Slightly Creamy Sausage Pasta

It's been two weeks since I started the "lets clean out the pantry" kick and it doesn't even look like a dent has been made. The freezer is still full and the pantry almost full. The only thing that has been cleared out is the fridge as dinners created have not been making much for leftovers. Tonight's dinner was Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta and it did not require one additional purchase from the store and was made as a last minute plan.

Modifications Made:

Oh, there were so many. All minor and mostly in cooking order and started right from the get go.

Stated more times than I can remember now, every time a dish calls for Italian sausage, the amount requested is divided between half regular or sweet and half spicy for a more full flavor. Since sausage links comes in packages of five, it means one dish will be slightly hotter than the other. The leftover sausage tonight was two links of regular and three links of hot. Sausage links were striped of their casings and the meat was browned then removed to drain off excess fat.

In remaining sausage fat, the onions were cooked till translucent and tender. To the onions, the meat was returned and the garlic, red pepper, salt, pepper were added. Not wanting a heavy cream based dish as hot milk on a hot summer night did not sound appealing, one cup of milk and one cup of low sodium chicken broth was used instead and allowed to simmer on low for 15 minutes.

While meat simmered, one pound veggie rotini was cooked to extra al dente. While noodles cooked, two tablespoons of flour were mixed into half cup of water and set aside. Once pasta was cooked and thoroughly drained, the pasta and flour water was added to the meat and allowed to cook for a further two or three more minutes until pasta reached desired texture. Salt, pepper, and red pepper were adjusted as needed.

Scaled for Likeness: Great

Veggie pasta has come such a long way over the last few years. Before it was grainy in texture and had a chewier consistency than regular white pasta. Now the texture is the same and if it weren't for the color skeptics wouldn't even know they were eating veggie pasta.

Switching out the cream for milk made this a little thin in sauce coverage as compared to something heavy like alfredo. However, the sauce covered the sausage and the pasta well.

Next time this is made I would like to use chard instead of spinach and add mushrooms or artichokes to compliment the milk.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

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