Pasta – Page 9 – The Pajama Chef

Sausage Pepper Penne

September 14, 2010September 9, 2015 Sarah

So last week was just one of those weeks. I was sick and we just didn’t eat off our meal plan as I like to do. By the time Friday came around, I was feeling a little better physically but I just wasn’t feeling up to eating something rich and cheesy like a calzone for dinner. However, we had plans to run a local 5K the next morning so I wanted something light, healthy, and filling. This dish I threw together in a few minutes did just the trick! It is definitely one I will be making again, unlike some of my past pasta creations which were just so-so.

This penne pasta dish had just the right combination of savory sausage, flavorful veggies, and complimentary seasonings. I loved how the sweetness of the honey was just barely noticeable but made it’s presence known. However, my favorite part of this dish was the sundried tomatoes. They really added a lot to the pasta–a little saltiness, a little tang, and a dash of tomato flavor to really bring the sauce together… so don’t skimp on them! I bet fresh tomatoes and a little tomato paste would be delicious too, and would give the dish a slightly different flavor palate.

Sausage Pepper Penne

Servings: 3-4
Time: 30 minutes
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by me 🙂

Ingredients:

1 gigantic clove garlic, minced [or 2 smaller cloves]
3/4 cup onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
2 Italian turkey sausages, chopped [I used 1 sweet and 1 spicy, and mine were not precooked but you probably could substitute if that’s what you had on hand.]
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 cups miniature penne pasta (uncooked)
fresh ground pepper
salt
olive oil

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat a dash of olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes until they are just beginning to brown and soften. Then add green pepper to the pan and cook for another two to three minutes until the green pepper is just beginning to soften. Turn heat down to medium and add chopped sausage into the pan. Let cook until sausage has browned, stirring every so often.

Meanwhile, bring water to boil in a large stock pot for your pasta. [Be sure to check out Lynne’s Kitchen Adventures for tips on the perfect way to cook pasta. It sounds elementary but it is not at all!]

Meanwhile, add sundried tomatoes to sausage mixture. Cover and simmer on low while pasta cooks. Cook pasta to al dente. Before draining pasta, reserve 1 cup of pasta water to thin out sauce if necessary. Drain and add penne to saucepan with sausage mixture. Stir in honey and mustard, and add salt and pepper to taste. Add up to 1 cup pasta water to thin out sauce–I used about 1/3 cup. Toss to combine and serve. Eat and enjoy!

Notes:

This recipe yields about 3-4 servings. Ben had one large helping and a smaller helping, I had a medium-sized serving, and there was some leftover for lunch yesterday… so be sure to keep that in mind and alter to fit your needs.

Have you ever made an improv recipe that ended up being a favorite? If so, tell me about it!

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

Spaghetti + Meatballs=Love

September 6, 2010December 8, 2015 Sarah

Spaghetti and meatballs. The Pioneer Woman has once again come through with an easy version of a classic dish everyone loves. There is so much to love about this recipe.

Spaghetti and Meatballs | thepajamachef.com #classic #recipe

I love that the meatballs are seasoned in an Italian-fashion, and not just like a variation of meatloaf (though I do love my meatloaf too).

I love that my husband thought the meatballs were some of the best he’d ever had.

I love that I wanted to eat the meatballs plain (and I don’t ever just want to eat meat to eat meat).

I love that the sauce was chunky with veggies and not pureed to oblivion.

I love that the sauce has a distinct wine flavor (but could be omitted if that’s not your thing).

I love that I got to use herbs from my balcony garden in both the sauce and the meatballs.

I love that I made this recipe on the second day of classes and it made extra that I can freeze and enjoy in week 8 when I am stressed out.

I love eating this dish, and smelling this dish, and tasting this dish, and making this dish, and loving this dish. And talking about this dish! So go make this dish. Yum!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Servings: 6-8+
Time: 90 minutes
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from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs…

1 pound ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced
black pepper
milk
olive oil for frying

For the Sauce…

1/3 whole onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped peppers (I used red, yellow, and orange)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons garlic powder
28 ounce can whole tomatoes
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 teaspoon sugar
salt
black pepper
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced
1/8 cup fresh oregano, minced
cooked spaghetti

Directions:

For the Meatballs…

Fill a large bowl with beef, garlic, bread crumbs, eggs, and Parmesan. Add a splash of milk and a sprinkling of ground black pepper. Then, use your hands to combine everything together. Mix it real well! Then roll it into 1″ balls, and place in 9×13″ or cookie sheet. This should make about 3 dozen meatballs. Place in refrigerator for at least 10 minutes to firm up, but you can leave them up to 24 hours. I made my meatballs in the morning and cooked them in the evening and it worked out great.

