Zesty Tomato, Sausage Pasta

Remember a little while ago I shared Pioneer Woman's seafood pasta in a foil package on Instagram? I made it again the other night! But, this time I did sausages instead of shrimp and I skipped the baking part. It was delicious!! I love the little kick it has and how fresh tasting it was. You can of course make her recipe, which is great too! But I actually like this a little better. Let me know what you think!

Zesty Tomato, Sausage Pasta

Ingredients

1 lb Curly Pasta, or favorite pasta
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 T Butter
2 T Olive Oil
1/2 c Dry White Wine (or white wine vinegar) 
3 - 14.5 oz Cans Diced (or whole) Tomatoes
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes1 lb Smoked Sausage Links, sliced

Cook the pasta according to box directions.

In a skillet, cook the garlic in the butter and olive oil for a few minutes, and then pour in the wine. Allow this to reduce for a couple of minutes, and then pour in the tomatoes. Stir the mixture together, season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Stir in sliced Sausage and allow to cook for 10 minutes.

Mix the drained pasta with the sauce.  Optional: Drizzle warm cream over the top and sprinkle with torn basil and parsley. Or just top off with shredded Mozzarella Cheese. Enjoy!


Recipe Adapted from: Pioneer Woman

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Isn't it funny the different ways each of us were all brought up? One thing that stands out about the way I was raised, that might be different than most people, is the fact that I never had jarred or canned spaghetti sauce until I went to college and had roommates cook for me.  My mom always made her own spaghetti sauce.  I figure this was one way she was able to save money with having 10 kids.  Her recipe makes a lot more than one jar and tastes amazing too.  I first made this on my own when I started cooking in college. I would make it for me and my roommates, then freeze leftovers to make goulash for another day. (What is goulash? It's like spaghetti but you mix the sauce and any noodles together in a 9x13 baking dish and top off with cheese and bake.) Anyways, I love this spaghetti, it's a little taste of home for me.

One Pot Salmon Coconut Curry Pasta

Remember how I told ya'll how much I love one pot meals? Well I really do! The other night I planned on making salmon, but last minute decided I was tired of the same salmon fillet I always end up making, so Pinterest shopping I went.  I came across this amazing looking dish, and bonus, it was one pot!  I wasn’t sure about adding a large piece of uncooked salmon in with everything else but it ended up being cooked perfectly at the same time the pasta was done. By cooking everything together, the salmon was perfectly tender and flavored and the creamy sauce was amazing.  My husband said, "If Cheesecake Factory's bang bang chicken and shrimp were a pasta then this would be it." I myself loved every bite. This dish will be making another appearance in our home very soon.

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

I thought this recipe was amazing! I love pasta! I love fresh spinach and artichokes, and...ya'll all know I like a little kick, this recipe had it!  If you don't like cooked spinach, like my hubby, than you won't like it as much as I did, but you can always leave it out too! My kids loved it, I'd recommend not sprinkling any of the red pepper flakes on the kid's pasta though.  But, seriously, this is restaurant quality pasta! Let me know if you try it!

One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

Seriously, can I just tell ya'll how much I love these one pot dishes?! What's your favorite one pot dish? Please share!  This one was delicious! I loved how fresh tasting it was, I had no guilt eating pasta w/ this dish, especially b/c I used whole grain noodles.  My kids even gobbled it all up, which was amazing, b/c it had a little kick to it...which I love a little kick!  This was the perfect dish to make a few days ago for our lazy Sunday.  After church, much needed Sunday naps and playing w/ our kiddos, I didn't feel like making anything time consuming, especially b/c I didn't prep for anything ahead of time.  So, this was perfect! It took no time at all to make and was very filling.  Let me know what ya'll think! And seriously, no joke, plz share any of your favorite one pot dishes.

One Pot Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta Skillet

One pot dishes are officially now my favorite easiest meal to cook, and this recipe was above all the best one pot dish I've ever tried.  It was delicious! My husband finished off the pot after everyone was done eating, that says a lot since he's not a huge pasta fan.  It was so fresh tasting and easy to eat, I loved it! Oh, and did I mention, it's so extremely quick and easy to make?! B/c it is!

Do you have a favorite one pot dish? If so, please share!!

