Main Ingredients:

Chicken Breast: 2 (or 3-4 chicken thighs), skinless and boneless, cut to 2-3 pieces
Onion: 1 small (coarsely chopped)
Oil: 2 tbsp
Bell Pepper: 1 cored and sliced (preferably red or orange)
Soy Sauce: 2 tbsp
Chicken Broth: 1/2 cup
Orange Juice: 1/2 cup
Orange Zest: 1/2 tbsp
Black Pepper: 1/8 tsp
Cream: 1/2 cup
Pasta: Fettuccine or Linguine for 4

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in frying pan over medium heat. Saute onion and chicken breasts (or thighs) in oil for 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Drain the oil and discard the onions. Cut the cooked chicken pieces into 1 square inches cubes.

2. Add chicken cubes and the next 6 ingredients (bell pepper, soy sauce, chicken broth, orange juice, zest of orange and black pepper) to a sauce pan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.

3. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Add the cream and let cook for few more minutes. Remove from the heat before it starts to boil.

5. Add on top of your favorite pasta (preferably fettuccine or linguine) and serve.

Easiness: Intermediate
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Ready in: 35 min

Servings: 4
Calories: 570

Main Ingredients:

Spaghetti: 200 gr
Mayonnaise: 1 tbsp
Thyme: 1 tsp
Vegetable Oil: 2 tbsp
Onion: 1 medium
Ground Lamb: 1/2 lb or 250 gr (lean shoulder)
Turmeric: 1 tbsp
Black Pepper
Lime: juice of one
Tomatoes: 1 cup, crushed
Water: 1 cup
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper: a pinch

Directions:

For the sauce:

1. Chop finely and fry the onion with the oil until golden and crisp.

2. add the turmeric and pepper and fry until fragrant.

3. add the meat and fry until it changes color.

4. add the crushed tomatoes, water, salt and lime juice and boil slowly for 45 minutes.

For the spaghetti:

1. Add spaghetti to boiling water and let it cook as desired.

2. Sieve the pasta and rinse with cold water

3. Add the mayonnaise and thyme to pasta and mix.

Easiness: Intermediate
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Ready in: 1 hour

Servings: 3-4

Main Ingredients:

Chicken Breast: 2 Cooked and diced
Pasta: 250 g (You can use any type of small or medium sized pasta like penne or shell. Whole wheat and flavoured pastas work well too.
Yam: 1 Medium
Red Onion: 1 Medium
Bell Pepper: 3 Small bell peppers (Green, Red and Orange)
Olive oil: 2 Tbsp
Feta: 1/2 cup crumbled
Parsley
Salt and Pepper

Salad Dressing:

Light Mayonnaise*: 1 cup
Garlic: 1 Clove, minced
Lemon: 1 freshly squeezed
Parsley: 2 Tbsp finely chopped
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F . Line a cookie sheet with foil.

2. Cut the bell peppers, yam and the onion into 1/2 inch pieces.

3. In a medium bowl toss the vegetables with 2 the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange on the prepared cookie sheet.

4. Roast vegetables 20 minutes in the preheated oven, tossing occasionally, until roasted**.

5. While vegetables are roasting, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.

6. Make the salad dressing by mixing all the dressing ingredients.

7. In a large bowl, toss together cooked pasta, chicken, vegetables and the salad dressing***.

8. Pour in the desired dish, sprinkle with feta and decorate with parsley leaves. Serve immediately.

* You can use olive oil instead of light mayonnaise for a healthier option.

** It is a good idea to use a separate cookie sheet for yams as it might take them longer to roast than other vegetables.

*** Pasta absorbs the salad dressing so if you are making this dish ahead, use only half of the dressing and add the remaining half just before serving.

Easiness: Easy
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Ready in: 50 min

Servings: 4

This is a basic and simple lasagna recipe. You can replace the beef filling with vegetarian alternatives such as spinach and mushroom. You can also try fresh lasagna noodles for this recipe.

Main Ingredients:

Lasagna: 12 noodles
Ground beef: 1 lb (500 grams)
Crushed Tomatoes: 1 can (2 cups)
Tomato paste: 6 tbsp
Onion: 1 medium, chopped
Garlic: 1 clove, diced
Bell pepper: 1 small, chopped
Olive oil: 3 tbsp
Ricotta cheese: 1 lb (500 grams)
Parmesan cheese: 0.25-0.5 cup, grated
Mozzarella cheese: 1-1.5 cup, shredded
Fresh Basil: 1 tbsp, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the diced garlic and cook for 1 min.

2. Add crushed tomatoes and cook for 10 more min. Season slightly with salt and pepper.

3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Add chopped onion and bell pepper. Saute for 5 min on medium-high heat.

4. Add ground beef and saute until no longer pink.

5. Set 1/4 cup tomato sauce aside and add the rest to the ground beef.

6. Dissolve tomato paste in 1 cup warm water and add to the beef mixture.

7. Add chopped basil to the mixture and let the beef completely cook on medium-high heat (about 30 min). Season with salt and pepper.

8. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

9. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water with some salt until al dente. Don’t overcook them. Drain and wash them with cold water. Drain again.

10. Spread half of the tomato sauce that you have set aside in the bottom of your baking dish (2 tbsp). Cover with a layer of the lasagna noodles. Make layers of meat sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers. Top with the rest of the tomato sauce (2 tbsp), mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

11. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 min. Remove the foil and cook for 10 more min or until golden. Let it stand for 10 min before serving.

Easiness: Difficult
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 75 min
Ready in: 1.5 hour

Servings: 8-10