A new twist on one of my old favorites (original recipe for Parmesan Herbed Noodles is posted on August 10, 2006):

3 cups dry egg noodles
8 oz sliced mushrooms
dash garlic powder
dash oregano
2 tbps butter
2 tbps olive oil
1 tsp basil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
splash fresh lemon juice
fresh ground black pepper
crumbled feta cheese, as desired

Using a large saucepan or cooking pot, heat several cups of water over medium-high heat on the stove. Sprinkle garlic powder and oregano over water. Add noodles once water is at a rolling boil and cook 8-12 minutes or until noodles are at desired firmness.

While water is boiling, heat butter and oil in a large frying pan and add mushrooms. Saute until well cooked. Remove from heat and keep warm. Do not drain.

Combine basil, garlic, thyme, salt, and parmesan cheese in a small mixing bowl. Top mixture with lemon juice and pepper.

Drain noodles and add mushrooms in oil and butter, coating noodles. Add herb mixture, stirring thoroughly to ensure even coating of noodles. Top with feta cheese as desired.

A fresh salad with baby spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives, and red onion tossed in olive oil and red wine vinegar compliments this dish nicely and adds color to the meal.

Another Jenn Original Recipe!

3-4 cups (dry) egg noodles
4 sweet Italian sausages
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 jar spaghetti sauce (preferably meatless)
parmesan cheese
chopped scallions (optional)

Begin by bringing water for egg noodles to a boil and prepare egg noodles according to package directions. Warm spaghetti sauce over low heat while preparing other food.

While waiting for the water to boil, slice sausages into round pieces about 1/2 inch thick and set in skillet. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water. Add mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked (add egg noodles to boiling water during this process).

Drain egg noodles and sausage/mushroom mixture, combine with spaghetti sauce in a large serving dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and scallions (if desired).

TIPS:

Be creative with the spaghetti sauce, try one with roasted garlic. If spaghetti sauce is plain or bland, add garlic, italian seasoning, fresh tomato chunks, chopped cilantro or other flavorful elements.

Add vegetables, either in the dish or on the side. Suggestion: steamed green beans tossed with butter, garlic and parsley.

Be careful when stirring noodles into this dish, they may break apart easily. Fold the noodles into the dish gently to preserve their shape.

Substitute a colorful pasta for egg noodles, such as tri-colored bowties, spirals, shells or whole-wheat angel hair.

These were delicious! I skipped the Cinnamon Maple Syrup, the Orange Honey Butter serves as a syrup. I served these with fresh blueberries, banana slices and orange wedges. Yum!

Blue Corn Pancakes with Orange Honey Butter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup blue cornmeal
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
2 to 3 bananas, peeled and sliced
1 orange, cut into wedges
Orange-Honey Butter, recipe follows

Preheat a nonstick griddle. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of the milk in a medium bowl until combined, then stir in the melted butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. If the batter seems too thick, add some of the remaining milk.

Ladle approximately 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until the bottom is light golden brown, flip, and continue cooking for about 30 seconds. Remove to an ovenproof plate and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. Serve 3 pancakes per person with a dollop of orange-honey butter, cinnamon maple syrup, and bananas. Garnish with blueberries dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Orange-Honey Butter:

3 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
2 sticks butter, slightly softened
2 tablespoons honey
Pinch salt

Place orange juice in a small non-reactive saucepan over high heat and reduce to 3 tablespoons. Place butter in a bowl and add the orange syrup, honey, and salt; mix until combined. Scoop into a large ramekin, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Reheat slightly before serving.

From Taste of Home’s magazine “Simple & Delicious,” this veggie dish makes a great side and can easily be altered to serve with different styles of cuisine.

1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tsps butter

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients and set aside. In a large skillet, saute green beans and mushrooms in butter until almost tender. Add seasoned mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until veggies are nice and tender. Voila!

Some easy substitutions and alterations:

Olive oil or vegetable oil for canola oil (which is just not in my cupboard for some reason)
Swap cider vinegar for soy sauce or thin teryaki sauce when serving with a Chinese dish, with brown rice on side.

A note about black pepper: I heard from a reliable source (the Food Network) that pepper burns. I would suggest leaving it out and sprinkling the veggies with fresh ground black pepper at the end. I haven’t tried this myself because I just learned this interesting tidbit, but there is always next time.

Both times I made this dish (once with cider vinegar and once with soy sauce) there was liquid left over. During the soy sauce run, I removed the veggies and threw some whole raw almonds into the remaining liquid and heated for a couple minutes, then tossed the almonds with the green beans and mushrooms. Yum!

This is altered from a recipe I found in “Cooking for 2″ magazine from Taste of Home. The recipe has been adjusted to make a good side dish for more than two, but you can halve this recipe to make a main dish for two or a meal for one.

3 cups dry egg noodles
dash garlic powder
dash oregano
2 tbps butter
2 tbps olive oil
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
minced garlic (optional)
lemon juice (optional)

Using a large saucepan or cooking pot, heat several cups of water over medium-high heat on the stove. Sprinkle garlic powder and oregano over water. Add noodles once water is at a rolling boil and cook 8-12 minutes or until noodles are at desired firmness.

While noodles are cooking, combine butter, oil, basil, thyme and salt in a small mixing bowl. Top mixture with pepper.

Drain noodles and add herb mixture, stirring thoroughly to ensure even coating of noodles. Top with parmesan cheese. Minced garlic and lemon can also be added to taste. Stir well before serving.

If serving with Honey-Lime Chicken, I recommend omitting garlic and lemon. The garlic and lime flavors in the chicken will compliment this dish nicely. If you begin boiling the water for the noodles a few minutes after putting the chicken in the oven, the two should be done at about the same time.