sauteed fresh minced garlic.

Cook pasta, drain toss with olive oil and whatever you want/whatever you can find in the fridge and spice cabinet.

PS add chicken to any of these as well.

3

Toss with pesto (Trader Joe’s has cheap and good pesto) and/or chicken (again, Trader Joe’s has precooked, precut, grilled chicken breast). Easy weekday meal.

(I love Trader Joe’s)

4

You don’t like cheesy-creamy pasta.

You don’t want pasta with tomato sauce.

You’re sick of cold pasta salad.

You don’t particularly like pasta, so I’m ruling out simple oil s&p dishes.

But, pasta doesn’t really go bad so wait till you’re in the mood, and for god’s sake, stop “impulse buying” spaghetti.

5

How about donating boxes of pasta to a shelter in your area?

6

Cook some pasta.

In a separate pan, stir-fry some veggies in a bit of olive oil. Zuchini, onions, mushrooms, and tomatos work well, but you can add just about any other veggie you want. You may add some herbs of your choice.

Mix pasta and veggies, serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

7

I am all about garlic noodles, and you can’t get easier than them, and your teenage son can probably eat them by the pound–what’s better, he can make them. Here’s what you do:

Cook the pasta in salted water.
Drain the pasta.
Heat up a bunch of olive oil in the pot the pasta was in. (This oil will be the pasta’s sauce).
Saute a metric buttload of crushed garlic in this oil just until it’s fragrant. For a pound of pasta, I’ll use a dozen or more cloves of garlic. You want it to be crunchy/chewy, and to have enough garlic to change the texture of the dish.
Turn off the heat, and return the pasta to the pot.
Swirl the pasta around with the oil-and-garlic until the noodles are all good and greasy.
Season with pepper and salt. If you have it, grate a bunch of parmesan on top. Add fresh or dried herbs to taste. Add slices of fresh mozzarella or chunks of raw tomato to taste. It’s very versatile, and if you’re like me, you can eat bowl after bowl of this as a perfect comfort food.

Daniel

8

While the pasta’s cooking, mash together 1/2 stick butter, 8 ounces of cream cheese, a handful of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and a bit of dried basil. Add enough pasta water so the mixture becomes the consistency of thick cream. Toss pasta (one pound) into mixture after draining.

9

All these sound terrific! Now I’m wanting some pasta…

10

Just don’t decide you need a shape you don’t have, and buy more!

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And as a bonus, no vampires!

12

I don’t care for pasta either. It comes down to I don’t have money and it’s cheap, so I force myself to eat it every month. It’s something I will never find too appealing. Yet being a cook, I like different shapes, so I have at least 4 kinds at anytime.

13

How about donating boxes of pasta to a fellow Doper? Just as an example, I particularly love pasta.

No? Okay, here’s a recipe. It’s my husband’s favorite way to eat pasta, and it’s not a super-rich cream sauce or a tomato-based sauce, either. It calls for spaghetti, but I usually make it with small shells or similar pasta and prefer it that way. You can use up nearly any kind of pasta, really. As a special bonus, it goes together pretty quickly.

Spaghetti with Parmesan and Bacon

1 pound uncooked spaghetti
12 bacon slices, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
1 cup frozen petite green peas, thawed
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup hot cooking liquid.

While pasta cooks, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Discard remaining drippings; set bacon aside. Add garlic to drippings in pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Combine milk, salt, pepper, and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add reserved hot cooking liquid to milk mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add pasta, milk mixture, and peas to skillet; cook over low heat 3 minutes or until sauce thickens. Add bacon and cheese; stir to combine.

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http://homepages.iol.ie/~ndnsp/north/p4.jpg

15

Serve it cold with a sauce made from peanut butter and soy sauce. Throw in some scallions or ginger as well.

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I usually do this with farfalle, but you could use any shape.

Boil your pasta and drain it well. Return it to the pan and, off the heat, throw in some olive oil and some red wine vinegar, toss to coat. Then throw in a small chopped tomato, some chopped kalamata olives, a few leafs of chopped basil and stir to just warm things through. Add an amount of feta cheese about equal to the amount of tomato and stir it in. It’s important to do the cheese at the end after things cool down, so it keeps some structure and doesn’t melt much.

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Cook pasta (linguini is best for this, or penne, but any will do)

In a frying pan or wok, melt about a stick of butter, add in about 2-4 cloves of minced garlic, a few sprigs of minced fresh parsely, juice and zest from 1 lemon.

when the butter is bubbling, throw in about 1/2 lb of shelled and deveined shrimp. Cook until shrimp is pink. Toss with the pasta.

18

Alternatively, you could make sculptures of your friends:

[Kramer enters, holding an object of some kind].
Kramer: Here you go, buddy. [shows it to Jerry].
Jerry: What is it?
Kramer: Fusilli Jerry! It’s made from Fusilli pasta. See the microphone?
Jerry: When did you do this?
Kramer: In my spare time. [turns to George]. You know, I’m working on one of you, George. I’m using ravioli. See, the hard part is to find a pasta that captures the individual.
Jerry: Oh… Why Fusilli?
Kramer: Because you’re silly. Get it?

19

I made a cold pasta salad last night that sounds a bit different from yours.

I had tri-colored rotini, and added chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, carrots, a bit of Miracle Whip, a bit of dijon mustard and salt and pepper. Everybody liked it, and it was pretty!

20

I also tend to buy a ton of different kinds of pasta, but I rarely get creative with it. I feel so lame for always pouring a jar of tomato sauce over it and never branching out. I’m going to try a bunch of these suggestions myself. I love these recipe threads.