Vishesh's Grilled Cheese Breadsticks and Marinara

One of my favorite combinations of all time is the Italian triad of flour, cheese, and tomatoes: pizza crust covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella, pasta topped with marinara and parmesan, tomato soup garnished with asiago and breadcrumbs. It's just perfection! With just a little effort, the beloved grilled cheese sandwich can be tweaked to make a fun finger-food appetizer.

Grilled Cheese Breadsticks and Marinara
1 grilled cheese sandwich
1/4 cup marinara sauce
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground oregano and basil
salt and pepper to taste

 In a bowl, reduce the sauce in the microwave for 60 seconds. Add the spices and stir well. Cut the sandwich into 4-5 strips, de-crusting if desired. Dip and enjoy!

Vishesh's Bread Stuffing 'Meatballs' on Pink Vodka Penne Pasta, with Portobello and Parmesan

The Ratty is famous for a number of finely crafted, salivation-inducing entrees: Cajun Chicken Pasta, Castle Hill Inn Pork Spare Ribs, Polynesian Chicken Wings, Spicy Herb Baked Chicken, and Salmon with Minted Pea Puree, to name a few.

Vegetarian entrees, however, often don't get their share in the limelight. Cue the boundless creativity of our fellow vegetarian Ratty-going Brunonians!

A big thanks to Vishesh Jain, chef and mastermind of the following recipe featuring "meatballs" with pink vodka penne pasta. Utilizing hearty bread stuffing in the shape of meatballs and topped with savory mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, it is sure to satisfy even the stubbornest of meaty cravings.

In the chef's words: "First, I did not plan the alliteration--it just happened. Yesterday they had meatballs in the Ratty, and I was craving some warm, condensed deliciousness. I'm vegetarian though, so I decided to make my own with bread stuffing, plus some portobello for marinated meatiness."

Vishesh's Bread Stuffing 'Meatballs' on Pink Vodka Penne Pasta, with Portobello and Parmesan
1 cup cooked penne pasta
2 tsp Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pink vodka sauce
6-8 slices of portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup of bread stuffing
Oregano, basil, salt, and pepper to taste

Mix 1 tsp Parmesan cheese and the bread stuffing well, and mold into balls by hand or with a spoon. On a plate, microwave for 50s, flipping them over and compressing them at 25s. Microwave the portobello lined on the side of a bowl for 30s, and press them to drain the excess liquid.

Add the sauce and stir in the seasonings to taste, and microwave for 30s more, or until the sauce has reduced to desired consistency. (The Ratty's pink vodka sauce is often a little thin and watery for my taste; if you like it that way, use less sauce and reduce it less.)

On a plate, add in order the penne, meatballs, portobello, excess sauce, and Parmesan. Microwave for 30s, and enjoy it hot!

Ashley's Festive Bowtie Pasta

It's that time of year again - the post-thanksgiving-pre-winter-break slump. It is the time of year when snow really should stop procrastinating its act, when CVS starts thinking it's okay to play only Christmas songs, when people start hoping for donuts at the sci li, and when most of our stomachs are still recovering from pounds of roast poultry, potatoes, pie, and more pie.

Fortunately, the Ratty has just the antidote. A hearty thanks to Ashley So for sharing her elegant pasta recipe - delicately balanced with the tartness of tomatoes and feta against savory morsels of hot dog a la refectorie de sharpe, and drizzled in heart healthy basil infused extra virgin olive oil, this dish is light, fresh, and sure to delight.

Ashley's Festive Bowtie Pasta
bowtie pasta
parmesan cheese
feta cheese
cherry tomatoes
sliced hotdog
lots of basil infused extra virgin olive oil
dash of salt and pepper

Mix cheese, tomatoes, and hotdog with pasta. Drizzle generously with olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste.

Cajun Chicken Broccoli Pasta

Mmmm the creamy goodness of Cajun Chicken Pasta. We love how the fusilli catches all the luscious spicy sauce in its gorgeous corkscrew curls. We thought, what else has little nooks and crannies for sopping up sauce? It's green and starts with a b and ends with a roccoli. To extend the sauce a little further, you can spice up your pasta with  fresh chopped tomatoes from the salad bar and a dash of black pepper. 

