Pasta with Sausage, Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, and Basil

This is a really flavorful dish, and really quick to throw together (especially if you have frozen, cooked sausage prepared).  This meal is yummy fresh, but actually much better the second day after the sauce has thickened and the pasta has had a chance to soak up the flavors.  I found the recipe here.

INGREDIENTS:

*1/2 pound of dry spaghetti, cooked (or your favorite pasta) (I generally use a shaped pasta)
*1 pound regular sausage, cooked and crumbled
*1/2 of an onion, diced (or use 3 Tablespoons dehydrated minced onions)
*1 clove garlic, minced
*2 cups chicken broth
*2 Tablespoons cornstarch
*1, 15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes (I always puree these because we don't like chunks)
*1 cup Parmesan cheese (I don't like cheese, so I just leave this out)
*1 cup fresh basil, snipped into little pieces (I typically use dried basil b/c I don't have fresh)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pan, cook sausage and onion together, stirring often, until onion is soft, sausage is crumbled and browned and cooked all the way through.

2. In a large pot, boil some water. When it comes to a boil, add a generous pinch of salt and add your pasta to the water. Stir so it doesn’t clump together. When pasta is al dente, turn off the heat and drain most of the water.

3. Back to the sausage and onions- add the minced garlic, and cook on low for only a minute or two, being careful not to burn. (Garlic burns easily!) 

4. Mix the cornstarch with the broth until completely dissolved, then add the broth mixture to the pan. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring often, for a few minutes until sauce is thickened. Then add the can of tomatoes and stir.

5. Add the fresh grated Parmesan and the chopped basil to the sauce. Stir.

6. Drain the pasta and add it to the pot that holds the sauce. Mix together, then garnish with the more basil and parmesan. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Creamy (vegan!) Butternut Squash Linguine with Fried Sage

This wasn't the kids' favorite, but they ate it ;).  Brett and I quite liked it, and you can't go wrong when your sauce is vegetable!  I found the recipe at cookieandkate.com.

• Author: Cookie and Kate
 
• Prep Time: 20 mins
 
• Cook Time: 35 mins
 
• Total Time: 55 minutes
 
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
 
• Category: Entree
 
• Cuisine: Italian

★★★★★

4.5 from 143 reviews

Spiced and creamy (yet cream-less) butternut squash sauce tossed with whole grain linguine. Top with fried sage for a healthy, comforting main dish. Serve with salad or roasted vegetables to further lighten up the meal. Recipe yields 4 large servings.

SCALE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage [I didn't use this.]
• 2 pound butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to 1/4 teaspoon for spicier pasta sauce) [I used 1/8 tsp, which gave it a little kick without heat.]
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 12 ounces whole grain linguine or fettucine
• Optional additional garnishes: shaved Parmesan or Pecorino and/or smoked salt [We went no-cheese.]

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage and toss to coat. Let the sage get crispy before transferring it to a small bowl. Sprinkle it lightly with salt and set the bowl aside.
2. Add the squash, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is soft and the liquid is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
4. Once the squash mixture is done cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, but keep the skillet handy. Purée the mixture until smooth (beware of hot steam escaping from the top of the blender), then season with salt and pepper until the flavors sing.
5. In the reserved skillet, combine the pasta, squash purée and 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding more pasta cooking water as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta, about 2 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Serve the pasta in individual bowls topped with fried sage, more black pepper and shaved Parmesan/Pecorino and/or smoked salt, if desired.

NOTES

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit’s Winter Squash Carbonara with Pancetta and Sage (February 2014).
Make it vegan: Skip the cheese garnish.
Make it gluten-free: Use gluten-free pasta. Commenter Jenn recommends corn and quinoa blended gluten-free pasta, which is firmer than brown rice pasta.
Change it up: The squash purée is a killer bisque, which you could thin with vegetable broth if you’d like. You could also stir it into risotto at the end of cooking.

AMAZING INSTANT POT CREAMY "BAKED" ZITI

We LOVE this recipe.  It is so easy, so fast, and so delicious.  Plus, with the Instant Pot, it doesn't heat up the kitchen!  The recipe comes from here.

A single recipe feeds my family of 7 (mostly younger kids), but when I'm cooking for my parents, too, I make a double recipe (in my 8 qt. Instant Pot).

