I recently got 40 boxes of free pasta. Any suggestions besides pasta salad, and spaghetti? I have all kind of pasta and need some ideas. Also I have about 40 cans of mild green chiles. Do you know any recipes which use a lot of them? Thanks so Much!
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If you have room in your freezer, I would store the pasta in there. That will keep the "wee beasties" out of it and/or kill those who have taken up residence. Afterwards, keep some on hand in containers with tight lids like tupperware or canning jars.
You could donate some to food bank! Share the wealth!
Make homemade macaroni and cheese with a twist.
Make soup and add pasta to it.
Pre-cook some meals and freeze them. Pasta works well for reheating in the microwave or reheating on stove or oven.
There is also a fruit salad that you can add pasta to, but I would have to dig around for that recipe. It has raisins, coconut, mandarin oranges, pineapple and if I am not mistaken it also has cottage cheese mixed in with whipped cream or cool whip. It has been a while since I have used that recipe so I would have to look for it or maybe someone else can recall having one like it.
The green chilies would be good additions to your macaroni and cheese or soup if you like to spice it up a bit. I also have had bread and bagels with green chiles in them and shredded cheese is melted on top and it was very good!
Pasta Recipe Sites:
www.ilovepasta.org/
www.bhg.com/
Chile Recipes
alanskitchen.com/
(The above recipe is similar to one I have used in the past except that I add shredded cheese inside the bread and on top about ten mins. before taking out of oven. I also add crispy fried bacon crumbled into bits and spread into batter before baking.)
www-psych.nmsu.edu/
The obvious ones like pasta with tomato sauce - onions, tin tomatoes, herbs and meat if desired. Pasta with creamy sauces - carbonara, cheese, etc. Cooked pasta could be put in the food processor and chopped finely and added as a filler to 'stretch' burgers, savoury pie fillings, stews and casseroles. Add pasta to thick homemade soups.
The good thing about pasta is that if its stored well in air tight containers it will keep for months and months, maybe years! Aren't you lucky!
Regards
Jo
Our church has a Food Bank where we give out food to those in need. They would love to have people donate something like this to be put into the bags of groceries we give each week. This also applies to any other staple - canned food, sugar, flour, etc.
You'd be surprised to see how fast this food flies off the wall each week when someone comes to pick up a bag. They are allowed to come once a month. We feedabout l50-200 families each month.
I searched Allrecipes.com for "pasta" as an ingredient and received hundreds of recipes back. Here are just a couple:
Corned Beef Noodle Casserole
Yields 4 to 6 servings.
1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles
1 (12 ounce) can corned beef
4 ounces processed cheese food (eg. Velveeta)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 Cook noodles until tender and drain.
3 Combine noodles, corned beef, cheese, cream of chicken soup, milk and onion. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with buttered bread crumbs.
4 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes.
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Spaghetti Pie II
Yields 6 servings.
1 (6 ounce) package spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 Cook and drain spaghetti. Stir in margarine, parmesan cheese and eggs, while spaghetti is hot. Form spaghetti mixture into a crust in a buttered 10 inch pie plate.
2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3 In a skillet cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic. Drain off the fat and stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and oregano. Heat through.
4 Spread cottage cheese over the spaghetti crust then pour in the beef and tomato mixture.
5 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 mintues. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top of the pie then bake for 5 minutes longer, until cheese melts.
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Cavatini I
"This is a great cavatini recipe. It makes two 9 x13 inch pans. You can bake one, and freeze the other for later use."
Yields 12 - 20 servings.
1/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 (4.5 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms, drained
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
4 ounces chopped ham
1/2 cup cooked and cubed chicken
3 ounces sliced pepperoni sausage
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup seashell pasta
6 ounces rotini pasta
2 pounds mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 In a small skillet, saute onions, green peppers, and mushrooms in butter or margarine. Set aside.
2 Brown hamburger in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain. Mix in tomato sauce, pasta sauce, chopped ham, chopped chicken or turkey, pepperoni, salt, and red and black pepper. Add vegetable saute to hamburber mixture.
3 Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
4 Spread a little sauce over the bottom of two 9 x 13 inch pans. In each pan, place a layer of pasta, a layer of mozarella cheese, a hamburger sauce layer, a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, and another layer of mozarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cover pans.