Cajun Chicken Broccoli Pasta

1 dish of Cajun Chicken Pasta

fresh chopped tomatoes

broccoli

basil infused olive oil

paprika

garlic powder

salt

pepper

Steam the broccoli by placing them in a single layer on a dish and drizzling on some basil infused olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, and a sprinkling of salt. Cover with an inverted plate and microwave 100-120 seconds, until broccoli is just cooked through. Top the pasta with tomatoes and microwave 30 seconds to warm everything through. Toss the broccoli over the pasta and sprinkle everything with salt and pepper to taste. 

Brant's Ziti with Bacon and Peas

We received this fantastic recipe from Brant Hoffman, who put it together using V-dub ingredients!

Looking for some home-style, hearty, pseudo-Italian food? Look no further than the the savory flavors of this delectable, colorful creation...

Brant's Ziti with Bacon and Peas
1 bowl full of Ziti
1/2 ladle of Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup of cooked peas
2 teaspoons bacon bits
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
Pepper

Put the ziti (or any pasta of your choice really) in a bowl. Add the Alfredo sauce, peas, and bacon bits. Mix until toppings are evenly distributed. Transfer to a plate, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and add pepper to taste.

Spinach with Pink Vodka Ravioli

The Ratty's pink vodka sauce is delicious. Even if you don't like spinach or mushrooms or beans, or any veggies at all - try mixing them with some pink vodka sauce from the Ratty. Now that's a combination that Sam I Am should've offered with his Green Eggs and Ham...

Spinach with Pink Vodka Ravioli

baby spinach

ravioli with pink vodka sauce

mushrooms, sliced

beans

1. Microwave spinach and mushrooms for 1.5 minutes.

2. Top with a few ravioli with pink vodka sauce and beans, and enjoy!

Cheesy Pasta "Bake" with Mushrooms

Despite not having been able to brown the cheese in an oven, we were able to achieve cheesy goodness with a 2 minute spin in the microwave by the V-dub's waffle station. Yes, finals are over and for those of us who've gone home for the summer, the microwave method is not strictly necessary but can still work wonders when you are in a hurry (or just overcome with that sweeping epidemic of summertime laziness).

Cheesy Pasta "Bake" with Mushrooms

pasta (fusilli is our favorite but penne is awesome too)

meatless sauce

shredded cheese blend

parmesan cheese

mushrooms

stewed tomatoes (optional but a plus if they are being served!)

1. Get pasta and sauce in a bowl.

2. Put mushrooms and stewed tomatoes on top of pasta.

3. Sprinkle shredded cheese, then parmesan, over the top of everything and microwave for 2 minutes or until cheese is hot and melted and blended with sauce.

4. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper, if desired, and enjoy!

Broccoli Rabe with Three Pastas

If you can't make it to Federal Hill because of that paper that needs to get done by tonight, have no fear. Transform the Ratty into your favorite Italian restaurant with a trio of pastas and some garlicky broccoli rabe. Buon Appetito!

Broccoli Rabe with Three Pastas

broccoli rabe

conchiglie with pesto

whole wheat penne with meatless tomato sauce

gnocchi with melted cheese and basil

Arrange on a plate and savor each bite.

Festive Cajun Chicken Pasta

This dish was put together in a matter of minutes using the Ratty's spicy Tastes of the World Cajun chicken pasta, tater tots, corn salad, steamed peas, white beans from the salad bar, and mixed greens. The spicy pasta sauce provides a nice flavor contrast to the salty crunch tater tots and sweet corn and peas. As a cheesy Food Network host would say, "It's a flavor party in your mouth!"

