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.

Aunt Mary's Cabbage Soup.

Tomorrow's leftovers are going to be killer! This soup is seriously good & before I even tell you about how great it is, and I promise it is, you need to commit to making this really soon.

I have no idea who Aunt Mary is, but if she's anything like her soup she rocks! Aunt Mary's recipe was found on the back of a can of Dei Fratelli tomatoes awhile back and I'm glad I finally got around to making this. Cabbage soup is a classic winter soup, which was perfect for dinner since we're currently snowed & iced in. The cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes & kielbasa all come together to make a flavorful pot of wonderfulness! It's rustic, healthy - even more so if you omit the kielbasa (which of course then makes the soup vegetarian), hearty and makes enough to feed an army. Seriously what more could you want from a soup? Now if only the beer bread I made had turned out as well.



Aunt Mary's Cabbage Soup

1 Tbs. oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. smoked kielbasa
3 medium carrots, cut in 1/2 slices
8 c. coarsely shredded cabbage
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 qt. water
1 (15 oz) can seasoned diced tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. pepper
3 medium potatoes, peel and cut into 1" cubes
2 Tbs. oil
1/3 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. paprika
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1. In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion softens. Cut kielbasa in chunks and add to pan. Add prepared vegetables (except potatoes), water, seasoned diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes over medium heat. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer, then add potatoes. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil and stir in flour. Cook, stirring until golden brown. Stir in paprika and remove from heat. Ladle 1 cup of liquid from soup pot and whisk into the oil and flour. Continue whisking while adding tomato sauce until mixture is smooth. Stir into soup.


Yield: 10-12 servings
Source: Dei Fratelli


Thoughts: aside from halving the recipe, I only adjusted the seasoning. I used dried onion because I was out of fresh onion, but the fresh onion is the one ingredient I felt the recipe lacked. I ended up adding a lot more fresh garlic, pepper and paprika, as well as garlic powder, a bit of chili powder and some dried parsley.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes & Cheese.

Last night for dinner I made this dish from Cooking Light. I'm still not sure about it, it's not that it was bad - there was just something about it I thought could be a lot better. Really my biggest complaint was the pasta was pretty dry, and looking over the online reviews it seems others had that problem too. Hopefully adding more tomatoes, or even tomato sauce to the leftovers would help. Because despite halving the recipe, we still had a ton of leftovers. I agree with some of the reviews that said it's a good recipe to build upon, but you know it's just baked pasta and I have other recipes that are fabulous as is. So while it wasn't even a bad recipe, I doubt I'll make it again.

Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls

We are usually pretty busy on the weekends and often times I don't have enough time or patience to make a good weekend meal. This is the biggest hurdle facing me as I try to make the last few recipes from my cooking group, as they all take a bit longer to prepare and cook. My friend Amber (check out her real estate blog) posted this recipe and it's perfect for the cold dreary weather we're experiencing, it's also a good hearty meal to eat while watching college football. Which is what we've done all day,well minus a nap or two!

Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls

1 1/2 lbs ground meat
1/2 chopped onion
1 lg. can tomato sauce
1 head of cabbage, chopped
1 c. uncooked brown rice
1 tsp. salt
2 - 14 oz. cans beef broth
pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350. Brown meat over medium heat. Drain off the fat.

2. In a 5 qt. (11x15") baking dish combine onion, tomato sauce, cabbage, rice, salt & pepper; add meat.

3. Pour broth over the mixture and bake covered for 1 hour.

4. Stir, replace cover, and bake an additional 30 minutes.


Yield: A lot! Probably 10-12 servings.

Thoughts: Amber said she generally uses a combination of ground beef & pork, I just used ground beef. I also cooked the onion along with the ground beef and only used half a head of cabbage. I followed Amber's suggestion for topping each individual serving with mozzarella cheese, though just about any type of cheese would be good! Someone in our group said she served the dish along with mashed potatoes and I thought that would be really good. Especially served over garlic mashed potatoes!

Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Spinach.

Break out your party hats kids, it's my 100th post! Sadly it has taken me almost a year & a half to get this far. Sometimes life just gets in the way of cooking and blogging, not to mention sometimes we eat Chef Boyardee and that's just not blog worthy! The previous statement is a lie, I eat without shame Chef Boyardee - the husband refuses to touch the stuff. His loss in my opinion!

