Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti

This pasta dish from America's Test Kitchen was quick, easy, and tasted wonderful! You should definitely try it. It doesn't look like much in the picture, but it was fantastic. We followed the directions to get the nice creamy sauce that's intended, so make sure to get the right ingredients. Oh, we did use our regular H.T. Traders (Harris Teeter) brand whole wheat pasta since it is safe for egg allergies, and that didn't affect the recipe from what we could tell. Enjoy!

Sausage and Tomato Baked Pasta

I'm surprised I've never posted this baked pasta recipe considering how many times we've made it. It's a great meal for when it's time to go shopping and you're just left with pantry items (we almost always use dried basil for this reason). Also, it's great for adding in extra leftover veggies (chopped mushrooms, shredded carrots, etc.). Finally, this meal can easily be frozen, which I do after assembling and before baking. Normally I'll double the recipe and freeze half for another night when we have less time.

Cheesy Shells and Greens

Last night's dinner was Cheesy Shells and Greens which was enjoyed by the whole family. It's a pretty quick meal other than taking stems off the spinach, but overall it's simple and well received. I've made it before but this time added in chopped leftover chicken since I had it. Also, I left out the mustard because of allergies. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

I've been battling with my slow cooker lately. It doesn't really like to cook...slowly... In one instance, I tried making a soup and put in a pork shoulder and black beans to cook on low for 8 hours. When I checked the meat after 3 hours, it was already tough. There has been repeated disappointment, and I keep hearing from so many people how much they love their slow cookers. I want to know this love. It is so much easier to prep dinner in the morning and set it out to cook when the little boy is still happy and chipper, instead of waiting until evening and hoping he'll be in a good enough mood to either help me or play on his own.

I kept thinking that I just didn't know how to work the slow cooker (and maybe that is part of the problem). But my mom loaned me hers for a short time, and it's amazing how many great meals I've gotten out of it already. Not a single failure yet, and I even cooked a pasta dish, which I previously thought would be impossible. Day 1 of testing out the slow cooker, I threw together this Lasagna and added chopped mushrooms and carrots to give it some more veggies. I also used a homemade marinara sauce I had in the freezer, and it was delicious.

I wish I had taken a picture of it, but here's a picture of toddler cooking when you turn your back for a moment (do not fear, the stove is not on).

No Sauce Challenge

I really enjoy eating pasta. Unfortunately, many times with pasta you also get tomato sauce, which doesn't agree with Sam's stomach. So, I've been having to figure out ways to be able to at pasta (and pizza, another favorite) without tomato sauce and still keep it interesting. Thursday night we were in need of a trip to the grocery store but also wanted to have a good meal (without tomato sauce). We found this White Cheese and Sausage Pasta recipe which did the trick to satisfy our stomachs with standard ingredients we have in our pantry, fridge, and freezer even when we don't really have any food around.

White Cheese and Sausage Pasta

(adapted from Cooking Light)

INGREDIENTS
1 lb Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
Cooking spray
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 C skim milk
1 lb ziti, cooked and hot
3/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese

METHOD
Preheat oven to 400°F.

1. Place a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.
2. Cook sausage until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well, and set aside. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel.
3. Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add flour, and stir with a whisk. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Cook until thick (about 8 minutes), then remove from heat.
4. Combine sauce, sausage, pasta, Parmesan, and salt in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a baking dish coated with cooking spray.
5. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield: 6 servings

I discussed this recipe here.

Pasta and Veggies, Mostly

I wouldn't have come up with the combination on my own, at least not the cauliflower, but this Farfalle with Cauliflower and Turkey Sausage was a good meal. For some reason we liked it even better as leftovers. The 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper scared me, so we took it down to a little more than a 1/4 tsp. The sliced garlic was very flavorful. I was hesitant since I thought it'd be too strong in bigger chunks, but it was nice. Also, based on some comments, we added broccoli to the original recipe, and I'm glad we did, since there wouldn't have been much color otherwise.

John made this one for us since I was busy writing a paper. He mentioned how he liked baking the veggies and sausage. It was a nice variation from our typical stir-fry.

Farfalle with Cauliflower and Turkey Sausage

(adapted from Cooking Light's Farfalle with Cauliflower and Turkey Sausage)

INGREDIENTS
2 (4 oz) links mild Italian turkey sausage
3 C small cauliflower florets
2 C small broccoli florets 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
5 garlic cloves, sliced
4 C uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 C (2 oz) grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Pierce sausage several times with a knife. Combine sausage, cauliflower, broccoli, and 1 Tbsp oil in a small roasting pan; toss. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 tsp salt. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes. Add garlic to pan; toss. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until sausage is done. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut sausage crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain, reserving 2 Tbsp pasta cooking water. Combine pasta, reserved cooking water, remaining 1 Tbsp oil, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, and crushed red pepper in a large bowl; toss. Add cauliflower mixture, sausage, and cheese; toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with black pepper.

Yield: 4 servings

I discussed this recipe here.

Quick Pasta Dish

Last night we didn't want to spend too much time on dinner since we had a list of other things to get done before the week started. This Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach dish came together quickly and without too much cleanup. We doubled the original recipe to have enough for lunch the next day, with the exception that we used slightly less prosciutto and a bit more Parmesan. The pasta was served with toasted garlic bread and cantaloupe. The garlic bread was made with Johnny's Garlic Spread, which my mom sends me since our Costco doesn't carry it. We enjoyed the meal and the quick cooking time, so I'll add it to our list of keepers.

Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach

(adapted from Cooking Light's Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach)

INGREDIENTS

1 (20-oz) package fresh cheese tortellini (such as Bertolli)
3 Tbsp pine nuts

2 tsp olive oil

12 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 (12-oz) package fresh baby spinach

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced

3/4 - 1 C grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.
2. While pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add nuts to pan; cook 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Add nuts to bowl.
3. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constatly. Add spinach mixture, black pepper, and prosciutto to bowl. Toss well.
4. Add Parmesan to taste.

I discussed this recipe here.