Festive Cajun Chicken Pasta

1 serving of Tastes of the World Cajun Chicken Pasta (or any pasta with spicy sauce)

1/4 cup steamed green peas

1/4 cup corn salad

1 Tbsp white beans

4 tater tots, broken in half

mixed salad greens for garnish

1. Mix in with the pasta the peas, corn, beans, and tater tots.

2. Garnish with greens and enjoy!

Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Arugula

The gnocchi at the Ratty makes me happy. Did you know that it's pronounced "neeYAW-kee"? If you are curious how to pronounce all the other Italian dishes, feel free to take the trolley down to Federal Hill's Mediterraneo, a cute little restaurant where they post their menu on the window, with pronunciations for everything!

Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Arugula

1 bed of arugula

1 serving of gnocchi alla sorrentina

1/3 cup sliced mushrooms

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Microwave mushrooms and olive oil in a bowl until mushrooms are just cooked through, about 1 minute.

2. Plate the arugula, gnocchi, and mushrooms, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Tortellini Soup with Cheese Crisp and Greens

When something is good, there no need to fuss around with it too much. Tortellini soup is an excellent example. The cheese crisp was invented on accident when we noticed that shredded cheese melted in the microwave tends to dry out and form a thin crispy cracker that sticks to the side of the bowl. The key is to use a very tiny amount of cheese and melt it in a clean bowl, and monitor it in the microwave so it doesn't burn. You want it just golden around the edges and still creamy white in the center! Cheese crisps make great garnishes for soups and salads.

Tortellini Soup with Cheese Crisp and Greens

1 bowl of Ratty tortellini soup

7 shreds of shredded cheese

mixed greens

1. Sprinkle the cheese in a soup bowl. Microwave until the cheese is browned on the edges.

2. Remove from the microwave, wait 1 minute, and peel off the cheese crisp.

3. Garnish the bowl of soup with greens and cheese crisp.

Vegan Fagioli Soup with Spinach and Cheese

cold weather + people coughing around you + rain + tingly sensation at the back of your throat = hot soup season

This one is wonderful on a cold, drizzly day. Not that the Vegan Fagioli Soup isn't delicious on its own, but there's something about melted cheese that just gets me every time. A word of warning, though: please don't try to gobble this down in the 2 minutes before Chem conference. I tried; the soup was very hot.

Vegan Fagioli Soup with Spinach and Cheese

1 spoonful savory spinach (1/2 cup)

2 ladelfuls Vegan Fagioli Soup (3/4 cup)

1 slice provolone

1. Get the spinach in a bowl.

2. Get the soup.

3. Place a slice of Provolone on top.

4. Microwave for 40 seconds or until cheese is melted. Enjoy slowly on a cold autumn day.

Creamy Edamame Pasta Salad

You know how you sometimes get into a habit of doing things the same way every day? I always get into "breakfast habits" -- soymilk-cereal-fruit, soymilk-cereal-fruit, soymilk-cereal...

Or "lunch habits" -- sandwich, sandwich, sandwich...

Or "dinner habits" -- pasta and marinara, pasta and marinara, pasta and... cream of asparagus soup? Add in some edamame for protein and veggies for vitamins.

Creamy Edamame Pasta Salad

whole wheat penne

spoonful of edamame (green soybeans)

spoonful of diced tomatoes (burrito bar)

spoonful of scallions

small spoonful of raisins

spoonful of sliced zucchini (salad bar)

1 ladle of Cream of Asparagus soup

salt & pepper

1. Gather pasta and veggies on a plate.

2. Spoon soup on top.

3. Mix with a fork and add salt/pepper to taste.

Harvest Veggie Pasta

So many pasta dishes you see at restaurants these days are 1% veggies and 99% starch. I'm not sure what the optimal ratio is, but I do like to see more color on my plate once in a while.

This one is 80% veggies, 20% pasta, and 100% delicious.

(...am I starting to sound like Sandra Lee?)

