Farfalle pasta with Italian sausage

I first saw this recipe at allrecipes.com and it confused me some... mostly because the addition of the cream seemed weird to me... However, I gave it the ole girl scout try and ooooh, man. So yumma!

Ingredients

1 (12 ounce) package farfalle pasta
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, ground
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 diced purple onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes, the kind with basil, garlic, and oregano
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz Provolone cheese, shredded

Directions

1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

2.In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown, drain and add back to pan. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

3.Stir cooked pasta into sauce, add cheese, and mix in until it's all melty and stuff, and heat through.
 
Enjoy!

Chicken, pasta, and veggies!

After an exhausting 4 1/2 hour drive home from work... a drive that typically takes me a little less than an hour and is about 38 miles... I needed to do something to unwind my poor little frantic mind. Of course, I was also famished since I didn't know that I should have packed dinner prior to leaving work, so I needed to make something. This is what I did:

I heated a skillet, with a small dribble of EVOO, and threw in 3 chicken breasts I had thawed in the fridge. While the first side was searing, I seasoned the uncooked side with salt, pepper, and some of that other seasoning I can't say (mentioned two posts ago, with a link!). While that was starting, I brought a pot of salted water to a boil, then added half a box of whole wheat medium shells. I turned the chicken and seasoned the other side - no salt this time around, just pepper and the "other stuff".

While that was cooking, I diced up some onion (about 1/2 an onion). Then, I removed the chicken to my cutting board and added the onion to the hot skillet. I also added some frozen roasted peppers, frozen peas, and garlic. I let that cook up while I cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Sidenote: Whenever I need chicken cut for a recipe, I cook it first, then cut it. It saves my cutting board from contamination and helps me not be all grossed out by having to cut raw chicken. Oh, yeah... in this time, I also drained and rinsed the pasta with cold water.

Then, I put the chicken back in the skillet, along with the pasta, and a can of diced tomatoes in sauce (have you seen these yet??? They are hard to find, but oh, so wonderful!). I added some Italian seasoning, ground cayenne pepper, and probably some more salt and pepper. I season as I go, adding what I think it needs. I let all this cook together for a little bit, then added some Parmesan cheese over the whole skillet and some shredded Mozzarella cheese. I mixed it all together and we ate! Tada!

Tuna Casserole success!

OK… another request from the man, which I have not made in years, but because I have an strange habit of wanting to make the menfolk in my life happy (which, by the way, is why I haven’t made this in years—my other (young) manfolk doesn’t like Tuna Casserole, so I have avoided it like the plague!!). But, in my aiming to please all involved, I made it on a night when young manfolk was out and older manfolk was in… all were happy! I had no real idea where to start with this, so I went to allrecipes.com to get a base and then I made some severe changes to make it my own. Here’s what I did:

 

My Ingredient list:

• 12-14 oz wide cut egg noodles
• ¼ large Vidalia onion, chopped and diced and small ish!
• 2 large handfuls (yes that’s a real way to measure) shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese blend (divided)
• About 1 cup or so of frozen peas
• 2 cans of tuna (I’ll add one more next time), drained
• 1 can Cream of Onion Soup
• 1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup
• Some half and half
• Sm. can of evaporated milk
• Salt, pepper, other seasoning you see fit… taste it before you put it in the oven and adjust for needed flavor to suit your taste
• About ½ - ¾ cup seasoned bread crumbs (I poured, didn’t measure… no idea really)

And, go…

 

Preheat over to 425. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add noodles and cook until al dente. While those noodles are cookin up, sauté your onions in a small pan with a little EVOO – oh, I probably threw in a little garlic, too… because it’s what I do.

 

In a very large mixing bowl toss in one handful of cheese, peas, tuna, and soups. Mix together. Add your pasta (by the way, did you know that when you cook pasta and drain it, you should then rinse it with cold water because it stops the cooking process! Good news to know!) and mix. Go ahead and add your onions and can of milk and then you can gauge the amount of half and half you need. You want it to me nice and creamy… if not, it will dry out while it’s cooking and—GROSS—who wants nasty, dry tuna casserole?!?!

