Pasta with Parmesan White Sauce and Summer Sausage

When I was visiting my family for my niece's birthday, naturally the dinner choices were either go out or I would need to cook. Since we had already been out twice during the visit, I decided to make dinner. My mom presented me with a package of summer sausage, and I remembered that the magazine I read on the plane had a recipe for Summer Sasuage Alfredo. I figured that if I made a simple white sauce it would probably be a little healthier so I made the following...

Pasta with Parmesan White Sauce and Summer Sausage

12 oz pasta

1 package summer sausage

3+1 sliced green onions, separated 

1/2 to 1 cup sweet peas

4 cocktail tomatoes or 2 Roma, cut into quarter sized pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for garnish 

Parmesan White Sauce

2 tbsp Parmesan 

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp floor

1 cup milk

Dash of salt

Cook pasta and sweet peas according to their packages. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Slice the sausage into bitesize pieces. When the oil is hot, sauté the sausage in the skillet. 

Meanwhile, make the sauce by heating the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the flour and sauté for a minute or so. Slowly whisk in the milk as the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low. Add the salt and Parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. 

Add three green onions and tomatoes to the sausage and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the pasta, peas, and sauce. Spoon into bowls. Top with more Parmesan, and the remaining green onion, salt, and pepper. 

Notes: when I make this again, I'd like to try swapping the peas with either green beans or broccoli and top it with some fresh parsley. 

Green Beans and Pasta with Pistachio Pesto

This was my first attempt of making pesto, and I have to say, it was easy and tasty! I based it off of a recipe on Food Republic. Here is what I did.

Green Beans and Pasta with Pistachio Pesto

6 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and rinsed (a couple more ounces would also work)
8 oz pasta (I used Farfalle)
1/2 t sea salt, divided
3 T pistachios
3 T grated Parmesan
Leaves from a small bunch if fresh basil
4 T olive oil
1 clove garlic

Cook pasta as directed by package. Fill a medium saucepan with water and put on high heat on the stove. Meanwhile, grate half of the garlic clove into a blender or food processor. Add the salt to the water. When water boils, add green beans. Add the pistachios, Parmesan, basil, and olive oil to the blender. Blend. Add 1-2 T of green bean water to the blender and blend again. After about four or five minutes of cook time on green beans, drain. Mix the green beans, pasta, and pesto together. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes if desired.

Baked Tilapia with Penne and Broccoli in White Sauce

This was a pretty easy meal to make. It was a fairly light meal, but an olive oil-based sauce would have made it even lighter. It paired well with a Chardonnay from The Naked Grape. I think an APA would have also been good. If you add some heat to the pasta, you could go with a wide range of wine/beer.

To make the tilapia:

- Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit

- Drizzle tilapia filets with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with cajun seasoning (both sides)

- Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, or until it flakes easily, or until it seems done enough for your tastes

To make the pasta:

- Boil whole wheat penne according to package directions (9-10 minutes)

- While the pasta is boiling..

Make the broccoli + white sauce in a nonstick pan:

- Add a handful of fresh broccoli and a little bit of water. Cook over med-high heat for several minutes. As the water evaporates, add a little more. If you happen to have a steamer basket, that might work better. We don't have one, so I can't say for sure

- After the broccoli begins to soften, just go ahead and make the white sauce in the same pan:

- I like a medium thick sauce, so I used: 1 cup of milk, 2 tbsp. butter, 2 tbsp. flour, salt and pepper to taste

- If you've never made white sauce this way, it's pretty easy. Just add the butter and let it melt. Then add the flour and whisk to remove lumps. Gradually add the milk while whisking. As you whisk in the milk, the whole thing will thicken. Add a little more milk, whisk, repeat until it gets to your desired thickness.

Now that I think about it, I actually doubled the sauce recipe and cooked about half a package of penne, and it was a good ratio.

Anyway... serve the sauce/broccoli on the penne. I also like to put a little sauce on the tilapia.

Rosemary Red Sauce on Pasta

The following recipe was created by H.  He made me edit it.  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of my plate before gobbling it up, so all I got was a picture of the next day's lunch.  Sorry, it's not as presentable as I'd like, but at least you can kind of see what it looked like.  Vicky (aka - the reason this blog exists) recently informed me that she is a visual person and really likes the pictures, so I'm trying a bit harder.  :)  Please pretend this meal is on a silver platter with rosemary springs decorating the edges...or something pretty like that.

Rosemary Red Sauce on Pasta:

• 1 to 2 T Olive Oil
• 1/4 Onion (any variety), chopped
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• about 1.5 sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped. (equivalent to 1.5 tablespoons)
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes
• 2 or 3 Garlic Cloves
• 1 t Fresh Ginger, minced (optional)
• 1 T Red Pepper Flakes (use less if you don't like spicy food)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Zucchini, sliced
• 1 T Sun-dried Tomatos in olive oil
• Whole Wheat Pasta, try Penne Rigate or Rotini, prepared
• Fresh Parmesan

Heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large nonstick pan on medium-low heat.  While oil is heating, chop the onion, red pepper, and rosemary.  Sauté for a couple of minutes.  Add the garlic and ginger. Sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Add the diced tomatoes and stir.  Crank up the heat to medium.

Add some salt and pepper. Somebody once said it was a good idea to season at each stage of cooking. Also, add the red pepper flakes if you like it spicy.  

Let the sauce cook for 3-5 minutes.  While the sauce is cooking, slice the zucchini.  Place all your zucchini slices on top of the tomato mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Let them cook/steam for about 2 minutes, then flip them over.  Sprinkle this side lightly with salt and pepper.  They'll need to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until tender.  

Once the zucchini is done, you're finished.  Serve on the pasta; add a little Parmesan.  Enjoy!

Cheesy Pasta Primavera

Ryan and I made this as a side dish for a dinner party this weekend. Neither of us had made it before, but it turned out delicious. And it went very nice with the baked chicken the other couple (Jake and Mere) brought. Again, I didn't take a picture...I really need to start remembering to do that.

Cheesy Pasta Primavera

• 3 c whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 t sea salt
  
• 2 T Kraft Light Zesty Italian dressing
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 c reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 4 oz. Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
• 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in sea salt water. As pasta is cooking, heat dressing in a skillet on medium heat. Once heated, cook vegetables for about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth and Neufchatel cheese. Cook until Neufchatel is melted. Stir in Parmesan. When pasta is done, drain water and return pasta to pan. Add Vegetables and sauce to pasta. Serve. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Rosemary Sauce

The other night my wonderful boyfriend made us this recipe for dinner. It was delicious! Wish I had pictures of it; it also looked amazing.

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Rosemary Sauce

• 2 chicken breasts, split in half
• 1 c dry white wine
• 1 c heavy whipping cream
• 2 T minced fresh Rosemary (about 2 sprigs)
• 4 T butter
• Salt and Pepper
• Cooked whole wheat pasta
• Cooked broccoli or other vegetables
  

To make:
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Melt 1 T of butter in a medium to large skillet. Cook chicken breasts over medium heat, 4-5 minutes on each side, or until done. Set chicken aside and tent with foil to keep warm. Pour the wine into the warm skillet. Cook for a couple of minutes stirring occasionally. Add cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Stir in remaining butter and rosemary. After butter is melted, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve sauce over chicken and pasta. Top with veggies.