Harvest Veggie Pasta

1 spoonful whole wheat penne (1/2 cup cooked)

4-6 spoonfuls of meatless pasta sauce

2 Tbsp green peas

4-5 broccoli pieces (break up the big pieces)

2 Tbsp kidney beans

1/2 cup savory spinach

4-5 tomato wedges

2-3 pieces sliced roasted red peppers

2-3 mozzarella balls

1. Gather veggies, pasta, and cheese on a plate. Spoon sauce on top, and mix gently together.

2. Put a plate upside down on top and microwave for 2 minutes. Take it out carefully (use napkins if it is hot) and enjoy.

Vegan-ify!

To make vegan, leave out the cheese.

Pasta with Olives and Scallions

Pasta con cipolline e olive è delizioso e sano!

Pasta with Scallions and Olives

plateful of whole wheat penne

1/4 cup scallions

1/4 cup sliced olives

1 full ladle of tomato sauce

sprinkling of parmesan cheese

sprinkling of red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp basil infused olive oil

1/4 cup shredded cheese

1. Mix all ingredients except cheese on a plate. Sprinkle cheese on top after everything has been well incorporated

2. Microwave for 1 minute, or until cheese has melted. Season with salt/pepper if desired.

Buon Appetito!

Kicked Up Broccoli Rabe Pasta Salad

Depending on how hot you like it you can adjust the amount of red pepper flakes in this recipe.

Kicked Up Broccoli Rabe Pasta Salad

1 scoop whole wheat penne

1 scoop broccoli rabe

1 handful shredded carrots

2 Tbsp tuna

1 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil

2 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Mix all ingredients together on a plate, garnish with two attractive salad leaves, and enjoy.

Note: to make vegetarian, substitute tuna for shredded cheese.

Red White and Olive Pasta

Simple pasta with a light olive oil dressing and a kick from those red pepper flakes.

Red White and Black Pasta

3/4 cup fusilli

3 mozzarella balls, sliced in half

4 grape tomatoes, sliced in half

3 black olives, sliced

1 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil

1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds

a tiny bit of champagne vinegar

salt

1. Toss fusilli with sliced mozzarella, grape tomatoes, and olives.

2. Drizzle garlic infused olive oil over pasta, sprinkle with rest of the ingredients. Goes nicely with a salad of mixed greens in balsamic vinegar dressing.

Broccoli, Cheese, and Tofu Pasta

Broccoli, Cheese, and Tofu Pasta
1 1/2 cups plain pasta
1/4 cup black beans
1/2 cup tofu cubes
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients and microwave for 1 minute on high power or until cheese is melted.

Pasta and Spinach Salad Medley with Egg

I love making salads with ingredients from all corners of the food pyramid. In this one, you get your grains (pasta), meat/protein (sausage & egg), dairy (cheese), unsaturated fat (olives), and of course, veggies (spinach, broccoli, tomatoes). Oh alright, the candy/sweets group is missing. I suppose you could add a drizzle of honey? Or some chocolate sprinkles...?

Pasta and Spinach Salad Medley with Egg

1/2 cup pasta shells

handful of baby spinach

2 slices sausage, chopped

7-8 olives, sliced

5-6 cherry tomatoes, halved

3 broccoli pieces, chopped

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp basil infused olive oil

1 sunny-side-up egg

salt and pepper

1. Mix pasta and all ingredients excluding egg on a plate. Put in microwave for about 1.5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and spinach is starting to wilt.

2. Get a sunny-side-up egg and place on top of salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Break the yolk and enjoy!

Cheesy Broccoli Olive Prosciutto Pasta

Pasta doesn't always have to involve tomato sauce; try incorporating different veggies from the salad bar into your pasta if you tire of the same red/white sauce every day of the week.

Cheesy Broccoli Olive Prosciutto Pasta

2 spoonfuls of corkscrew pasta

3 spears broccoli

2 slices prosciutto

3 mushrooms

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

8 olives

2 purple onion rings

2 tbsp basil infused olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Cut broccoli, prosciutto, mushrooms, olives, and onions into small pieces. Mix with pasta.

2. Sprinkle cheese over pasta. Drizzle olive oil on top, add a pinch each of salt and pepper.

3. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir; add more salt if needed. Enjoy!