Homemade Noodles

Who else is intimidated by the idea of making homemade noodles?  I have been for years!  I figured it had to be hard, and of course take forever.  But you know what?  When my friend told me her husband made them and it only took him 10 minutes, (TEN MINUTES!!) then I figured I could do it too!  So, the next day I attempted it, and you know what?! It was extremely easy, and so worth the 10 minutes!  YUM!  I seriously don't know if I can go back to prepackaged noodles.  These noodles totally soak up the flavors of the soup and were delicious.  Go ahead, try it out and let me know what ya think! 

Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

When my friend, Kychelle, first made this dish for us I thought it sounded so weird.  But when I tasted it, I thought it was great!  I loved all the flavor combos and it was so light and fresh tasting.  It's completely cheesy and creamy, what's better than that?  As much as I looove lasagna, this is a nice option if you want to try something else.  I finally gave it a go a couple of weeks ago, and I loved it all over again.  The leftovers even taste great, you can even make it ahead of time and cook it when you're ready and it will still taste great.  It really gives the flavors have time to "marry."

Crock Pot Lasagna

Did ya'll know that you could make lasagna in a crock pot !  Well, I didn't either until I found it on Pinterest! I've been meaning to try it out for a while now.  Now that I am forced to have more crock pot meals due to my son's soccer practices being at 5 pm, I finally got around to it.  So, what'd I think?  I thought it tasted great!  It did not disappoint one bit!  It's tastes practically what I make in the oven.  And, we have tons of leftovers!  I'm so happy I can now make my lasagna ahead of time.  Try it out...let me know what you think.  Who else loves crock pot meals as much as me?  

Three-Layer, Three-Cheese, Meaty Lasagna

Have I mentioned how much I love Italian food?!  I love all things noodle!  And honestly, what's better than a moist, ooey gooey, cheesy, stacked-high lasagna?  This is such a yummy, simple recipe.  It's the only lasagna my mom swears by.  It's her Aunt Gloria's recipe that they've been using for years and years.  So, from my family to yours, here ya go!

Sauteed Basil and Grape Tomato Spaghetti

If you're looking for a fresh tasting, light weight meal, this is the recipe for you.  It's a very quick recipe and great for hot summer days.  It's great as a side or as the main dish.  I actually made it as a pasta salad for a baby shower I went to, it worked out perfect. Go ahead and try it out, let me know what you think.

Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta

Before I get into the recipe, I should probably announce that I found out I will be appearing on Good Things Utah and the Daily Dish to share 2 of my recipes on Monday.  I am still trying to decide which ones to share, so watch and find out!  If you live in Utah then you can watch the Daily Dish on CW30 at 9 AM and GTU on ABC4 at 10 AM.  Ok, so on to the recipe...

This recipe was given to me a few years ago by my good friend Lindsey.  It is one of the easiest recipes you could make, in fact, I think it's one of Lindsey's go to recipes for last minute meals.  Who doesn't love Pesto?!  I think it's pretty amazing myself. :)  Go ahead and try it out, yum.

The only problem w/ this meal is I eat a little more than I should in one sitting.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!  I know I did :)  My sister, Bonny, came and visited for a week and just left early yesterday morning.  We had a fun filled week of shopping, eating and of course Easter events.  So now that she's gone I'm back to business, and here's what I have for ya!  A yummy Chicken Enchilada Pasta, seriously, it sounds a little weird, but trust me, it's amazing!  I've never had anything quite like this before.  A Mexican dish w/ pasta.  I have never really topped pastas off w/ anything more than cheese and maybe chives or whatever.  But, I can't imagine not using the extra topping on this pasta, it totally adds even more to the deliciousness.  Trust me, make it, you'll love it.  It's been a while since I made this, and just adding this recipe reminds me I need to make it, very soon, today if I had all the ingredients ;)

Easy Chicken Parmesan Bake

I decided to take a short break after our 25 days of recipes.  I figured ya'll probably had enough recipes to make you happy for a little while.  So, I'm back, at least until I go on vacation for 3 weeks to visit my family in TN!!  So, I now have a couple of other Chicken Parmesan recipes, but I love this stuff so much, that I don't mind trying tons of different recipes!  The nice thing about this recipe is that the chicken requires no breading, no frying, and only takes minutes to put together.  And, the best part is, you can use frozen chicken! Since there is no fried coating in this chicken Parmesan recipe it's much lower in calories and fat. The crouton crust serves double-duty by soaking in the sauce and chicken juices, as well as forming a crispy, cheesy topping.

