Red and White Pasta for Valentine's Day

Pasta...za food uv love.

Are you ready for Valentine's Day? Yep, the charges have Star Wars and Disney Princess Valentines and Fun Dips to pass out. I've got some Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts up my sleeve, too. One more stop at Barnes and Noble, and that should take care of the Quiet Man. And I know what I'm making for dinner: an oh-so-easy and delicious pasta dinner.

The credit for this recipe goes to my sister Leslie, who loves to tinker around with recipes until she gets them just perfect-o. Then she makes them over and over and over again until she finds something else that she loves, and she moves on and starts again. I'm glad she landed on this pasta, because she made me love it too. It's so easy to make, and I'll bet you have just about everything you need already. The marinara is straight from the pantry, but you could swap in some fresh ingredients, if so inclined. I use fresh garlic when I make this sauce, just because I love that fresh, pungent taste. Doesn't that sound like it would make romantic garlic breath for Valentine's Day smooching? The Quiet Man likes his garlic too, and we brought up the charges with garlic in their baby bottles, so we can have a big fat garlic-y family love fest and no one will mind. Round out the menu with a green salad, lots of crusty bread, and definitely something chocolatey for dessert.

If you need a Valentine's movie to go with your Italian dinner, may I recommend Moonstruck? Please tell me you've seen it, or I'm sending you directly to Blockbuster video.

Look at Nicholas Cage. He's so young and nubile and angry, with a full head of hair, too. "I bake bread, bread, bread!"

And here's Cher with Olympia Dukakis. Cher's life is "going down the toilet" because her mom just caught her with a love bite on her neck from Nicholas Cage. Please tell me you already love Moonstruck.

And be sure to put on Lady and the Tramp for the kids, so they can croon "Bella Notte" while they slurp up spaghetti. Happy Valentine's Day to everybody! With any luck, I'll be back with one more breakfast recipe.

Notes: I almost rewrote this recipe in my regular format, but then I decided that I like it just the way it is. It reads like your best friend is giving you a casual recipe over the phone.
MY SISTER LESLIE'S FAVORITE MARINARA IN THE WORLD

Estimated Cost: $10.00 for 6 generous servings

2 TBSP. olive oil

2 TBSP. butter

Heat this in a large pot and don't let it burn.

Place 4 - 14. 0z. cans of undrained Hunt's, garlic, basil and oregano diced tomatoes in the blender.Add this to the olive oil and butter.

Add 2 tsp. garlic powder, 2 tsp. oregano, 2 tsp. basil, 2 tsp. crushed red pepper (use less if you don't like it super-spicy), and 2 TBSP. sugar

Heat it all up and let it simmer.

Make sure you have good bread on hand so you can dip your bread in the marinara and eat that while you finish the rest of the recipe because it's that good.

Boil a box of penne.

Bechamel Sauce

Add 5 TBSP. butter, and 4 TBSP. flour to a saucepan.

Add 4 C. of whipping cream (Prudy here-I used only 1 cup of whipping cream, and a combo of evaporated milk and low fat milk. I'm sure it's better with cream, but I don't need to find that out.) because it is so much better than half and half or milk, but you can use those too if you don't want to get bigger. Let that cook, and watch it carefully as it thickens. Add 1 tsp. salt and a dash or two of nutmeg.That's it. It's so easy and so delicious. You don't even have to bake it.Place penne on a plate, cover with marinara, pour the bechamel sauce on top, and sprinkle with parmesan.I love it, eat it twice a week, and hope you'll love it, too.
Next Up:

Waffles for your Valentine's Breakfast (I'm still deciding between good-for-you Honey Wheat Waffles, or bad-for-you Chocolate Waffles)

PS Two days left to vote for West's More Rockin Moroccan Peanutty Pitas. I'm so glad my career as peppy voter -promoter is almost over. Remind me to never run for office.