Delicious Italian Recipes

Here are some very easy Old World Italian recipes that were handed down to me by my mother.  The salad is just basic ingredients that you probably already have in your fridge.  It's amazing sometimes how something so simple could be so tasty.  You can add cheese to the salad if you like.

These dishes serve about 4. 

1 cup uncooked mostaccioli pasta, 1 cup canned or fresh tomatoes diced, 3 oz. tomato paste, 8 oz. shredded mozzerella cheese, 8 oz. ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup parmesean cheese, 2tbs dried basil leaves, 2tbs oregeno, 1 clove garlic minced, 1 egg slightly beaten.

Cook mostacciolli until al dente in boiling salted water. Drain and set aside. In skillet, sautee garlic. Add all ingredients, except egg and cheeses. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. While simmering, combine egg and ricotta cheese. Finally stir cooked pasta into sauce. Place into a buttered baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese and parmasean cheese. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until cooked through.

4 cups vegetable broth, 4 cups diced tomatoes, 1/2tsp oregano, 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery stalks, 1/2 onion chopped, 3 chopped zucchini, 1 cup green beans, 3 cloves of garlic minced, 1 and 1/2 cups of macaroni pasta, salt pepper to taste.

In large pot boil all ingredients except pasta.  Simmer over low heat for one hour.  Add pasta and cook until pasta is al dente (about 20 minutes). 

 Dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4tbsp salt

Salad:

1 bag of mixed greens, 1 medium cucumber sliced, 2 small tomatoes quartered, 1 cup black olives sliced

Toss salad in a large bowl and add dressing

These are all low fat and vegetarian.

Lentils

http://hubpages.com/hub/Lentil-Bean-Recipes

Mexican

http://hubpages.com/hub/Easy-Vegan-Recipes-Youll-Love

Tofu

http://hubpages.com/hub/Simple-Tofu-Recipes