Spaghetti and Meatballs | thepajamachef.com #classic #recipe — One way to make (somewhat) meatballs that are all the same size is to press the meat mixture into the bottom of the pan and then cut it up into squares and form each square into an individual ball…

When you’re ready to cook the meatballs, heat olive oil in a heavy stock pot (or a skillet deep enough for the sauce ingredients too) on medium-high heat. Brown meatballs in batches of 8-10, depending on the size of the pan or pot. When meatballs are browned (be sure to flip frequently to brown on all sides), drain on paper towel(s) over a plate and set aside. Do NOT wash the pot. Use it to make the sauce. It will be so good.

For the sauce…

Using the same pot as before, cook onions, peppers, and garlic until soft. This should take a few minutes but not much more. Add tomatoes and wine and stir together. Then add sugar, parsley, oregano, a dash of salt, and a healthy sprinkling of ground black pepper. Mix together, then let cook uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat. Add meatballs to the pot, stir to combine, and turn the heat down to low. Let simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Stir every so often and be sure to taste it during this portion and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Meanwhile, make the pasta. Once the sauce is done, top pasta with sauce and extra Parmesan and enjoy!

Notes:

This makes a ton of sauce. Actually, about 8-9 cups. Not a ton, but close. For the two of us, this was more than enough for two generous servings for dinner, then one smaller serving to finish off the pasta I made (eaten another night as leftovers). Then, I froze the rest of the sauce and meatballs in 3 cup containers (full) for future dinners. You could decrease the amounts but I love the “work once, eat many times” approach here. 🙂

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

Creamy Baked Spaghetti

July 28, 2010December 5, 2014 Sarah

Tonight my plan for dinner was to make spaghetti. We had spaghetti last week, and I froze the leftover meat sauce, and wanted to use it up. But… on my way home today I decided that didn’t sound good, so I thought I’d get creative… and this is what happened!

An oh so delicious carb fest… tomato-y, creamy, cheesy, noodle-ly… filled with veggies and meat… which makes myself and my husband both happy! This recipe isn’t overly tomato heavy – though the tomato still makes its presence known – which is a bit of a refreshing change from many Italian dishes! This is a recipe I’m excited to experiment with, as it there’s a lot of potential to mix up the veggies, sauce, meat, and more. It is definitely a work in progress [and a delectable one at that!] and I will be sure to keep you updated!

Creamy Baked Spaghetti

Servings: 6-8
Time: 35 minutes
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Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups meat sauce [I had previous made up one batch of meat sauce using 1 pound browned ground beef + 1 jar marinara sauce, then froze about 1/2-2/3 of the batch… which was about 2 2/3 cups.]
7 ounces angel hair pasta
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup green pepper, diced
1 cup yellow squash, diced
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 cup Italian blend shredded cheese, divided
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 tablespoons fresh oregano
nutmeg
ground black pepper
cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using cooking spray, grease an 8 cup baking dish [or 3 – 2 cup baking dishes and 1 – 1 1/2 cup baking dish if you want to be like me and make everything possible in individual containers!! :)]. This dish is super quick to make if you get all three pots and pans going at once. After the initial prep work of dicing and measuring, out-of-oven cooking took 15 minutes, tops. Ready?

In a medium size pot, get some water boiling for the pasta. Meanwhile, get the oil sizzling in a small saucepan. Finally, begin melting butter over low heat in a small pot.

When the water is ready, add the noodles, breaking them in half before cooking to shorten their length [especially important if using individual dishes]. Cook until al dente. [My noodles cooked for about 4 minutes so watch ’em closely!] This will be cooking again in the oven, so do not overcook the noodles!

Check the oil in the saucepan by throwing on a little piece of garlic or a green pepper–if it sizzles, you are good to go. Sauté the garlic, squash, and peppers until almost tender or about 4-5 minutes on medium heat.

When the butter melts, whisk in the flour. Stir until smooth or about 1 1/2-2 minutes. Stir in the milk and sour cream, taking care to stir constantly to avoid lumps. Heat until sauce thickens and can coat the back of a wooden spoon. This should take an additional 5-6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of sauce, or about half of the sauce.

In a large bowl [or a large pot if you had foresight unlike me], mix the cooked noodles, meat sauce, veggies, oregano, and half of the butter/flour/milk/sour cream divine-ness [aka the unreserved cup]. Add 1/2 cup Italian blend cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on a dash of ground pepper and nutmeg [trust me! It’s good!], and mix well. Spoon into baking dish[es], top with remaining shredded cheese, and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Serve and smile! 🙂