Sabrina’s Easy To Make Pasta Dishes You Can Make In Minutes
As some of you will know by following me over on my Instagram, I love food! No, I don’t just love it, I love making it, experimenting with it, but most of all I love eating it.
Lots of you seem to like my food related images, so I figured why not write a blog post about what I cook. And not only am I sharing photo’s of finished dishes, but I will give you some of my secret homemade recipes that I love to cook with too.
I am starting off this series of posts with Pasta, I adore it, it’s so versatile, quick to cook and simple to accompany as well.
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Pasta Dish One – Homemade Sweet Chilli Beef Meatballs in a Tomato and Onion Sauce
This is one of my favourite dishes to make because meatballs are easy when you know how, and they can be so versatile in their use too. If you don’t like sweet chilli don’t put it in this recipe, instead why not try rolling the meatball around a small lump of cheese for a delicious centre inside when you cut into it. If you have difficulty with the binding of the meatballs you can use one small egg in the mixture.
The possibilities are endless, happy experimenting!
The Meatballs Ingredients to Serve 4 people (Approximately 16 Meatballs);
Beef Mince (you can use any kind of mince meat though such as Turkey) you will need around 500 grams.
Pinch of Salt and Pepper
Mixed Italian Herbs (two teaspoons)
Sweet Chilli Sauce (supermarket bought and you will need around two teaspoons of it – adjust to your own taste, more if you love chilli).
The Sauce Ingredients;
One Tin of Chopped Tomatoes 400 grams
Diced Onions (Fried) 150 grams
Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
Tomato Puree 30 grams
Garlic (To Your Taste)
Method
Mix the ingredients from above in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Then using your hands collect ping pong ball sized amounts of the mixture. Using your palms roll into a tight ball. Make as many as you can with the amount you have.
Once you have made your own meatballs, place them into a frying pan on a medium heat with a tiny layer of oil to avoid sticking. Always use tongs to lift the meatballs one at a time, and rotate them making sure all of the sides have around a minute of cooking against the pans surface. This seals the meat and adds flavour.
Now for the sauce, in a deep saucepan you add all of the ingredients as listed above, and simmer on a low heat for around twenty minutes. Once your meatballs are sealed you place them into the sauce, add a lid on top of the pan, and cook for a further ten minutes. The sauce should thicken and the meatballs should be cooked through.
Serve in a large bowl, with spaghetti or any shaped pasta underneath. Add Cheddar or Parmesan Cheese on top of the sauce for extra flavour.
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Pasta Dish Two – Homemade Italian Style Peppers and Beans Pasta with Bacon*
This dish is a bit of a wild one. I made it up while using up ingredients in my fridge, like open meats and leftover vegetables. It was such a success I have decided to share it. If you are a vegetarian you can substitute the meat I used for more beans or perhaps courgettes or tomatoes. All of these choices goes well with my other ingredients.
Ingredients
Bacon* Lardons (You Can Use Any Meat, Ham, Bacon, Chicken etc OR add another Vegetable). 100 grams serves 2 people.
One or Two Chopped Peppers
Green Beans (Half a Cup Chopped)
Three Teaspoons of Mixed Italian Herbs
Tomato Puree 50 grams
Garlic / Salt / Pepper (To Your Taste)
Method
In a Saucepan fry the Meat, and once cooked add the Peppers and Garlic, fry until soft. Add the Tomato Puree, Herbs and Seasonings. Finally add the Green Beans and let them cook in the sauce for around five minutes with the lid on, Simmer on Low.
Once you have cooked your chosen Pasta in a separate saucepan then add it to the sauce one and stir thoroughly coating all of the pieces.
Serve in a warm bowl just as it is.
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Pasta Dish Three – Homemade Rich Tomato and Beef* Sauce
My take on this Classic style Pasta Sauce is a family favourite in my house, and it goes well with all sorts of Pasta shapes. Great with Garlic Bread or Homemade Garlic Dough Balls to accompany it as well.
Once again if you’re a vegetarian you can swap the beef for a protein such as Quorn Mince for example, and stick to the other sauce ingredients when possible.
Ingredients
Minced Beef* or Vegetarian Protein 500 grams
One Tin of Chopped Tomatoes 400 grams
Diced Onions (Fried) 150 grams
Tomato Puree 30 grams
Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
Garlic (To Your Taste)
One Beef Stock Cube (Or the adventurous among you can use Marmite or Vegemite to enhance the flavour too. You would need around two tea spoons but be aware of saltiness and always taste after final seasoning).
Two Teaspoons of Italian Seasoning, usually Basil and Oregano based mixes.
Method
Firstly fry off the meat and onion until browned and soft. Transfer to a deep Saucepan where you will add the tomatoes and puree, mix until coated before adding the stock or sauce enhancers. Finally season with garlic, salt and pepper. Add in the Italian Herbs last and simmer on a low heat for around twenty minutes allowing the sauce to thicken up.
Serve in a bowl once again on a bed of Pasta, Shells, Fusilli or Spaghetti all work well I think.
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And that my friends is it! Thank you for joining me for this post, I have enjoyed sharing my secret recipes with you (not so secret now) and I hope you have enjoyed this lifestyle and cookery post.
If you liked the food images and recipes or you decided to try one of my recipes yourself, then please leave me a comment below, I would love to know your thoughts and if you cooked please tag me in any photo’s on social media! Any questions leave me a comment!
Have a great rest of your day and if you did like this then look out for more of my cooking posts in the future 🙂
✩ Sabrina ✩