Spaghetti Hot Dogs

I found this fun and easy recipe online not too long ago and since it was Halloween (Yes, I knowwww! This is a very backdated post :P), I decided to try this recipe out. I must say that it was a hit! Everybody loves spaghetti and everybody loves hot dogs. So why not combine it together? For those of you with kids, I bet they will totally love it too! It's just fun to see spaghetti oozing out from hot dogs. I'm pretty sure this will get the mark of approval, even from the most fussy eater. So, here's how you make it.

When I say that it's an easy recipe, I am not kidding. It's really really easy to make. All you need is a box of spaghetti (you'll probably only need about half a box, if that), a pack of hot dogs and some pasta sauce.
Start off by cutting the hot dogs into smaller sections. If you like bigger pieces, you could also just cut the hot dogs into half. If you have smaller kids, you might want to cut it into quarters. It makes it easier for those tiny fingers.
Next, thread the spaghetti into the hot dogs. It's fairly easy to do. You can either thread it all the way through or you can just thread it half way. I tried both!
Now it's time to cook the spaghetti hot dogs! Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Then, just dump in the spaghetti hot dogs and allow it to cook until the spaghetti is al dente.
Once it's done, drain and its ready to be served. You can serve it with your favorite pasta sauce or eat it without any sauce. Some kids also like to dip it in ketchup. It's entirely up to you. Since it was Halloween, I drew on some eyes and mouth with a little mustard and the spaghetti hot dogs looks like little aliens, rising up from a sea of blood :P You should try this recipe, it's really easy to make and I'm pretty sure it will be a hit with the kids and even the not so little kids!

Involtini di Melanzane (Rolled Eggplant Bundles)

I had some eggplant left over from making Eggplant Parmesan the other day, so I went online to look for some new eggplant recipes to try out. I found a rather interesting recipe called Involtini di Melanzane. It's basically rolled eggplant with pasta stuffing. I've never heard of this dish before, let alone tried it. So, I was pretty psyched to try it out. It turned out to be really good and I'll definitely make this for dinner again in the very near future. I'm not sure if it's authentic or not, but here's my take on how to make Involtini di Melanzane.

Start off by slicing the eggplants lengthwise into thin slices. Sprinkle salt on both sides of the eggplant slices and place them into a colander. Allow the eggplant slices to sit for about an hour or so. This is done so that we can get as much water out of the eggplants as possible. After about an hour, rinse off the excess salt and pat it dry with a paper towel.
Heat up some oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, place a couple of eggplant slices into the pan. Be really careful when you do this, cos it will splatter! Also remember not to overcrowd the pan. Fry until the eggplant slices becomes soft and golden brown on both sides.
Remove the eggplant slices from the pan and place them onto some paper towels. This is done so that we can get as much oil out of the eggplant slices as possible. You can put more paper towels on top of the eggplant slices and lightly pat it down too. That will help in removing as much oil as possible. Once you have done that, set the fried eggplant slices aside.
Next, cook up your favorite long pasta. It can be spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine or even angel hair pasta. I used spaghetti and it worked out pretty well. Once your pasta is al dente, drain it and set it aside.
Now it's time to make some pasta sauce. You can just reheat some from a jar or make from scratch using your grandma's favorite pasta sauce recipe. It doesn't really matter. I just reheated some tomato and basil pasta sauce that came in a jar. Once you are done with the pasta sauce, split it into three portions.
Pour the first portion of your pasta sauce into a deep baking dish.
Toss your pasta in the second portion of that pasta sauce and set the third portion of sauce aside. We will use it later on.
Here's when we assemble everything together. Place a slice of eggplant on a flat surface. Scoop up some pasta and place it in the middle of the eggplant slice (just like the photo).
Then, sprinkle on some feta cheese (you could also use mozzarella cheese if you like) onto the pasta. Top if off with a slice of cooked bacon. I used turkey bacon but you can pretty much use any type of bacon that you like. Just make sure that it's not greasy.
Roll up the eggplant and place it on top of the pasta sauce that we placed earlier in the deep baking dish. Make sure that you place the eggplant rolls seam side down, so that it doesn't unravel during cooking.
Once you have finish rolling up all your eggplants, scoop on some pasta sauce (the 3rd portion that we saved earlier) on top of the eggplant rolls. Sprinkle on some Italian herbs, black pepper and it's ready to go into the oven.
Place the baking dish into a 375F preheated oven, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. After 40 minutes or so, remove the baking dish from the oven and sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese before serving. I'm glad I found this recipe cos it was totally delicious. Go ahead, try it and tell me what you think!

Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta

Spicy Italian Sausage with Angel Hair pasta. Ahhhh...this is one of my favorite things to cook when I feel like eating something yummy but don't have much time to cook it. It's really simple to make and doesn't take long at all. Here's how you do it.

Start of by cutting some Spicy Italian sausages into small pieces (almost the size of a small meatball). Heat some butter in a pan and place the sausages in together with it. Once the sausages are nicely cooked and browned, remove them from the pan, place them on some kitchen towels and set them aside. Drain all the excess oil from the pan, except just a little...to coat it.

Turn the heat back on to high. Once the oil is hot again, throw in some chopped onions.

Stir that around for a bit then add in some chopped peppers.

Allow the onions and peppers to cook for a bit, then add in the sausages once again.

Next, add in a can of diced tomatoes.

Mix them all together and allow it to cook for a bit. After a few minutes, add in some pasta sauce.

Stir in the pasta sauce with everything else and allow it to go into a boil. Give it a few more quick stirs and the Spicy Italian Sausage sauce is done!

Now, wasn't that easy? You can serve it up on top of some angel hair pasta (just like the first picture) or you can toss in some angel hair pasta into the sauce and mix it before serving. It doesn't matter how you serve it, either ways, it's absolutely yummy! I just love how all the different taste and textures just come together, it's definitely one amazing dish!

Clam & Scallop Linguine

I bought some really fresh bay scallops a while ago and wanted to make some clam and scallop pasta. I was however too lazy to make the white clam sauce from scratch so I bought a can of Progresso's White Clam Sauce with Garlic and Herb. It's really good, one of the best white clam sauces around.

Since we are not making the sauce from scratch, this is really simple to make. First, you would need to cook the pasta. I cooked some whole wheat linguine until al dente, drained it and set it aside.

Then, in a large pan, melt some butter.

Next, throw in the bay scallops.

Season them with some freshly cracked black pepper and garlic salt.

I then added in some fresh parsley from my herb garden followed by a few splashes of white wine.

Pour in the can of white clam sauce, let it go to a boil. Once it's boiling, set the heat to medium to allow it to reduce a little.

Once that's done, toss in the pasta and mix it all together.

There you go. It's done! So simple and quick, it doesn't take much time to prep or cook at all. Just perfect when you need to prepare a quick dinner or when you are too lazy to make anything elaborate. Try it! :D