White Bean and Sausage Rigatoni

I've had this recipe saved for quite awhile and I'm really glad I got around to finally trying it. The dish comes together really quickly and makes an excellent and quick week night meal. This isn't your typical sauce & noodles dish, so if you're looking for more sauce you'll want to add more tomatoes. While it was cooking it reminded me more of a stew, which you could easily adapt the recipe into. I really enjoyed the flavor profile, despite the fact that I got a little heavy handed with the pasta and added way to much!

Just saw an updated version of this recipe on BHG's website which adds spinach and some more liquid to the original recipe. While I really liked the flavors in the original recipe, I think the addition of spinach as well as chicken broth and tomato paste would make it even better. Try it either way.



White Bean and Sausage Rigatoni

8oz. dried rigatoni (2 cups)
1 15oz. can white kidney (cannellini), Great Northern or navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
6 oz. cooked smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/3 c. snipped fresh basil
1/4 c. finely shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese (1 oz.)


1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; return pasta to saucepan.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine beans, undrained tomatoes, and sausage. Cook and stir until heated through. Add bean mixture and basil to pasta; stir gently to combine. To serve, sprinkle each serving with Asiago cheese.

Yield: 4 servings
Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Nutritional Information (per serving): 399 calories, 8 g. total fat (3 g. sat. fat), 36 mg chol., 813 mg. sodium, 64 g. carbo., 7 g. fiber, 23 g. protein

Thoughts: Any tube shaped or larger ridged pasta will work, I used a combination of rotini and fusilli. I used a pound of lite smoked sausage, again either sausage or kielbasa would work fine. I added one 28 oz. can of stewed tomatoes, chopped them up a bit in the skillet and added dried basil, oregano and garlic. Obviously fresh herbs would have been better, but don't stress about it and just use what you have - it still came out delicious.

Salsa Black Bean Soup.

Salsa chicken & black bean soup was the second recipe picked for the winter cooking club chosen by my friend and soon to be mommy Allison. Holy guacamole this soup was delicious, like eat your weight in it delicious! You might have noticed that the recipe has the word 'chicken' in the title and that it's not in the title of the blog. That's because we were out of chicken, honestly I'm not even sure it was missed - it was pretty rockin' sans the chicken.

1) What kind of salsa did you use? Did you like it? I used Jose Madrid - Clovis Medium. I love their salsa!

2) Did you use canned or dry black beans? Canned, simply because I had them already.

3) What other changes did you make to the meal? I didn't use mushrooms, because I didn't think they fit. I also made it vegetarian, basically because we were out of chicken and I didn't want to buy any! My jar of salsa was also 12 oz instead of 16 oz. Next time I'd add two jars of salsa. When I served the soup I added: shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, dried cilantro, sour cream, chopped avocado & crushed tortilla chips.

4) After trying it once, what changes would you make next time? I think fresh cilantro added to the soup would have been really good. When I had my second bowl, I smashed up my avocado and I liked that a lot better & think smashed avocado mixed into the soup would be really good. Maybe a little lime juice.

5) Did you (and your family/DH) enjoy it? Yes, a lot! I love soup and black bean is one of my favorites!

6) Did you serve the soup with anything else? Just the additional add-ons.

7) Any other thoughts or comments you'd like to share? I'm super happy that I finally got to use my immersion blender in this soup. I've had it forever and for some reason just never used it, I think it might be my new favorite kitchen tool!


And if you have never checked out A Year of CrockPotting you need to do so, it's fantastic!

Turkey & Black Bean Tostadas.

I loosely followed Rachel Ray's recipe for turkey & black bean tostadas and they turned out pretty well. I used leftover frozen turkey and chopped it up pretty well. I used the juice of an entire lime and used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh. I also added lots more hot sauce than called for and some additional spices (oregano, chili powder, cilantro & cumin). Fresh herbs would have really been delicious in this dish.

We're generally pretty hit or miss with Rachel Ray recipes, but this was pretty straight forward. The meal came together quickly and would make a great weeknight meal. Leftover roasted chicken would be good in place of the turkey and you could also use a different variety of beans. I rounded out the meal with Mexican style rice, which would also be good placed on the tostado.

Red Beans, Sausage and Rice.