 

Spray a casserole dish with some non-sticky stuff and pour the mixture in. On a paper plate or bowl or whatever’s handy, mix the bread crumbs with the other handful of cheese and then top your casserole with it. Put it in the oven for about 17 minutes or so… you want it to be bubbly and the bread crumbs to brown just a little.

 

Enjoy!

 

Cajun type Chicken Pasta Goodness...

OK - So I was experimenting - and this is what I came up with...

You'll need:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1- 1 ½ c. or so heavy cream
2 T. butter
1 yellow pepper, julienned
1 red pepper, julienned
1/2 onion, chopped
½ box whole wheat penne
Cajun seasoning
Basil
Salt and Pepper
Lemon pepper
Garlic powder
Parm cheese

OK – so now that you have all your goodies… What I did… Melt the butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. I sliced my chicken into strips, laid them flat on a paper plate and generously covered them with Cajun seasoning, then flipped them into the skillet and hit the other side with more Cajun seasoning… let that cook for about 7-8 minutes, until the chicken is done. In the meantime, you can start your pasta. Once the chicken is about done, add your veggies to the skillet, let those all cook for about 4-5 minutes, we don’t want them to get mushy, but we do want them cooked up a little bit. Next you add the heavy cream into the skillet with the chicken and veggies (if you find it’s too thin, you can add a little cornstarch) and add your basil, lemon pepper, salt & pepper, and garlic powder. Let this heat all the way through for about 5 minutes. Finally, add your drained pasta to the skillet with everything else and mix together. Top with Parm cheese and enjoy!

Kale? Oh yes, kale!

OK – so kale is that decoration veggie that you see on the side of buffets, right? Oh, sure… we’ve heard that it’s good for you, but who wants to eat garnish?! Well, I did a little investigating, after I bought my first bunch of kale today, to find out the best way to eat it – I mean, should I eat it raw or cooked? I had no idea… So, after seeing numerous “ideas” – I thought I would try steaming it… yeah, yeah – that’s what I’ll do…

So, I washed half the bunch of kale, cut it away from the stem (because apparently that’s really yukkie!), and threw it in a steam basket over some boiling water. I covered it and let it steam for 5 minutes… it was so bright and pretty when it was done. So, I tasted a little piece – not too bad. Hmmm… what else can I do with this… this is what I did, which is all backwards by the way because the idea was forming as I was cooking – I would certainly switch the order about next time.

I heated a skillet with some olive oil, added about ½ chopped onion and some minced garlic, sea salt, and cayenne pepper. Oh yeah, this is good… wait! – I decided I wanted some pasta with it, soooo… I cooked up some whole wheat penne. While that was cooking, I added a can of diced tomatoes into the onions and garlic, and then I tossed in the steamed kale and sautéed it to all levels of delish! Once the pasta was done, I mixed it in with all the veggies – topped it off with some shredded parm cheese and tada!! There was dinner!

Tuna Pea Doodle - Gooseberry Patch Comfort Foods

By the way... I recommend anyone who reads this buy the cookbook for themselves! I don't want to take anything away from such a great American family company! =]

10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of celery)
1 1/4 c. milk
3 T. butter
16 oz package medium egg noodles, cooked (I used 12 oz no yolks)
15 1/4 oz can peas, drained
6 oz can solid white tuna, drained
celery salt and pepper to taste (I used sea salt and pepper)

(Cook the noodles, drain and set aside) In the same pan, mix soup, milk, and butter over low heat. (Cook until melty and blended) Gently stir in noodles, peas, and tuna. Simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Serves 6.

Overall, I thought this was pretty good. It tasted like tuna casserole without all the baking. It makes quite a bit, I'm glad I used only 12 oz of noodles! I ended up freezing some so I can take it work work for lunches!