Friday, June 27, 2014

Pasta Pronto!!! {When you need dinner in a hurry}

There are times in the life of a family for a luxurious meal around the table with a nice main dish flanked by side dishes of various shape and color. The meal takes nearly as long to consume as it does to prepare, and those seated around the table are at their leisure to enjoy the food set before them. Silverware clanking and voices mingling over good food and happy hearts.

However...

There are also times in the life of a family where ball practices and youth events and street hockey and theater camp toss a wrench into the lovely family dinner ideal...and that's ok if your family is prepared.  It is NOT ok if you have forgotten about an event and have made no plan for dinner and have to go flying about the kitchen hoping that the dinner genie has something special waiting in the freezer for you to microwave at the last minute.

Obviously, I've been in this situation very recently, not the prepared situation, I can run with that, but instead the completely-at-a-loss-feel-like-I've-never-before-in-my-life-fixed-a-meal-what-am-I-gonna-do-now-the-game-is-in-an-hour situation. My gang gets peanut butter and pretzels on those days. Later we drag into the house after the game is over and after the post-game ice cream has been consumed and we find ourselves fairly ravenous at which point we inhale whatever exists of our cereal and milk supply and hope that the dinner genie has alerted the breakfast genie via a text in ALL CAPITALS that she'll need to haul my buggy outta the fire in the morning because who's had time to go to the store to buy yogurt or bagels and who has the energy after weeks of a frenzied schedule to bake oatmeal or cookies or treats?

Today on the family schedule we have multiple trips to theater camp 20 minutes away, a softball tournament 15 minutes down the road and vacation bible school {happily} two minutes across the street. Clearly, dinner will be a frenzied affair here's what I'm serving...

Vodka pasta...yes for the Baptist preacher's family. Haaaaa!  We live on a sharp edge over here, yes we do! The sauce for the dish does have vodka in it but I need not show my ID to the grocery cashier when purchasing it. Processed so that only the taste is left, the sauce is available in many brands...


...our preferred brand is Newman's Own but it was not on the shelf on shopping day so I settled on Emeril. (note: if you do not think this style of sauce is to your liking, just substitute a pasta sauce of your choice and all will be well.)

You'll also need a one pound box of pasta. Any short shape will do, but we really like the bow tie or shell shape for this dish. Finally, you'll need three cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and an optional 1/2 cup of Parmesan. That's it! From here it's just incredibly easy, you'll be on the ball field or at the theater or in the pews for VBS opening in no time!

Vodka Pasta Baptist Style
Adapted slightly from The Mom 100 Cookbook, one of my favorites!
{Printable Recipe Here}

What you'll need:
1 1 lb. box of pasta (we like bow tie or shells for this)
1 24 oz jar of vodka sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional but highly recommended)

What to do:
Preheat oven to 350˚.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt to the boiling water and add the pasta. Cook according to package directions and drain. 

Return cooked pasta to the pot ...



...and add entire jar of vodka sauce,




 ...and the cheese. 



Stir well and pour into a sprayed 3 quart baking dish.




 Top, if desired, with parmesan cheese and bake in a 350˚ oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and just beginning to brown on top. 


Serve with a green salad or steamed broccoli if you've got time for such things and enjoy!


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