PREP TIME 10 MINUTES

COOK TIME 5 MINUTES

ADDITIONAL TIME 20 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME 35 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  2 cups broth (I use low-sodium chicken broth)
•  2 cups cream (see note for lightened up substitutions - I often make this substitution)
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
•  1/4 teaspoon black pepper
•  2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
•  16 ounces uncooked ziti pasta or other tube-shaped pasta 
•               (I often use penne or rigatoni. Whole grain pasta works great in this recipe.)
•  15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
•  1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
•  1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
•  1/2 to 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (My family prefers it without cheese.)
•  Fresh basil, for serving (optional)
• Italian Sausage (See the notes below - if you like meat, Italian sausage adds a yummy dimension.  We regularly make it without meat, though.)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 6-quart Instant Pot with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the broth and cream and add the salt, pepper and garlic.
2. Add the pasta; don't stir, but if it's mounded in the center, arrange into an even layer. Pour the crushed tomatoes evenly over the pasta and sprinkle the oregano and basil over the top. Don't stir.
3. Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and select "manual" or "pressure cook" and dial up or down to the minutes needed --> take the cooking time on the pasta package directions, cut it in half and subtract two more minutes. So for pasta that cooks to al dente in 12 minutes, the IP cooking time would be 4 minutes (add an extra minute if you like your pasta super soft).
4. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir thoroughly (it's ok if there are some darker, cooked spots on the bottom of the pot/bottom layer of pasta). Serve the ziti immediately with chopped, fresh basil, and additional Parmesan, if desired.

NOTES

Optional: adding a pound of ground beef or Italian sausage is fantastic with this recipe! Cook the meat on the saute function with a little salt and pepper, drain the grease, and proceed with the recipe (just make sure when you add the broth to scrape the bottom of the pot really well before adding the other ingredients).

Lighten it Up: If you want to lighten up the cream a bit, I've had great success making this with 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon cornstarch (whisked together) + 1 cup cream. I haven't tried subbing all the cream for a milk + cornstarch mixture, but you could experiment!

For an Extra Saucy Pasta: add 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra broth, cream or crushed tomatoes. Any variety of tube pasta will work great here! When I can't find ziti, I've used penne or rigatoni. Also, I've subbed in a 15-ounce can diced tomatoes blended with 2 tablespoons tomato paste for the crushed tomatoes with great results.

Alfredo Sauce

Colin LOVES the chicken alfredo from Costco, but it costs a fortune and the girls don't like it very much ("there's too much chicken!").  Colin's always asking for it, so I thought I'd search for a recipe I could make from scratch.  I found this from a random Google search.  I omitted the Parmesan cheese because I don't like cheese, and instead thickened the sauce with about a tablespoon of flour.  It was delicious served over some penne.  The only complaints were that sometimes there was something crunchy and gritty - it must be the coarse-ground pepper I used.  So, if you have it on hand, you might use fine-ground pepper instead :).

Here's where I found the recipe:

Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

10 mins

 

Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce is rich, creamy, and packed with garlic [parmesan] flavor!  This Alfredo Sauce is easy to make and perfect with your favorite pasta!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2 Cups

Calories: 535 kcal [bonus:  less if you omit the cheese :)]

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream [I only had 1 cup of regular whipping cream, so I used that plus 1/2 cup of whole milk]
• 2 Teaspoons Garlic Minced
• 1/2 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
• 2 Cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese [I left this out completely and substituted 1 Tbsp of flour]
• [1 Tbsp flour]

Instructions

1. Add the butter and cream to a large skillet.
2. Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.
3. Whisk in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper for one minute.
4. Whisk in the parmesan cheese until melted [or the flour (liquefied so it's not clumpy) until thickened].
5. Serve immediately.

Macaroni and Cheese (Stove Top)

For the past five meals, my daughter had requested mac and cheese.  I didn't have any box mixes on hand, but after her persistence, I decided to try it from scratch.  I got this recipe from http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-stove-top-macaroni-cheese-60350.  My kids really liked it.  Because I don't eat cheese, I can't really add an adult opinion on taste (Brett was at school so didn't have dinner with us).  I can say, though, that it was incredibly easy, and it looked smooth and creamy.  So, without further ado, here it is:

8 ounces elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or 8 ounces cheddar cheese

Directions:

1      Cook macaroni according to package directions.

2     In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour, salt and pepper; slowly add milk.

3     Cook and stir until bubbly.

4     Stir in cheese until melted.

5     Drain macaroni; add to cheese sauce; stir to coat.