Olive Garden's Capellini Pomodoro

I found this delicious spaghetti recipe that reminds me of my favorite dish at Olive Garden - Capellini Pomodoro. It's a Rachel Ray recipe. Very flavorful! If you use dried basil flakes and jarred crushed garlic and omit the cheese, it's a great food storage recipe too!

Spaghetti all' Elsa

Recipe courtesy Elsa Scuderi and Rachael Ray

You may think you know how to make spaghetti with sausage, peppers, and onions but my momma has a few twists that makes hers better than yours or maybe even your mama's - strong words, but just taste!

Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 20 min Level: Easy Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound Italian imported dried spaghetti
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup chicken stock or white wine, eyeball it
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
  
• Several leaves basil, torn or chopped, a handful
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add pasta. Cook to al dente, with a bite to it.

Heat a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and red pepper and let them cook 5 minutes, garlic will be soft and light golden. Remove garlic. Add stock or wine and stir 30 seconds, add tomatoes and combine. Season the sauce with salt, to taste, then stir basil in and reduce heat to low.

When pasta is cooked, turn off the heat, drain the pasta then add it back to the still-hot, deep pot. Add butter to spaghetti and toss to melt and coat. Add half the red sauce and all of the cheese, work in a handful at a time as you toss to combine. To serve, use tongs or a meat fork to swirl the pasta into buttery, cheesy mounds to pile onto each plate. Top each portion with spoonfuls of remaining sauce. Whoa, Mama!

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi

Thank you Melissa Cass for sharing this recipe for Chicken Scampi!

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi 

Scampi sauce
3 T butter
2 T minced white onion
¼ c minced garlic
1 ½ c cooking wine
½ tsp salt
½ tsp Italian seasoning
¼ - ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp minced fresh parsley
1 c heavy cream

5 to 6 quarts water
16 oz angel hair pasta
4 T olive oil
12 chicken tenderloins
½ c all-purpose flour
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-size strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-size strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-size strips
1 chopped onion
1 tsp dried parsley

Make scampi sauce by melting butter in a preheated pan over medium/low heat. Add 2 T minced onion and sauté for 2 to 4 minutes or until the onion begins to brown. If the butter begins to burn, turn down the heat. When the onion is beginning to brown, add the minced garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. Don’t let the garlic burn. After about 30 seconds add the wine, salt, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and black pepper, and bring mixture to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 15 to 18 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Add parsley and heavy cream and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Do not let the mixture reach a boil.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the angel hair pasta and cook for about 4 minutes or until pasta is al dente, or mostly tender with just a slight toughness. Drain the pasta in a colander or sieve when done, then hit it with some cold water to prevent sticking and to keep it from cooking further.

Preheat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken tenderloins, then coat each one in the flour that has been measured into a large bowl. Cook the tenderloins for 3 to 5 minutes on one side or until golden brown.

When the chicken is brown on one side, flip each of the pieces, and move them to the side of the pan, then add the peppers and red onions to the center of the skillet. Continue cooking the chicken and vegetables for 4 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is browned and the veggies are beginning to brown on the edges.

Pour the scampi sauce over the chicken and other ingredients. Add pasta, then toss everything a bit and continue to cook for a couple minutes or until the pasta is heated through.

When serving on a plate, sprinkle each plate with about ½ tsp of fresh parsley and serve it up with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.