8 Quick and Easy Pasta Dishes

Pasta is a terrific meal option because it’s inexpensive, easy to cook and makes for tasty leftovers. Even more, it's so versatile that you can make any dish flavorfully prepared to your liking. The next time you’re looking for an easy and filling homemade meal, try one of these 30-minute pasta recipes that will be sure to give Rachael Ray a run for her money.

1. Spaghetti With Bacon, Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese

For a pasta dish that takes little effort to prepare, try this spaghetti with bacon, caramelized onions and goat cheese recipe. Safely boil your spaghetti while caramelizing the onions to save even more time. Then serve it with a generous topping of goat cheese and bacon for an impressive looking plate.

2. Linguine With Sautéed Swiss Chard, Summer Squash and Bacon

This linguine pasta makes for a refreshing weeknight dinner. By mixing summer vegetables -- such as zucchini, yellow squash and Swiss chard -- with bacon, you can serve up a well-rounded and colorful meal.

3. Prosciutto Carbonara Pasta

Prosciutto carbonara pasta is a deliciously filling comfort food that takes little time to prepare. The creamy egg sauce combined with crispy prosciutto and chives will have you and your loved ones finishing this meal as quickly as it took to make it.

4. Basil Pesto Linguine

Step up your pasta game with your own homemade pesto sauce. Combine toasted pine nuts, fresh basil, garlic, cheese and olive oil in a food processor. Toss with cooked linguine, and you’ll have a flavorful dish in no time at all.

5. Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

This classic Italian dish can be cooked at home in a pinch. With just a few ingredients including shrimp, Parmesan cheese, heavy cream and garlic, you can easily make this pasta favorite any night of the week.


6. Chipotle Cilantro Pesto Pasta

Chipotle cilantro pesto pasta combines Latin American flavors and gives you a dish with a kick. You can save any leftover sauce -- and when you’re ready to eat, just boil your pasta and toss with the pesto for a quick and easy meal.

7. One-Pot Caprese Pasta

This Caprese pasta recipe saves time by cooking the pasta and ingredients in the same pot, simultaneously. By simmering the uncooked pasta and fixings in red wine and water, the pasta will retain more flavor and will be ready in just 20 minutes.

8. Chicken and Spinach Skillet Pasta

If you need to get dinner on the table fast, this chicken and spinach skillet pasta is a great option. Cook everything together in the same skillet, and in just a half-hour, you will have a hearty meal ready to serve.

Different Kinds of Salad Dressing

Demystify your bottled salad dressings, and learn how to make them yourself. It's surprisingly easy! Use fresh and wholesome ingredients from your pantry and kitchen, and forgo the industrial oils, sugar, preservatives and thickeners in store-bought dressings. Best of all, you'll realize how lackluster those dressings taste compared to what you can whip up at home.

Ranch Dressing

You've tried countless brands of ranch dressing; now it's time to make your own. This cool, creamy and tangy dressing is remarkably simple to make, and its ingredients are pantry staples. You'll be drizzling this easy ranch dressing on all your favorite accompaniments in less time than it takes to run to the store and buy some.

Italian Dressing

Add some zing to an otherwise boring salad with a drizzle of your own homemade Italian dressing. Play around with red wine, white wine or cider vinegar and a variety of herbs like oregano, thyme, basil and marjoram to customize your own perfect Italian dressing.

Thousand Island Dressing

About 10 minutes is all it takes to whip up homemade Thousand Island dressing from scratch. Many fast-food restaurants and diners use this sweet and tangy dressing as their "secret sauce" to jazz up salads, sandwiches and burgers with a basic base of mayonnaise, ketchup and pickle relish. You can add Worcestershire sauce, paprika, eggs and other ingredients to create your very own "secret sauce."


Russian Dressing

Don't confuse Russian dressing for Thousand Island. While both have a base of ketchup and mayonnaise, Russian dressing has a spicy kick that gets its heat from horseradish or your choice of hot sauce. Put a dollop this creamy, zesty dressing on salads or as a spread in sandwiches and burgers.

Garlic Avocado Salad Dressing

If you're a guacamole aficionado, this garlic avocado salad dressing will hit your sweet spot. This avocado-based dressing isn't as thick as guacamole, but it retains that fresh and creamy piquancy that makes it so delicious. Try it on a salad with black beans, grilled corn and crumbled tortilla chips for a Southwestern flair.

