In this thread, we help Kevin to plan a "welcome home" meal for his wife

[AOIIalum]

Originally Posted by AOII_LB93

2a. You could also do linguine with a lemony garlic shrimp too. Super easy. I'll give you a recipe...it's a bit lighter than spaghetti and meat sauce as well.

Kevin - let me know if you want a more impressive pasta suggestion with shrimp. Rigatoni with butternut squash sauce and shrimp is great. You can test it out on yourself first, and if it sucks go for the easier stuff.

I'm not Kevin but I'd love both recipes!

Ditto on the Rachael Ray suggestion. You might pick up a copy of the current issue of her magazine (June/July). It has some really easy looking recipes in it, including one for Spinach salad with shrimp and feta cheese that I'm making tomorrow night.

Also, if you have a Whole Foods in your area, GO THERE. You can choose just about anything ready to cook, from italian dishes to seafood/meat/poultry, as well as amazing cheeses and produce. They'll even tell you how to cook whatever you're buying!

[bluefish81]

I'm with the several posters who have said lasagna. I have a recipe from my BH&G cookbook that I could post if you want and there are a bunch of cheats in there. For example instead of chopping of fresh tomatoes, you used canned ones, etc. It takes about half an hour of prep time and less than an hour to cook. Every guy that I've made it for has always been impressed. I should also add that while I love to bake (and I'm great at desserts), I'm not the best cook in the world.

Spaghetti would also be pretty easy.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AOIIalum

Ditto on the Rachael Ray suggestion. You might pick up a copy of the current issue of her magazine (June/July)

You might as well suggest he pick up a copy of Martha Stewart Living, Oprah or Cosmo while he's at it.

Originally Posted by bluefish81

I'm with the several posters who have said lasagna. . . .

Spaghetti would also be pretty easy.

Maybe it's just because (a) I'm really not a lasagne fan to start with and rarely eat it if I have a choice -- yes, I know, guys are supposed to love lasagne, but I can count on one hand the times I've had it and thought it was anything more than "eh," and I'd still have three fingers unused; (b) the fact that I know that if I was fixing lasagna for my wife, she'd want something like spinach lasagne, which is even less appealing to me than "real" lasagna; and (c) my feelings about spaghetti pretty much match my feelings about lasagne, but if I was going to fix pasta, I'd stay away from lasagna and spaghetti, as well as heavy, tomatoey sauces. The linguini with shrimp, for example, I think sounds a lot better. (But I still vote for plain old steamed shrimp -- you just can't beat that in my book.)

Unless, of course, Kevin knows his wife loves lasagna or spaghetti, in which case what do I know.