Wendy's Everyday Dinners

I was married at nineteen and among all the millions of things I didn't know at that age, I didn't know how to cook!  I could make canned soups and a few side dishes and that was about it. My little brother had to show me how to make a grilled cheese sandwich.  Kenneth and I worked opposite schedules and developed a habit of making reservations for dinner.  This was actually my first step to learn to cook.  I began to pay attention to what I liked and what flavors went together.

I grew up in a modest home with a mother who didn't know very much about cooking.  There was  never an herb in our house and the only spices were salt, pepper, seasoning salt, celery salt and cinnamon (which is a story for another day!)  There was also the occasional packet to make spaghetti.. which I thought was the worst thing on the face of the earth.  I am pretty sure the recipe my mother used went something like this....
brown hamburger, add a jar of tomatoes, spaghetti seasoning packet, serve over spaghetti noodles, garnish with powered parmesan cheese from a can.  Just thining about this make my stomach turn.  This was the one dinner I was given a free pass to skip and remember eating a slice of bread with peanut butter on nights this was served.

The funny thing is that italian food and pasta dishes with tomatoes are my favorite food as an adult.  In fact I think God made tomatoes and basil as a gift just for me!  One of our family comfort foods is  my Special Pasta.   What makes it so special?  Nothing at all!  Which is why it's so special.  Special Pasta can easily be jazzed up to be special of course, but it's really just a simple pantry meal.

Wendy’s Special Pasta

4 oz. linguine

1 can tomatoes, diced (do not drain) or 2 cups fresh roma or cherry tomatoes

1 tbs. olive oil (1 or 2 times around the pan)

1 tsp. basil (I prefer fresh, but often sub dried basil)

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Boil water for pasta.

In large frying pan add olive oil, tomatoes, basil and red pepper flakes. Cook on medium, breaking up tomatoes with wooden spoon. Cook pasta until just before al dente. Add pasta to tomato mixture along with a spoonful or two of the starchy pasta water to finish cooking. Stir until liquid is absorbed. Garnish with torn fresh basil and parmesan cheese.  Serves 2, can be doubled.

Serve with anything; chicken, steamed squash, etc. The best thing about this pasta is that it is totally yummy and there is nothing really special about it!  But it's good because it's made with fresh, simple ingredients and flavors that go together.

Also to note is that I use linguine instead of spaghetti. I like the way it holds sauce better.  I also add the pasta TO the sauce to finish the last minute or two of cooking. This is a more traditional way to bring together a pasta and sauce. Also, the starch in the cooking water helps to create the sauce.

Now back to how I learned to cook...

Like all american woman, after a few years I found myself with binders and files or recipes torn from magazines and printed from the internet and cooking shows.  Of course many of these were complicated and never attempted. I thinkk it all started with The Frugal Gourmet, then Martha Stewart, David Rosengarten, Emeril (the early days), The Two Hot Tamales, Ina Garten, and then there was Rachael Ray.

Rachael Ray changed my life.  Though I was finally learning the basics, hold to hold a knife properly, etc.  I wasn't putting what this new found knowledge into practice because I was so overwhelmed.  One day while watching Rachal Ray I realized that the meals I make every day were the quick 30-minute style meals.  She also gave me the freedom to not feel guilty about using prepackaged salad, canned beans rather than dried, etc. 

Rachael Ray grew up in the kitchen. She grew up cooking traditional dishes with her parents and even her grandfather.  Rachael found herself working as a buyer for a grocery store. She began to appear on the noon news broadcast to promote cooking quick meals with conveniences easily found in the grocery store.  She was fun and was eventually offered a cooking show of her own.

I began to assemble all of the quick meals we regularly cooked on weeknights and found ways to make my favorite complicated meals easier. I also included many of Rachael Ray's recipes.  I put them together in a book titled Wendy's Everyday Dinners.  I have also  tried to include the simple meals like my "special pasta" that we make often... you know the one's you don't need a recipe for.  This has now become our quick go to book.  When we try a new recipe, if we like it - it goes in the book!   And because they are all in once place, it's easy for Kenneth to make a meal (OK, so he's still better at making reservations).  If something ever happened to me and we needed help this would be a quick way to comfort my family, by having someone prepare meals they are used to eating.

What are YOUR Family's Everday Dinners?