Basic Vinaigrette

A basic vinaigrette only requires a few ingredients -- oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and salt and pepper -- to create a sweet and savory vinaigrette in under 5 minutes. Choose from a wide range of vinegars and oils, from extra virgin olive oil to hazelnut, to mix and match all year with different and memorable results. It's truly an easy salad dressing with endless possibilities.

Roasted Strawberry Vinaigrette

Roasted strawberry vinaigrette is an exquisite way to use up those ripe to overripe strawberries in your refrigerator. Roasted strawberries simply burst with concentrated sweet juices, while balsamic vinegar balances it out with its own sweet and acidic character. This is a wonderfully rich and bright vinaigrette that will go perfectly on any summer salad.

Real Caesar Salad Dressing

Unlike its store-bought counterparts, real Caesar salad dressing made with whole ingredients is a rich explosion of flavor. Raw egg yolks make a creamy emulsifier, and the brine from the anchovies gives it a sea-salty complexity. If you don't want to use raw egg yolks and anchovies, you can substitute other common ingredients, but it won't be quite as good as the real deal.

Honey Mustard Sauce

Whether for dipping, basting or as a salad dressing, honey mustard sauce boasts a versatile array of culinary uses. This sweet, tangy and spicy dressing is always tasty with chicken and salad, or use it to marinate pork chops before grilling. All it takes is a few ingredients and 10 minutes.

How to Roast Spaghetti Squash

For those who eat a gluten-free/wheat-free/low-carb lifestyle, spaghetti squash is the ticket to enjoying your favorite "pasta" dishes without the noodles. To roast it, all it takes is one large squash and about an hour of prep and cooking time. Read on for our easy-to-make instructions, as well as some delicious ways to enjoy your roasted spaghetti squash.

Step 1: Cut the Spaghetti Squash in Half

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the tip and tail off of the spaghetti squash. Stand the squash upright, and cut down the center length-wise.
Cut all the way through the squash, revealing the seeds.

Step 2: Remove the Insides and Seeds

Using a sturdy metal spoon, scoop out the insides and seeds. You can scrape firmly against the flesh in order to release the insides. Repeat for both halves of squash.


Step 3: Coat the Flesh with Olive Oil

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over each half (about 1 to 2 tablespoons per half).
Smear the olive oil over all of the exposed squash flesh in order to lightly coat with oil.

Step 4: Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper

Sprinkle the flesh of each half with sea salt and pepper.

Step 5: Roast the Squash

Place the squash cut-side down on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until squash is tender when poked with a fork.
Once the squash has finished roasting, flip each half cut-side up and allow it to cool enough to handle.

Step 6: Make the Noodles

Run a fork down the width of the squash, releasing the noodles. You can scrape noodles all the way down to the squash skin. Repeat for both halves of spaghetti squash, placing noodles in a large serving bowl.

Step 7: Serve

Serve the spaghetti squash noodles as is, or topped with your favorite homemade or store-bought sauce.

How to Cook With Grapeseed Oil

Grapeseed oil, a by-product of the wine-making process, comes from extracting the oil from within the small, hard-shelled seed. A stable cooking oil, grapeseed oil does not smoke or splatter. This oil features a high smoke point, or temperature at which oil smokes and discolors, ranging from approximately 320 to 428 degrees, depending on the brand. The light, buttery or nutty flavor leaves no aftertaste and enhances a food's natural flavor. Grapeseed oil is an economical cooking oil because only one-third to one-half cup of grapeseed oil equals one cup of other oils.

Frying, Roasting and Barbecuing

Use a paper towel to remove moisture from surface of raw meats. This dry surface will aid in browning the meat.

Marinate or brush meat with grapeseed oil or flavored varieties such as garlic or walnut. Grapeseed oil works well with meat, poultry or fish. This thin layer of oil will help retain flavor and prevent sticking to the frying pan, roasting pan or grill.

Place meat in pre-heated frying pan, oven or grill. If meat starts to look dry, brush on another thin layer of grapeseed oil.

Grapeseed Oil as a Butter Substitute

Substitute grapeseed oil for butter by brushing on a sliced piece of bread. Add optional grated cheese, sliced tomatoes, chopped olives or other toppings.


Place topped bread on a shallow metal baking pan under a pre-heated broiler until cheese is melted or toppings are browned.

Remove bread carefully from oven. Add freshly ground pepper if desired.