So to continue with this weeks love affair with the sun dried tomato, I tried my hand at a pasta dish. I knew I wanted to make a pesto out of the tomatoes, but my biggest decision of the week came down to should the pesto combine spinach and the tomatoes, or just tomatoes on their own. In the end I decided on just a tomato pesto, mainly because I wasn't sure the spinach would look good as part of the pesto sauce. Oh the places my thoughts take me........

I tried this time to measure things out as I went so it would be easier for others to make on their own. Some measurements are the way the way they are simply because that's all I had on hand. Luckily, pasta and pesto are very forgiving so add more or less of any ingredient as you see fit!

I haven't sent anything into Ruth's Presto Pasta Night for awhile now, so I'll send this recipe. This week's round-up is hosted by Judith of Think on It. Um... yeah, a pasta event hosted by a real Italian who lives Italy - talk about some pressure! Check in tomorrow for all the wonderful dishes sure to be submitted!


Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Spinach

1 lb. pasta of your choice (short shaped pasta tends to hold pesto better)
13 sun dried tomatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt& pepper
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 c. fresh basil, packed
Fresh spinach, several hand fulls, probably 6 c. worth
Parmesan cheese

1. To toast pine nuts, place in a 325 degree oven for about 3 minutes, or until they begin to change color. Remove nuts from the oven and let them cool to room temperature.

2. Boil water in a large pot & cook pasta, according to the package directions. Drain pasta and reserve about a cup of pasta water.

3. To make the pesto, in a food processor combine sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and salt until finely chopped. With the food processor running, slowly add more oil - add as much oil as needed to make the mixture smooth, basil, Parmesan cheese and the pine nuts. Process the mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as necessary. Add pepper to taste.

4. While pasta is draining add spinach to the pot and allow to begin cooking down. Return drained pasta to the pot and stir pasta and spinach together. Add pesto to the spinach and pasta; toss well. If the mixture seems to dry add some of the reserved pasta water.

5. Transfer pasta to a serving dish and serve.



Yield: 4-6 servings

Recipe obtained from: me.

* I hate that it gets so dark so early now. Clearly I need to figure out some new lighting in my kitchen based on the quality of the above picture. What kind of light bulbs/lighting do you have in your kitchen?

*Photo disclaimer* The cat at the top of the page, wearing his wonderful party hat is not one of our cats. Sadly, no such pictures exist of our cats wearing hats and in fact bad things happen when we attempt to make them wear hats. The beautiful cat pictured is Calvin and the photo was taken on his first birthday!

Sundried Tomato Turkey Burgers.

I was reminded over the weekend how much I love sun dried tomatoes and remembered I had some at home. There was some ground turkey in the freezer as well, so I decided to combine that with the tomatoes and make a somewhat healthier burger. I served the turkey burgers with my "I have mastered making frozen fries taste delicious" frozen french fries. Because sometimes I am lazy, not to mention using frozen fries is just plain easier. So I guess I'll share my secret.... let the fries thaw out a bit before you put them in the oven. How simple is that? After they have thawed out some, drizzle them with olive oil, salt, pepper and your desired seasoning. This time I used sprigs of rosemary and parsley from the garden.

I don't measure much when I make up a recipe, which I guess is bad when posting a recipe for others to try. But with burgers, you really don't need exact measurements. Just add what sounds good to you, add more if you really like it! It's really hard to mess up a burger, well unless you over cook it.

Aside from the turkey & tomatoes, I just randomly went through the cupboards and the herb garden and picked out what I thought would be good. The end result was a very flavorful & moist (I hate that word, but couldn't think of another to use) turkey burger. The addition of spinach on top of the burger, added some extra healthiness. Actually the spinach would have been really good in the burger as well. Next time I make these, I'd add more of everything listed below - for even more flavor! This mixture would also be good as meatloaf or meatballs.


Sun Dried Tomato Turkey Burgers

1 lb. turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 Sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Balsamic vinegar
Dried onion
Plain bread crumbs
Fresh rosemary, parsley, thyme & oregano, chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste
Basil mayo

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, except the basil mayo. If the mixture appears to wet for grilling, add more breadcrumbs. If you are using a skillet, the mixture can be more wet - since it can't fall through anything. Form turkey mixture into patties.

