Eggplant Marinara Recipe

This is a healthier version of eggplant Parmesan, but just as tasty. I used a limited amount of cheese in this dish, and filled grilled eggplant with white beans. The white beans have a soft texture and add a bunch of protein to the dish, making it a viable main course option for vegetarians.

I still had a leftover jar of marinara sauce from last summer and the sauce tasted amazingly good. Everyone loved this dish and the best part is that no one felt guilty having the decadent dessert I made afterwards!

Mushroom Tomato Pasta Sauce Recipe

I feel like this might be the busiest week of my life. I am working on completing my next big project, and the deadline is at the end of the week. I didn't have a lot of time to cook for my husband Lulu, so I made a quick and easy mushroom tomato pasta sauce to go with pan-fried store-bought ravioli. Finished with a dash of cream, it’s just homemade enough to be proud of!

Ravioli with Cheese Tomato Sauce

Keeping in mind that Valentine's Day is only a few days away, this recipe captures the romantic spirit, while requiring minimal effort to produce lots of flavor. To make the dish I used store-bought, heart-shaped four-cheese ravioli pasta. All you need to do is boil the ravioli, pan-fry them so the texture isn't soggy and accompany it with a tasty sauce. I made the sauce fairly simple so the ravioli are still the shining element in the dish. The base of the sauce is a blend of oven-roasted onion wedges and Parmesan cheese. I also topped the pasta with sautéed oyster mushrooms and fried green onions.

It's a quick and easy dish, so you still have time to give your hair and makeup some TLC. Not only food needs to look good!

Beef Pasta Sauce Recipe

Making delicious pasta is fairly easy; however it requires a few little tricks to ensure that the dish always turns beautifully. The pasta sauce is one of the key components. Today, I used ground beef, fresh ripe tomatoes, grilled zucchini, eggplant, Portobello mushrooms, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and fresh oregano. I bound all the ingredients together using pasta water.

This pasta dish is unpretentious, tasty and oh so simple.

Beet Marinara Pasta Sauce with Mozzarella

March has definitely been beet season in my house. I made salads, beet risotto, drinks, and more recently, beet pasta sauce. Beets have a gorgeous, rich color; I experimented more by mixing marinara sauce with beets for a simple pasta dish. The acidity from the tomato sauce cuts the sweetness of the beets.

Tomatoes are not in season, so I cheated and used a store-bought jar of tomato sauce. I finished the dish with pieces of mozzarella for extra creaminess.