Archive for April, 2008
In the oven…
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April 1st, 2008 Posted 5:13 pm
I love pasta shapes. Most of them have fun names that come from their appearances, and adorable tiny things make me smile 🙂
Gemelli roughly means "twins" in Italian (think Gemini, the twins) and they are two little rods twisted together. Any short, hefty-ish pasta would work well. I tend to avoid long noodles in casseroles, because it is difficult to mix sauce and pasta evenly. I had milk, chicken, and random stuff around, so I got gemelli and made this tonight. It’s a beautiful PINK 🙂
Gemelli Blush Alfredo Bake
- 4 Tb. butter
- 4 Tb. flour
- 1/2 quart of milk
- salt & pepper
- grated parmesan cheese (I used one small bag)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 pound par-cooked gemelli pasta
- melt butter over medium low heat
- add flour and whisk together and let heat for a minute or two (this gets the raw flour taste out)
- off of the heat, slowly add milk, whisking constantly to get rid of any clumps
- return to heat and stir while it slowly thickens
- salt and pepper liberally (this seasons the sauce, the pasta, the tomatoes, and anything else you add, so don’t be stingy)
- add parmesan and stir until melted
- off heat, add chicken broth, tomatoes (this is when it gets wonderfully pink!), and pasta (I also added one chicken breast, sliced, because I had it on hand…you could also use veggies, broccoli, whatever)
- coat a casserole pan with cooking spray and pour in pasta mixture, making sure to spread everything evenly around the pan
- cover with foil and cook at 350° for about 30 minutes
- uncover and bake another 20 to 30 minutes (until pasta is cooked through)
- top with mozzarella if desired and bake for 5 minutes until cheese is melted
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