Pronto saucy pasta skillet

[jd]

This is a several-in-one recipe mix-and-match thing, but it's real easy to make. We got it from some Kraft "food&family program guide" club thing ryan signed up for in years past.

Anyway! It goes like this:

The base recipe calls for:
a 14.5-oz can of undrained diced tomatoes
8 oz uncooked pasta
a large skillet and a pasta pot
A pound of meat (or vegetarian substitute)
About 2 cups or so of vegetables
Half a cup of salad dressing for marinade/sauce
A cup of shredded cheese (for topping)

The suggested meats are:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)


• 1 lb boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into 4 pieces


• 4 boneless pork chops (1 lb)


• Vegetarian option: 1 15-oz can drained and rinsed cannellini beans


• We also found that a pound of ground beef works fine too

Suggested vegetables to stir in are:

• A chopped onion and a green bell pepper


• A sliced onion and a 4.5-oz jar of drained sliced mushrooms


• 1 cup peas, 1 cup sliced carrots


• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets, 1 4.5-oz jar drained sliced mushrooms


• But really you can use whatever you want

The suggested dressing-cheese pairings are:

• Half cup tomato vinaigrette with 1 cup shredded mozzarella


• Half cup balsamic vinaigrette with 6oz. Velveeta [cut up]


• Half cup Italian dressing with 1 cup shredded cheddar


• Half cup ranch dressing with quarter cup grated parmesan (or more if you want/it's shredded)

I know all that sounds complicated but they're all just options - feel free to use whatever you want.

So now that you've picked one of each, make the pasta like normal. Cook the meat with 2 Tbsp of dressing in a large skillet for 5 minutes or until it's browned on both sides (turn after 3 min if you need to). Stir in the can of diced tomatoes, vegetables, and the rest of the dressing. [If you're doing beans instead of meat, just throw it all in together here.] Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, simmer for 10 minutes until the meat is cooked. Serve over pasta and top with cheese; let it sit so the cheese can melt. Serves roughly 4, more if you add lots of vegetables.

Pro tip: if you use ground beef, don't pair it with ranch salad dressing. It still tastes good, but comes out looking like gray sludge.

Comments

[freezingrayne]

Okay, that sounds delicious right now, especially since I am sitting in the living room, listening to dinner being cooked.

Definitely going to be trying this someday soon!

[azurelunatic]

(because it came up tonight)

Some vegetables need longer cooking than others, such as potatoes. Start those first.