5 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 45 minutes.
Here are 2 recipes that are easy to prepare and are really tasty and different. Both can be served as a side dish or entree when served with a salad:
Noodle Casserole (or Kugel):
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup melted butter, divided
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 pound egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup raisins (optional)
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Butter a 9 x 13 x 2" baking dish.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4) Pour mixture into prepared pan
5) Bake for 45 minutes or until set.
Ginger Noodles
(Although there are some "special ingredients" in this dish, it is so frequently requested in my house and at get-togethers that I have no problem using them up frequently.)
1 pound spaghetti or linguini noodles
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh ginger
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup dark sesame oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup broccoli florets, cut in small pieces
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts, optional
1) Cook noodles and drain or pat until very dry.
2) Sprinkle with soy sauce and let absorb for 3 minutes.
3) Blend ginger, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in blender or food processor.
4) Add vegetables to pasta, then pour other ingredients over all and mix.
I as these to my spagheti sauce, chili just about anything that you want to add some zip too. You could also use them to make salsa.
Thanks for posting my recipes. Apologies for not signing in when I posted them!
My family loves pierogie casserole! What started with a recipe using lasagna noodles, has changed in several ways over the years. Its a simple recipe using cooked pasta, mashed potatoes, cheese slices and fired onions. If you like pierogies, this is the way to go. I now use elbow macaroni, because its quicker than cooking lasagna noodles, but its the same premise - put about 1/2 of a pound box cooked elbows in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. You may want to spray with cooking spray depending on your pan. On top of the elbows, a layer of mashed potatoes - instant or homeade - whatever you have time for. On top of the potatoes, slices of American cheese to cover. Of course you can combine cheeses - I've added cheddar, or you can change it altogether - your imagination is the limit. Pour the rest of the elbows on top, and finish off with with lots of onions fried in lots of butter. You can fry the onions while doing the rest. The butter will help to grease the pan as well. Make sure you have enough onions to get some in every bite! Not the most cholesterol friendly, but it makes a great main or side dish. Cover and put in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until cheese is melted. Heaven! You can follow this same recipe, layering lasagna noodles, which is the way I learned, and I have also stuffed large shells witht he potatoes and 1/2 slice of cheese, covering the netire batch with the onions. This is a great way to serve on a buffet - no cutting required. ENJOY!
Green Chiles can be used in a salsa that you would fashion yourself by adding to a can of petite chopped tomatoes.
White Chili is also a good way to use them.
And about the pasta, is it about the pasta or the sauce you need to put on them? Aside from the meatballs and marinara, pesto, alfredo, light oil and cheese, and even cream soups with any selection of meat or fish, gives you 50 ways, at least, to break the pasta monotony. Tureen dinners,a family reunion, and any holiday will quickly use it up.
Yes, I would agree with other posters that you could donate some. Otherwise you need to store it so it won't go bad....not sure how long dry pasta sealed up lasts. You might want to do an online search to find out. I think you could keep it in your frig tho and it will last longer. I'm sure you have friends and family who could use a box or two....don't hang on to it if you don't think you have a use for it all and share with someone else!
Maybe the neighborhood kindergarten class could use some elbow macaroni to make some wreaths or necklaces.
Pasta is so adaptable and easy to use in so many recipes, many of which have already been shared. We have recently been making our soup a little more filling by adding pasta to it, like the shells, or elbow macaroni and now my grandson's new favorite...alphabet pasta. They beg for it every time they come now lol. Even using canned soup can be jazzed up with some fun pasta shapes.
You might want to check with the company that made the pasta as to proper storage. We love ring pasta and can only find it on our trips to New York. We store up on it and get quite a few boxes of it. The last time we did this though, the rings cooked up like mush no matter how we cooked it, timed it, etc. I finally wrote to the company to ask what I was doing wrong and they said it was a storage problem with the manufacturing/store destination. It wasn't how we were cooking it but the way it had been stored caused it to change. Possible temperature changes in transit, humidity, etc. They were nice enough to replace the pasta with coupons for new boxes. But improper storage can be an issue.
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