Grapeseed Oil as a Condiment

Mix grapeseed oil or varieties infused with herbs and spices as part of a mayonnaise or salad dressing recipe. Test with small amounts of grapeseed oil and increase the amounts to balance with other ingredients in the adapted recipe.

Add grapeseed oil to raw or cooked vegetables, salads and pasta. This light-tasting oil will not overpower food.

Use grapeseed oil as part of a dip for fresh vegetables on a platter.

How to Make Overnight Oatmeal

Overnight oatmeal is a fantastic breakfast that is served cold and can be made year-round. Simply mix rolled oats with milk and other desired ingredients, allow it to sit overnight and wake up to a no-hassle breakfast.

You can make this healthy breakfast according to your taste, using any sweetener and milk you prefer. For a dairy-free variety, try almond milk, coconut milk or cashew milk. Honey, agave or pure maple syrup offer alternatives to refined sugar. This easy recipe requires only a few minutes of prep time and zero cooking, making it a perfect make-ahead breakfast for company or for fueling your busy lifestyle.

Basic Recipe

Gather your ingredients, and add all of them to a large jar or other sealable container.
Seal the container, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 6 hours). Enjoy your overnight oatmeal with fresh or dried fruit, nuts and additional milk or sweetener.


Additional Flavoring Ideas

You can get creative with your overnight oatmeal by trying all sorts of flavoring options.
Make cinnamon-raisin overnight oatmeal by adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/2 cup of raisins to the basic recipe, following the same instructions. Adding the raisins prior to refrigerating it will allow the raisins to rehydrate and plump up overnight.

Strawberries 'n' cream overnight oatmeal requires adding 1 cup of fresh chopped strawberries and 1/2 cup half & half (or full-fat coconut milk) to the basic recipe. Add these ingredients to the oatmeal either before or after it sits overnight.

Make peanut butter & banana overnight oatmeal by serving the overnight oats with banana slices and a dollop or so of creamy or crunchy peanut butter.

Have your overnight oatmeal trail mix-style with dried fruit, nuts, seeds or chocolate chips. Add the following ingredients to the basic recipe before refrigerating: 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or a combination of nuts and seeds of choice) and 1/3 cup of semisweet or white chocolate chips.

Omega-3 Vegetarian Omelet Recipe

Add a healthy dose of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids a veggie omelet by adding hemp seeds, chia seeds or flax seeds to your eggs prior to cooking. Omega fatty acids are heart- and brain-healthy monounsaturated fats, which are essential to maintaining a balanced diet. Adding avocado will also infuse your breakfast with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and for an even higher dose, consider using omega-3 eggs. (This recipe serves two.)

Step 1: Saute the Vegetables

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a skillet, and heat over medium-high. Add the onion and mushrooms to saute, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have browned and the onion is translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the baby spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the salt, and then set these aside until ready to use.

Step 2: Beat the Eggs

Add 2 to 3 eggs to a small blender with one tablespoon of hemp seeds.
Blend the eggs and seeds until very well combined.


Step 3: Heat Butter in a Skillet

Add one tablespoon of butter to a skillet. Heat to medium-high, and spread the butter over the full surface of the skillet.

Step 4: Cook the Eggs

Pour the beaten egg and hemp seed mixture into the hot skillet. Allow it to cook until the sides firm up and the center has set, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 5: Add the Filling

Add half of your sauteed vegetables to one side of the omelet. Use a spatula to fold the omelet in half.

Serve with hot sauce or salsa. You also can sprinkle crumbled feta cheese inside the omelet or instead add jack or cheddar cheese for a gooey omelet. Serve with sliced avocado and fresh spinach on the side. Repeat the process for a second omelet.

How to Make Thanksgiving Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Extremely moist, flavorful, and richly spiced, homemade pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting can be made in just a few simple steps. While we've prepared this as a single layer cake, the recipe can easily be doubled to create a layer cake version.

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9-inch springform pan; set aside. In a large bowl combine the eggs, sugars, oil, butter, pumpkin, milk, vanilla, and spices; beat well to combine. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir until just combined. Fold in the raisins, and nuts, gently stirring together until incorporated.

Step 2

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake cake for 42 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (or with just a few moist crumbs attached). Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.


Step 3

While the cake is cooling, make your cream cheese frosting. For complete instructions (it's super easy!) use our favorite frosting recipe found in our Homemade Carrot Cake tutorial.

Once your cake is completely cooled, generously spread the frosting over the cake. Feel free to top with chopped nuts for extra flavor and texture.