"Throw Everything In" Pasta with Rosée sauce

You know that commercial for Olive Garden where the parents visit their daughter who is in college? And every time they visit, the parents take the daughter and her roommates to Olive Garden because they like to know that their daughter is "taken care of"...and she fake bumps her dad and says "Daddy!!!" and feels all embarassed. I've seen that commercial about a hundred times. One of the times we watched it, and actually paid attention to the food they were advertising. There was a dish with tomatoes and sausages and Kev said "Hmmmmm..." .I've never been to Olive Garden, since they do not have one in Quebec. People who have been tell me it's not that great, but why do they always look soo yummy? So on a weeknight, i decided to make pasta with tomatoes and sausages, but ended up tossing in pretty much everything I had in it. :)



Pasta, cooked al dente
1 can of diced tomato
brocoli florets
Any color pepper, I used yellow, chopped
4 Italian sausage, I like the spicy kind, casing removed
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 medium onion, chopped
chili pepper flakes and parmesan to taste
Pepper and salt

1. In a large skillet, cook sausages. Add peppers, brocoli, and onions. Cook a few minutes until peppers, brocoli, and onions are tender.
2. Drain the can of diced tomato, and add tomato to the skillet.
3. Add heavy cream and simmer until thick.
4. Add pepper and salt to taste.
5. Serve with parmesan and chili pepper flakes.
   

I'm a pasta lover...because it's carbs. I also especially love pasta with a creamy sauce, so there was no doubt that I would love this. This turned out to have a rosée sauce, it was creamy and yummy! Kevin liked it too. The thing with pasta with creamy sauces is that it makes me sleepy because it's such a heavy and comforting dish. I loved having a lot of vegetables in it.

Pasta with Sausage and Sweet Peppers

Here's a post that I am revisiting. I already posted this recipe in Sept 2008, but decided to repost it with a picture of my own. Back then, I had just started blogging about the food I was making in our kitchen, so I never thought to take pictures.

Kevin is a simple man, especially when it comes to cooking. His favorite recipes need to have few ingredients, simple instructions, and especially take less than 30 mins to make. One day, I had dinner plans with my friend and Kevin had to make his own dinner. When I got back, he told me he made a yummy pasta dish. A week later, I was feeling under the weather and came home early to rest. I crashed so hard that I didn't even hear my cell ring, which was on the night table next to me. Kevin had called me 3 times. He probably wanted to ask what I wanted for dinner. He finally came home with all the ingredients to make his yummy pasta. He calls this "his specialty". When he makes this, I'm almost not allowed in the kitchen.

• 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed and crumbled
• 1 any colour bell peppers, chopped
• 8 ounces farfalle pasta or other pasta (penne, macaroni...)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, cook sausage and peppers in large skillet over medium heat until sausage is brown and juices run clear. Drain sausage mixture and return it to the pan. Pour in the broth, season with black pepper and bring to a boil.
3. Toss pasta with sausage sauce and serve.

If you use too much pasta, the dish will end up bland. You can add more beef broth or some salt. I usually crumble some aged cheddar or mozzarella or parmesan. I think i'd also like to add some onions into it too. You could add different spices, i've put cayenne pepper in mine. This is such a basic dish, you can change it up any way you like. But Kevin likes it simple.

Mac & Cheese with Italian Sausage

So the stupid groundhogs announced that we won't be having an early spring. What a downer! This calls for some comfort food. When I used to live with Rachelle and we were both lazy and just not willing to learn to cook proper meals (I mean really...sometimes i'd eat a big bowl of cereal for dinner), we would make pasta with tons of vegetables (frozen, couldn't be bothered with fresh ones) and of course a lot of cheese. I'm really glad i'm only semi-lactose intolerant. Cheese has never had an effect on me...besides bliss. When Rachelle made Macaroni and Cheese, it gave me a big craving for it. I made mine with some leftover sausage we had in the freezer, which Kevin didn't like because they were "crazy" flavors.



2 cups macaroni pasta or fusili or any other pasta, cooked
cheddar cheese
1 cup of milk
2 italian sausages, casing removed
1 small onion
garlic
1 tbsp all purpose flour
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 300. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and put aside
2. On a skillet, cook sausage, onion, and garlic.
3. Add milk and flour. Boil until thick
4. Add half of cheese. Mix in pasta. Add salt and pepper, if needed.
5. Put in an oven safe casserol dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
6. Bake 20-30 min, until cheese is crispy and/or browned.

As you can see from my picture, I couldn't get the darned cheese to brown. I even switched my oven to broil. This is good, but I think I miss the medley of vegetables...This is an extremely easy recipe...you can't get it wrong. You can pretty much add anything you want. Rachelle liked to add a can of tuna or salmon in the mix. You can all any spices you want and many different kinds of cheeses. It's foolproof. Enjoy!