Day 6 - Three Cheese Lasagna

Welcome to Day 6 of 25 Days of Recipes.  I am so excited to welcome Katie from Craptastic.  Seriously, she is such a fun girl!  She was one of my best friends in High School, we had some good times together.  I so wish we still live close together so we could craft all day, you should check out her work, seriously, she's amazing!  I'm pretty sure that all of her readers feel like they know her personally and only wish that they could be one of her friends.

Take it Away Katie:

Hey everybody!! I'm Katie from CRAPTASTIC!

Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan

I have a great Chicken Parmesan recipe that I have yet to share w/ ya'll.  It's amazing, but honestly I hate breading chicken and frying it, every time I deal w/ oil I always get splatters on my shirt!  I know, I should wear an apron, after all, isn't that my blog's name?  haha  I'll do it soon.  But anyways, I found this recipe and thought I'd give it a try.  I thought it was so good and so simple!

Lasagna Style Tortellini

 I've been making this recipe for quite a while now, it's just been a long time since I've made it!  I can't believe I haven't made it for so long.  I really like this recipe, it's easy, quick and yummy!  If you like lasagna, you're going to love this!  The recipe originally called for cheese ravioli, so one day I went to Wal-Mart, to buy it and they were all out!  I didn't know what to do, until I noticed a bag of cheese filled tortellini.  Hmm...I had never used these before, but I thought I'd give it a try.  And, well, it turned out even better, what a nice surprise!  This dish is well worth a try, and it makes a ton.

Kung Pao Style Ramen Noodles

Who love Ramen Noodles?  I know I do!  I use to eat it everyday after school when I was younger, it was soo good.  But, now I never allow to eat it, unless I'm sick, and then I have an excuse! :)  I know some of ya'll are thinking, "How discusting!"  Right?  Well, that's fine, it might be.  So, when I found this recipe that used the actual noodles from Ramen Noodles, I thought I'd give it a try!  It's Kicked Up Ramen Noodles-Kung Pao Style!  It actually took a little longer than I was expecting, but really what was I expecting, 5 minutes like normal Ramen?  It probably took about 30 minutes from start to finish, and that's w/ me chopping, frying and stirring constantly.  It was actually pretty good!  It had a kick to it, which I appreciated.  One thing I did not like was that the noodles got soggy, but that's my husbands fault, he got home from work late so I let it sit on the stove for an extra 30 minutes warming.  I rate this dish a 3.5!

Looks pretty dang good huh?

Easy Pasta Salad

So, have I mentioned that I like easy recipes?  I will take any short cut there is to make something, as long as it's still good.  My friend Kristina had us over a couple of years ago and made us a wonderful pasta salad!  I was so impressed, I asked her for the recipe and she was a little hesitant to share.  I coaxed her into telling me, and that's when she introduced me to Suddenly Pasta Salads by Betty Crocker.  I couldn't understand why she was embarrassed to tell me, it was wonderful news!  I loved pasta salads but never attempted to make any, up until then!  All of a sudden, pasta salad making was going to be a common thing in my house, and so easy to make.  I have made several different kinds and have served them to several different people.  I always get compliments and am never hesitant to share how I made it!  I want everyone to know how easy it is, anything to make life simpler is a great thing, right?!  Anyways, I am just going to go ahead and rate this a 5, it's just that good and just so dang easy!

Creamy Chicken Fettuccine

I figured it was time for another pasta recipe.  If I could I would eat some sort of pasta dish everyday!  I don't make it as often as I would like because, besides the fact that it's not all that healthy, my husband, for some odd reason, is not as big a fan of pasta!?!?  So whenever I rate pasta dishes, it might be a little higher than you might think it should be, if you're not a big fan, like my hubby.  Anyways, I found this recipe when I was having my brother-n-law and his wife over for her birthday a while back.  Her favorite food is Chicken Alfredo, so I wanted to find a good recipe, that's when I found this, another recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I really like this recipe because it tastes so fresh!  With the zest and juice of a lemon and the fresh basil it really makes it taste so good.  It's really quite easy and quick too :)  I made it again a couple of days ago, this time I pre-made it so I could just heat it up when we were ready to eat.  Worked out great!  I rate this recipe a 4.

Look how creamy!  I made it a little saucier than the recipe calls for b/c it's not that saucy of a dish.  So if you like more sauce w/ your pasta consider making more of the sauce or less noodles.