Pasta/Makarna Archives - In The Kitchen With April

March 15, 2017

Electric Pressure Cooker Alfredo Bucatini

Electric Pressure Cooker Alfredo Bucatini Regrettably, it has been several months since I posted a recipe here and I am truly sorry. Just because I have not been posting, does not mean I have not been cooking. After purchasing my Farberware 6-Qt Digital Pressure Cooker, I have tried to cook almost anything and everything in it. So, I have plenty of recipes to share with you from all the experimenting. First, let me share my Electric Pressure Cooker Alfredo Bucatini....

July 23, 2016

Eggplant Lasagna

Eggplant Lasagna When I am in the mood for comfort food, I can’t think of anything more satisfying than Eggplant Lasagna. Cutting into layers of tender pasta, gooey melted cheese, eggplant, tomato sauce, more cheese. . . Ummmm. Making my own mouth water. 🙂 The thing about a good Lasagna is letting it sit for a few minutes after removing it from the oven so it can firm up. Who can ever wait though? When I make Lasagna, we are...

April 14, 2016

Chickpea Orzo Salad

Chickpea Orzo Salad Something about salad just makes me think summer. This Chickpea Orzo Salad is no exception. It literally screams summer. The crunchy cucumbers and sweet grape tomatoes make this salad really refreshing. This salad would be a great light lunch or side to grilled meats. And if you are looking for a dish to take along to any summer cook-outs you may be going to this summer, you definitely need to make this and take it along. Your vegetarian...

March 6, 2016

Manti Inspired Fresh Made Spaghetti and Meatballs

Manti Inspired Fresh Made Spaghetti and Meatballs First and foremost, let me say this is not Manti!!!! Manti is a delicious Turkish dish that is best made when you have plenty of helping hands around. It could be done alone but part of the fun of making Manti is spending the time stuffing the dough with the meat mixture while you chit-chat with your family and/or friends! The best Manti in Turkey is from the Kayseri region. My former...

February 4, 2016

Chicken ‘n Potato Dumplings

Chicken ‘n Potato Dumplings When it comes to comfort food, there are not many dishes that can compete with Chicken n’ Dumplins (that’s Southern for Chicken and Dumplings). I think my recipe for Chicken ‘n Potato Dumplings gives the original a run for it’s money if I do say so myself. Fluffy POTATO dumplings floating in broth with big chunks of chicken and carrots is enough to make you want to slap your momma. You guessed it . . . another Southern term...

December 7, 2015

Creamy Manchego Rose Sauce over Angel Hair Pasta

Creamy Manchego Rose Sauce over Angel Hair Pasta I love pasta. Not just a little, but, really, really, really love pasta. I could eat it everyday. With meat, without meat, tomato sauce, cream sauce or both sauce (rose)! Creamy Manchego Rose Sauce over Angel Hair Pasta which combines both tomato and cream to make this gorgeous rose sauce is one of my favorites. Whenever I ask my daughter what she would like for dinner, she almost always says “Ooh, Mom, can...

April 14, 2015

Penne Pasta with Makdous, Tomato and Feta

My friend Rania recently showed me how she makes Makdous, which is eggplant cured in olive oil and that is the inspiration for my newest pasta recipe, Penne Pasta with Makdous, Tomato and Feta . Making Makdous is a pretty tedious process and I will make a post on that later. I will quickly tell you how it is made. We started by preparing the eggplant. This is just removing the stems. We then boiled the eggplant briefly. Next, we salted...

April 12, 2015

Shrimp and Mushroom Angel Hair Pasta Alfredo

I owe the creation of my Shrimp and Mushroom Angel Hair Pasta Alfredo Recipe to my daughter, Stella. We were talking the other day and she said she was really wanting some creamy pasta with shrimp. I was going with my sister to Birmingham for her doctor’s appointment so I thought I would go by Restaurant Depot and pick up some shrimp. Unfortunately, the only wild caught shrimp they had out was a 5 pound bag of frozen shrimp that...

August 12, 2014

Homemade Pasta with Creamy Garlicky Veggie Sauce

Last night was a Meat-less Monday at our house. Guess what? It was so delicious, we didn’t even miss the meat. Don’t get me wrong, I love meat and don’t ever see myself becoming a vegetarian, but sometimes veggies are the way to go. I have made homemade pasta before and have been wanting to make some wide noodles. I think wide noodles go really well with a creamy vegetable sauce. Of course you have to throw in...

January 19, 2014

Veggie Rigatoni with Cheese Sauce

Well, as you all know, I love cooking for my family, especially my gorgeous daughter, Stella. She mentioned that she would like some creamy, cheesy pasta with veggies and tomatoes, so the recipe below is what I came up with. It was really delicious. My sister and nephew came to eat and they seemed to like it too. Try it for yourself. I think you will enjoy it. Afiyet olsun! Enjoy! Veggie Rigatoni with Cheese Sauce Save Print...

July 9, 2013

Banana Nut Bread

One of my favorite fruits is a nice ripe banana. The strange thing is that when I buy more than a couple at a time, they never get eaten. If I buy 2-3 bananas, I will go to grab one and someone will have beaten me to it. However when I buy a whole bunch, 5-6 bananas, they NEVER get touched. Well, lucky for you guys, that is what happened to bring about this post. I had a bunch...

April 8, 2013

Pasta Salad with Asparagus or Kuşkonmaz ile Makarna Salatası

Pasta Salad with Asparagus or Kuşkonmaz ile Makarna SalatasıOne of my favorite spring and summer time dishes is Pasta Salad with Asparagus or Kuşkonmaz ile Makarna Salatası. You can start with the basics and improvise with what you have on hand at home. This version is made with a creamy dressing however a vinaigrette based dressing is just as delicious. You could use a vinaigrette based dressing and add salami and mozzarella for an Italian inspired pasta salad. Grilled or...