Five For Friday: Favorite Foods/Pasta

Holy alliteration, Batman! This one was hubby’s idea, probably due to the fact that we are both in process of losing weight and food is nearly constantly on our minds. So, in no particular order, five of my favorite pasta dishes:

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1.  Macaroni & cheese—Mom used to make this every Monday night, with hot dogs on the side. She made it from scratch, making her own rue and everything. It was AWESOME! Now, Gramma used to make it with the hot dogs IN the casserole, but I just don’t care for that. My oldest boy loves it, as that used to be dinner in our younger & broker days; we’d buy a pack of hot dogs for 75 cents and get a care package from one of our parents with Kraft or store brand boxed mac & cheese, and—voila!—dinner for my two boys on nights when I worked. When we could afford it and up until the last few years, I also made it from scratch; now I make it from Velveeta, which is just as yummy and less work.

2.  Fettuccine Alfredo—This is the meal I order every time hubby & I go to the Olive Garden. At home, I use the Great Value sauce. At Olive Garden, I get the Seafood Alfredo. If this was lower calories or without them at all, I’d probably eat it nearly every day. I’ve only ever had one bad fettuccine alfredo, and I am sorry to say that it was in the beautiful state of my birth, New Hampshire, at a little Mom & Pop restaurant.

3.  Tuna Casserole—Mom used to make this from scratch, too. At my house, I sometimes bake it, sometimes not. My hubby & I are the only ones that like it baked, and when I do throw it in the oven, I’ll add peas. My youngest boy is absolutely nuts about it, even though he doesn’t like mushrooms; the oldest one is sick to death of it. This is another one of those things that I could easily eat all the time.

4.  Lasagna—I make this every Christmas as a “I bake, you eat when you want it” meal. We usually have some Italian or French bread (the soft variety) with it, as well as a nice crisp salad. I love a properly done lasagna and mine is quite the hit. I don’t do veggie/vegan lasagna—I like my meat. Take that any way you want to.

5.  Chicken Parmesan—okay, not really an entirely pasta meal, but meh—it’s my blog, I’ll do as I like. At home, we do a cheap version of this, with Tyson chicken patties and serve it with rotini noodles. I love the flavor combination when the sauce seeps into the chicken, and with melted mozzarella on top. Oy!

So, do you hate me now? Are you going to run out to your local Italian restaurant and load up on the carbs tonight? See you on the treadmill tomorrow!