Although college kitchens may be on the more...tiny...and inefficient...side, remembering to use your kitchen basics is perfect for creating summer time meals.  Not everyone is blessed with a Weber grill in the back yard, like my previous home in Ann Arbor, so it is always fun to find recipes with ingredients that are refreshing, suited for summer,  and can be made in your own oven and stove!


Pasta à la Brandon

Ingredients: 

• 1 red pepper
• 1 green zucchini
• 1 yellow summer squash (yellow zucchini)
• 1/2 pound penne pasta
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Parmesan Cheese 
• Fresh basil leaves
• Red pepper flakes
• Garlic salt
• Salt
• Pepper

1. Roast the red pepper.  To roast a red pepper, turn your oven on broil.  Put the pepper on a baking sheet and place in the oven for around 30-40 minutes, rotating frequently.  Once the pepper has a black outside, but is not burned on the inside, remove the pepper from the oven.  
2. Place the pepper in a bowl and cover the bowl with a plate for 10 minutes so the pepper can sweat (this step is crucial for making the removal of the pepper skin easy!).  Once the pepper is done sweating, remove the skin, and Meanwhile, chop the zucchini and yellow summer squash.  Sauté in olive oil and add salt, pepper, garlic salt, and red pepper flakes to 
3. Cook the pasta al dente and add butter to the noodles after 
4. Add the sautéed vegetables, and roasted red pepper to the 
5. Add chopped fresh basil (to taste), parmesan cheese (to taste), and mix 
6. Most importantly, ENJOY!

** These ingredients would also taste delicious with different sauces if you do not want to just have buttered noodles.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• ½ cup cubed chicken breast (uncooked; bite-size pieces)
• ½ cup diced onion (any type of onion you prefer)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice (I substituted this with marinara sauce)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (I omitted this)
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup bread crumbs (Italian bread crumbs add extra flavor)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• About 1 Tablespoon of butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and put into a large mixing bowl.
3. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes (until chicken begins to brown). Stir in the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through. *I added about a ¼ cup of the dry white wine as the chicken, onion and garlic sautéed for extra flavor, and continuously seasoned the combination with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
4. Add the chicken mixture into the cooked pasta. Add the marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, parsley, and season more if needed. Stir to combine.
5. Place mixture in a 8x8x2 inch baking dish that you can either butter or spray with cooking spray, such as Pam. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese evenly over the pasta mixture. Dot with small bits of the butter.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top of the mixture is golden brown.

*Note- Instead of chopping fresh garlic cloves, I use ready-to-use chopped garlic. It’s much easier sometimes.
*Note- you can always omit the chicken for a vegetarian dish or choose another type of meat of your liking.

Picture thanks to Catherine Morgan
www.catherine-morgan.com

Serves 4

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb of fettuccine pasta
• 1 stick of butter
• 4 oz of cream cheese, in other words half of a block (stick with regular, not low-fat, it’s definitely worth the extra calories)
• A handful (or few) of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (NOT KRAFT BRAND)
• A small container of Vitamin D milk (a pint)
• Italian seasoning

 
Instructions:

1. Start cooking the fettuccine.
2. While the fettuccine is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan.
3. After the butter is melted, add the cream cheese and whisk together until it’s creamy.
4. Add about a 1/4 cup of milk at first and a handful of parmesan and whisk until the cheese is melted.
5. Taste the sauce and add either more Parmesan and/or milk until it tastes good and it’s a smooth and creamy consistency.  
6. Add a dash of Italian season, mix it in and pour on top of the cooked fettuccine.
7. Enjoy!