In olive oil, I saute fresh finely chopped tomato, green pepper, onion, garlic and any other leftover vegetables for about 10-15 min. Season with basil or oregano. Mix with cooked pasta. Sometimes I also toss in chopped up leftover meat or tuna. always easy and good.

I don't buy jarred sauce.

I like to do a sort of 'stir-fry'--I saute up vegetables and garlic in a bit of oil, add some fresh or canned diced tomatoes. Toss in some drained pasta, and add some freshly grated Parmesan and maybe some fresh mozzarella. Sometimes I add some quartered meatballs, cooked sausage, or cooked diced chicken, sometimes we just go with the meatless version.

But what about going completely non-traditional? We like pasta tossed with a bit of leftover creamed dried beef or sausage gravy, for example. You can really put almost any kind of sauce on pasta and it will work. Orange glazed chicken is wonderful over couscous (which is pasta, of course).

Some people just like it with butter, parsley and Parmesan.

Jmc01, thanks for the reminder. I thought the pasta was a little "off" last night--forgot to add the Italian seasoning!!

if you are a jar sauce person try the Ragu cheese creations sauces they are very good, I especially like the roasted garlic parmesan and the cheddar. A really easy dish for those who don't cook much, cook your pasta of choice, heat a jar the roasted garlic parmesan, I add extra parmesan, buy a package of pre cooked chicken pieces, I love the John Soules brand it comes in roasted, grilled, fajita, etc. add the chicken to the sauce, add other stuff like bell peppers, sauted asparagus, steamed broccoli etc. heat up sauce serve over the pasta.

cooked corkscrew pasta
brocoli
diced ham
Ranch dressing

Mix...serve. YUM!

i cook up a box of rotini...while it's cooking

I add a couple of cans of chicken breast meat and a pound of cooked shrimp to a jar of Vodka Sauce and a jar of 4 cheese alfredo...

When the pasta is done...drain and dump in to the sauce mix...serve with a salad and bread!

cherry tomatoes halved, fresh basil leaves, lemon juice, smashed garlic, salt and pepper and freshly grated parmesan. Yum.

1/2 - 3/4 # Italian sausage, crumbled, and fried in OO with 3-4 cloves of minced garlic. When nice and carmalized, add 2 cups chicken broth, and cook for 10 minutes. Add chopped escarole, cook for another 5-7 minutes.
Boil 3/4 # of orrechette, or medium shells until tender. Drain and add to the pot with the sausage and broth.
Stir in a handful of parm, or romano cheese and serve.

At work I make beef stroganoff with left over roast beef. I usually have beef broth that I heat the beef up in. I take a can of mushroom soup and add sour cream to it and add the beef and some canned sliced mushroom (optional). If it is still too thick I add some of the broth to it. Then I put it over egg noodles and serve it with peas or carrots. Here is a hint for anyone who makes a pasta salad with frozen peas in it. Put your frozen peas in the colander when you drain your pasta it will thaw the peas for you.

This meal can be made with any kind of cooked meat and is also good meatless. I don't have a written recipe.

Slice a giant sweet onion, a bell pepper, and dice a couple of cloves of garlic....saute in butter until translucent. Add a heap of fresh, sliced mushrooms, a good dose of soy sauce, and continue cooking at a slow simmer until onions are caramelized. Add cooked meat...or raw shrimp at this point.

When everything is hot, turn temp down and add a cup of sour cream and bring to temperature again. Serve over buttered egg noodles.
We like steamed veggies with this, served on the side, or a crispy mixed green salad with a vinaigrette dressing.

This invention is good with lean ground beef, diced leftover chicken, roast, smoked sausage, meatballs, etc. Takes about forty minutes, total.

Comfort food for me: bow tie or rigatoni pasta tossed with a tub of pesto and package of spinach (cooked until wilted in the microwave). OR

Pasta tossed with butter, a squeeze of lemon, topped with good quality Italian cheese.

Over on the cooking forum some months back, someone posted the following:
> I had a recipe for Tortellini, Peas, and Prosciutto. I haven't made it in a quite a while, and now I can't find it.

> As well as I remember, it was tortellini, prosciutto, peas, cream, Parmesan cheese, and maybe shallots.

and I posted the following response:

I often make a very similar meal. So often that I've never even bothered to write down any given version of it. It is usually some combination of meat and/or vegetables that I happen to have on hand, mixed with a three-cheese tortellini and a pan-made parmesan cheese-cream sauce.

Assuming that I had the main ingredients you listed, here's how it'd go:

Tortellini con tutto cio che e in frigo
serves 3 to 4

9 oz package Buitoni 3 cheese tortellini
2 medium shallots (chopped fine)
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 oz proscuitto (sliced into thin ribbons 1/4"x2")
1/3 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp crushed garlic
4-6 medium white mushrooms (sliced)
1/3 cup light cream (or half and half)
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini according to package directions.
Heat oil over medium heat. Add chopped shallots and cook until shallots start to become translucent, being careful to not let them brown.
Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook until mushrooms soften.
Add peas and proscuitto. Melt butter in center of pan and add flour to melted butter, letting the butter and flour foam up.
Add cream and stir until sauce starts to thicken.
Stir in wine and cheese, adding more wine if the sauce is too thick, add more cheese if the sauce is too thin.

Drain tortellini and add to pan with sauce. Stir until well mixed and serve with crescent rolls.

The title of the recipe translates as:

Tortellini con tutto cio che e in frigo == Tortellini with whatever you find in the fridge

Thanks for the tip for thawing peas, Bengardening! That's a good one.

Another way we like pasta (but got kinda tired of it) is to stir it with jarred pesto sauce. You can top with chicken if you have some already cooked. I add a little butter for flavor. Here's my hint: Serve any pasta with Texas toast and everyone will like it :-)

This is a favorite in our house. Spaghetti Carbonara is fast and easy but not low calorie.

Here is a link that might be useful: Carbonara

Never been a pasta person!

Back THEN all I remember was spaghetti and meatballs AND mac and cheese.

Not a pasta person either, but this is one I like and it is easy. I saute slices of zucchini in olive oil and toss with linguini and Parmesan cheese. Usually add onions and mushrooms to the zucchini too.

Similar to what others have posted: Cooked fettucine with chopped fresh tomatoes, black olives (halved), mild banana pepper rings, smothered in virgin olive oil, sprinkle with dried basil, toss and heat through, and top with grated Parmesan cheese. Making myself hungry now.