2. Grill burgers for about 10 minutes, or until done. Add sliced mozzarella cheese, or cheese of your choice, and allow to melt 1-2 minutes.

3. Serve on a toasted bun topped with basil mayo and spinach.

Yield: 4 burgers

Recipe obtained from: the depths of my brain.


Basil Mayo

Fresh basil, chopped
Mayonnaise

1. Combine basil and mayo in a small container; stir well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

You could also add salt & pepper or any other herbs/spices for additional flavor.

Oh and a grilling trick for you, courtesy of the husband's Grandma. After you form the patties, make a hole with your thumb in the middle of the patty. Apparently it allows the burger to retain their size, allowing the burger to stay flatter and reducing the chances of the burger shrinking. Here are some additional links on this amazing fact: how to make a hamburger patty stay flat?, hamburger patty question and oddly enough even the Democratic Underground has posted about this as well.

Garden Harvest Chili.

A great friend had her first baby last week, she's one week old today, and I wanted to take her some food to make the first few weeks (months) a bit easier on her and her husband. I really liked that this chili was much lighter than most and packed full of fresh summer vegetables. I'm so happy for my friend & her husband and can't wait to see them later this week!

Garden Harvest Chili

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 1/2 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 c. onion, chopped

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

2 Tbs. chili powder

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 c. zucchini, sliced

2 c. frozen sweet corn, thawed

1 1/2 c. (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese, optional

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high.

2. Saute garlic, peppers, mushrooms and onion until tender.

3. Add tomatoes with liquid, tomato sauce, chili powder, sugar and cumin; heat to boiling.

4. Reduce heat to low; add beans, zucchini and corn. Simmer, uncovered, about 10 minute or until zucchini is tender. Spoon into bowls; sprinkle with cheese if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutritional information: 1 3/4 cups (prepared with low-sodium tomato sauce; calculated without cheese) 252 calories, 7g. fat, 675 mg. sodium, 44g. carbohydrates, 10g. protein.

Recipe obtained from: Fast & Fit Recipes: Healthy Eating In No Time (Taste of Home Books)

My thoughts: In the summer when you have an abundance of fresh tomatoes you could definitely use fresh instead of canned. You could also use tomato juice in place of the tomato sauce, it just won't be as thick. Chili recipes are great to use as a base, you don't really need to measure out all the ingredients - just add more of what you like and spices to taste. This recipe would be great with meat as well, I think I might add sliced turkey sausage next time. It would also be good served over brown rice or elbow macaroni. Additionally pretty much any vegetable combination would work well here. If you're going to freeze the chili, like I did, make sure you let it cool completely.

Chicken Scampi

Cilantro grilled chicken breast was the recipe to make last week in my cooking group. Since we were out of town, I'm just now getting around to making it. I decided to take the original recipe and expand upon it using some of the fresh produce we had.

I followed the recipe for the scampi butter fairly closely, as in I used all of the ingredients listed just didn't measure them out. I used dried onion and parsley in place of fresh, didn't have any white pepper on hand and didn't use the white wine - if you want measure it all out that's fine, if not just add ingredients to taste - I think it's fairly hard to mess this up.

In a large skillet I sauteed chopped mushrooms and halved cherry tomatoes in some of the scampi butter. Let the mushrooms and tomatoes cook down for several minutes, add more butter if needed. Add spinach leaves and let wilt a few minutes. Chop the grilled chicken and add to the skillet, combine all ingredients. Add whole wheat spaghetti and combine, add more butter if needed.

Both the husband and I thought the pasta was delicious, he even said he thought it was the best pasta concoction I'd come up with recently. Next time I think I'd forgo making the scampi butter and just saute the mushrooms and tomatoes in a little bit of butter and olive oil, adding the herbs and other stuff to the skillet as I go.

Someone in my cooking group played around with the original recipe and made a pizza, which I think sounds delicious. She melted the butter on a pizza crust and topped with diced chicken, mushrooms, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Provolone cheeses. Yum!

As has been my habit of lately, I'm submitting this dish last minute into Ruth of Once Upon A Feast's wonderful blogging event Presto Pasta Night, hosted this week by Got No Milk. Check out the round-up tomorrow for some delicious pasta dishes. *Disclaimer* I was late with my entry for this week's PPN round-up, but am first for next week's which will be hosted by Ruth. Make sure to check out this week and next for great ideas & recipes!