I admit I'm not that great at coming up with catchy titles for dishes I concoct - hence this one. However, the title, like the dish, is pretty straightforward, it's also simple to make and delicious to eat! This dish was inspired by a dinner our friends made while on vacation this summer and could have more (or less) ingredients (onion & celery for starters) added to suite your individual taste buds and whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand. Quick, simple and great for cold winter nights.

Red Beans, Sausage and Rice

1 green pepper, chopped
2 links smoked sausage
1 box Spanish rice (Rice A Roni Whole Grain Blends)
1 can diced tomatoes, sorta drained (no salt added variety)
1/2 pint red kidney beans
Pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce, to taste

1. Saute the green pepper in a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage and continue to cook, about 10 - 12 minutes. Drain peppers and sausage and return to the skillet.

2. Cook rice and add to the sausage and peppers. Add the tomatoes and kidney beans; stir all the contents together. Add any additional spices to taste. Cover with a lid and cook on medium until all ingredients are heated through.

Yield: four servings
Recipe obtained from: me.

Martha's Lentil Soup

I've had a bag of lentils sitting in the cupboard for quite some time and decided it was time to finally use them up. Being a fan of lentil soup, I decided to try the lentil soup recipe from the March 2005 issue of Everyday Food. While this recipe wasn't the best lentil soup I've ever had, it was a nice filling meal. The recipe makes a good base to expand on and next time I'll add some more flavor and make it a little more spicy, which is how I like my lentil soup. Since Monday's are meatless in our kitchen, I omitted the bacon - which obviously would give the soup some more flavor, but not the overall flavor I think it was lacking.

The Sweet Potato............My Arch Nemesis.

My battle with the sweet potato has been a long drawn out affair. Both sides have seen their share of wounds - many of those orange potatoes have been thrown away and my throat has suffered a few closures (much to the amusement of my family & the husband). I find it easier to tell people I'm allergic to them, rather than explaining our battle. Honestly, I probably would have never eaten another sweet potato again had it not been for the fourth installment of the Platinum Chef Challenge. Thank you Cara for forcing me to conquer my enemy. I looked for a lot of battle plans and there are a lot of unappetizing recipes out there! I decided to settle for something more on the tamer side - roasted sweet potato fries - I needed to ease back into this vegetable.

Admittedly they weren't bad. There I said it, score one for the potato. Would I eat them again, maybe. Would real potatoes have been better, lord yes. I rounded out the meal with a pre-marinated peppercorn pork tenderloin, which I seared on the grill pan and put in the oven, following the directions.

Drawing obtained from: electricottosfunkfactory.com


Sweet Potato Fries with Cajun Yogurt Sauce
For the fries:
4 lg. Sweet potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
2-3 Tbs. Olive oil
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

For the sauce:
1 c. Plain yogurt
1/2 c. Light sour cream
3 Tbs. Grated onion
1 Garlic clove, minced
2 Tbs. Spicy bottled cocktail sauce, or to taste
Few dashes hot sauce
1/2 tsp. Salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. Pepper, or to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Brush 2 large baking sheets with some of the olive oil. Quarter the potatoes lengthwise, then cut each quarter into thirds or fourths to make thick spears. Place the spears flesh side up on the baking sheets. Drizzle with the remaining oil and sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning. Roast the potatoes for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

2. Combine the yogurt and sour cream in a small bowl. Add the onion, garlic, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Stir again just before serving.

4. Serve immediately with the yogurt sauce.


Yield: I would guess 4-6
Recipe obtained from: Fit Fare

What I did: The only sweet potatoes they had at the grocery store were very large ones, so I only used one for this recipe. One large potato yielded enough fries for two, possibly three people. The potatoes probably ended up roasting for about 50-60 minutes, which is only because the pork wasn't done yet. The yogurt sauce wasn't bad, but I think I'd change up a few things next time. I used dried onions, and think I'd only add maybe one tablespoon next time. I think it would also be good with horseradish and parsley - possibly omitting the garlic. I've been trying out a different sauce every time I make sauerkraut balls, and I think with some tweaking this one might be a winner.


Fresh Green Beans
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add beans and cook just until bright green, roughly three minutes. Drain well. Season with salt & pepper.

Yield: depends on amount of green beans you use.

What I did: I didn't add any additional herbs or butter, but you certainly can. Mint, chives and butter are an excellent addition to the beans - melt butter in a large skillet. Add beans and herbs - toss well.