Sometimes Simple, Sometimes Grand, Always Declicious
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away? I love the holiday season but dang if it doesn’t feel like time speeds up with all the excitement going on. This year we’re hosting the big day which means we’ll have seven additional mouths to feed including this precious little one. Meet my new nephew Alden Jacob….
Ever been to Panera and tried out one of their broth bowls? Well I have and I love them with a serious foodie passion. I’ve eaten all the varieties and my favorite by far is the quinoa bowl. It just feels healthy. Being the flexible vegetarian that I am, I tend to order it with the egg. My husband and boys, on the other hand, are meat lovers to the extreme so for them, chicken it is….
If you’ve been reading any of the recent posts here at Mommie Cooks, then I’m sure you’ve heard it mentioned that our kitchen is without a working stove or oven. Not that I’m counting the days or anything, but we’ve now been without these important cooking appliances since the first week in June. It began as a renovation, but quickly changed to broken equipment when we discovered upon opening the box that a forklift had literally smashed through both the oven doors with it’s tines. Oh yes it did. Here’s a picture of the damage taken by my contractor….
I recently discovered that the authentic method for making fettuccine alfredo comes from the use of four main ingredients: butter, cream, Parmesan cheese and pasta water. You simply add some of the leftover pasta water to a heated butter/cream mixture, let it cook down and thicken, and finish with some fresh Parmesan cheese. Seriously simple.
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Having resided in Texas for a solid six years of my adult life, it should come as no surprise when I reiterate the absolute weakness I have for authentic Mexican flavors. Cilantro, beans, cumin, you name it. It doesn’t matter how you combine them, if they’re in the same dish all dancing together in perfect harmony, life is most certainly good. Or perhaps I should say bueno.
This dish was first born of a trip I made to the local farmers market to pick up a rack of pork ribs for the upcoming evening. I snagged the ribs but couldn’t walk away without snatching up a packet of chorizo to go with it. Never mind that I had absolutely no clue what to do with said chorizo nor did I come to the market with the intention of buying it. It looked good, hunger called, so I bought it. I also left with a bonus loaf of fresh bread and a couple heirloom tomato plants. The farmers market just loves people like me.
Fast forward a couple weeks. It’s 4:45pm and dinner is no longer calling to me, it’s yelling directly in my ear to get it on the table – soon. I see the chorizo in the back of the freezer and the light bulb goes on. I’ll make a chicken Parmesan inspired Mexican dish because, really… why not? A little bit of this, a handful of that, bada bing, bada boom – dinner is served.
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Whew! It’s been quite a morning. Do you notice anything different? Here, let me twirl around a couple times for you to get a better look. That’s right, my blog has been beautified! I was looking for a change and Emma over at Indiechick designs made it happen. She put up with all my quips and quirks and together we were able to put together the ultimate Mommie Cooks blog. I LOVE the way it looks and I hope you love it too. Thank you Emma!
Now, let’s take this new beauty for a spin and see how she does with a super yummy sausage pasta recipe. I don’t know about your family, but ours loves a good juicy hunk of sausage. Italian sausage, chicken sausage, andouille sausage, chorizo, you name it, we’ll eat it and love every bite of it. I just happened to have a pound of the stuff burning a hole in my freezer the other night and decided to see what I could do with it for a quick and healthy dinner.
Enter Pasta Yummy. Why the yummy you may ask? Well, the entire time my kids were eating this meal they just kept saying, Yummy Mommy! Yep, it’s not earth shattering, but it works. Here’s what you’ll need for this one dish meal:
Ingredients Needed:
8 Oz. of Bowtie Pasta
1 Pd of Italian Sausage, crumbled
1 Pd of Frozen Spinach or 1 Bag of Fresh, Chopped
1 Can of Artichoke Hearts
2 Green Onions
4 Garlic Cloves
11/2 Cups of Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Heat up a pot of salted water to boil and cook your noodles up al dente. While the noodles are cooking, throw your sausage in a large skillet cooking it on medium high heat.
Once your sausage is fully cooked set it aside, drain the excess fat and add in the garlic to the same pan. Let it cook up for a minute and then add in the broth, spinach, artichokes, and onion.
Cook the mixture uncovered on medium high for about 5 minutes until veggies are heated through. Turn your heat back down to low and add the noodles and sausage back into the pan.
I’m getting a hankering for sausage just looking at this picture! Stir your pan of goodness together, making sure it’s mixed well. Finally add in your parmesan and combine. Give it a minute or two to heat back up and you should be ready to serve up some pasta yummy. Here’s the meal still in the pan.
And here’s the meal just minutes before being devoured my hungry family of boys. Pasta Yummy!
Total Time: 30 min
8 Oz. Bow Tie Pasta, Cooked
1 Pd. Italian Sausage, Crumbled
1 Pd. Frozen Spinach or 1 6 Oz. Bag of Fresh, Chopped
1 Can Artichoke Hearts
2 Green Onions
4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
11/2 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Heat up a pot of salted water to boil and cook the noodles up al dente.
While the noodles are cooking, throw your sausage in a large skillet cooking it on medium high heat.
Once your sausage is fully cooked set it aside, drain the excess fat and add in the garlic to the same pan.
Let it cook up for a minute and then add in the broth, spinach, artichokes, and onion.
Cook the mixture uncovered on medium high for about 5 minutes until veggies are heated through.
the heat back down to low and add the noodles and sausage back into the pan.
Stir it all together, making sure it's mixed well. Finally add in your parmesan and combine. Give it a minute or two to heat back up and you should be ready to serve up some pasta yummy.