Smoked Sausage Pasta

I came across this recipe on Pinterest and I ALMOST didn't pin it. Actually, I didn't at first and when I was at the store I thought to myself that I would try it out anyway. I bought some stuff I remember it needed and when I came back home I went back to find it so I could pin it. It was a bit spicy for our taste so I changed it up with normal diced tomatoes instead of the Ro-tel diced tomatoes. Curtis always says how awesome this is at least 3-4 times each time he eats it. Then when there's left overs he asks if it's ok if he finishes it followed by how awesome this is. So, it's pretty awesome guys.

The original recipe called for turkey smoked sausage, but since Curtis is allergic to chicken and we don't know if turkey is the same or not we stay away from it too. Plus I think that a smoked beef sausage tastes much much better. It also called for chicken broth so I subbed it with vegetable broth. I was afraid that it wasn't going to work, but it did!  I never was one of those that kept heavy whipping cream in the fridge, but since this recipe calls for it, I now keep it in stock.

I make this approximately once a week. If my man loves it, I'm gonna make it. It reminds me of a fancy macaroni and cheese with cut up hot dogs in it.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
~1 lb. Smoked Sausage, cut
1 Onion, diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Cups Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
1 (10 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
8 oz. Penne Pasta,, uncooked
1/2 tsp. Salt and Pepper, each
1 Cup Colby/Monterrey Jack Cheese blend

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add cut up sausage and onions and cook a few minutes until slightly browned. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds.
Add the broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Stir occasionally.
Turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup of cheese and stir until all melted and well blended. Top with the rest of the cheese (or maybe a little bit more). You can put it in your oven broiler if your skillet is oven safe until it is bubbly and spotted brown. Mine isn't so I just wait until the warmth of the dish melts the cheese on top.

I know this doesn't look too good, but it is.

This was hot out of the skillet so it's a bit runny. If you let it stand and cool just a bit, it will thicken up.

Three Cheese Pizza Pasta Bake

I am giving 100% credit and props to my husband for this recipe. His taste buds gave him a revelation that even I was surprised by. Like most everybody now, I find most of my recipes on Pinterest. Greatest invention ever. But, sometimes you strike out on recipes that you find. You think to yourself "Ooooo! This looks and sounds tasty." Then you try it and... not so much. Well this is what happened here. I found this recipe for a pasta bake and it was with cheese. I thought to myself "pasta- good, cheese- good!" Well, it's not that it was bad, but it was just way, way, way bland. Curtis told me not to make that again. So I shrugged and put the left overs in a container and put it in the fridge.

One day, as Curtis likes to do, he reached in the fridge for a little snack while he was holding our baby, and pulled out the pasta bake instead of mashed potatoes. Who just wants to eat mashed potatoes, by the way? He decided to eat it anyways, even though it wasn't what he was looking for. He said "You know, this would be a lot better with some garlic in it, and some sort of tomato sauce. Do we have any?" All we had was pizza sauce, so he went for it. He sprinkled some garlic powder, a little pizza sauce, and then he topped it off with some crumbled crackers. I gave him a weird look that said there is no way this is going to be any good. He nukes it in the microwave for a few seconds and takes a bit. He didn't say anything other than asking me to taste it. I did and I was shocked. It was SO much better!

I told him I would try to make it as a full recipe and if it turned out good I would include it in my blog. I did, and it was pretty good! So here you have it, a recipe for a pasta bake a la Curt.

Ingredients:
1 package of Ziti Pasta
1 Jar of Alfredo Sauce (16-20 oz)
1 container of Sour Cream (8 oz)
1 container of Ricotta or Cottage Cheese (15 oz) I used Ricotta
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Jar of Pizza Sauce
2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese
About 20 Multi-Grain Crackers, crushed Or any other crackers you want, or you can omit

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook Ziti according to the package. In another large bowl, mix together the Alfredo sauce and sour cream. Once Ziti is cooked, drain and add to the Alfredo sauce mixture. In a smaller bowl combine Ricotta or cottage cheese, eggs, garlic powder, and Parmesan Cheese. In a 9 X 13 baking dish, layer half of the pasta, then your Ricotta cheese mixture, then the jar of pizza sauce, then the remainder of your pasta. Top with the Mozzarella cheese and cracker crumbles.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese and nice and melted.

Alfredo sauce and sour cream

Add pasta

Ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, and garlic powder

Pasta, Ricotta mixture, and pizza sauce. Make sure you spread it evenly.

More pasta, Mozzarella, and crackers

Surprisingly good! You know, for the hubs coming up with it. :)