Pasta with Turkey Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Arugula, and Ciliegine

adapted from For the Love of Cooking

     

   When Nick and I were both in school or when I was working we took turns making dinner- usually whoever got home first had the job of starting. That meant Nick cooked a few times a week. We ate a LOT of pasta the first 3 years of marriage.       

      It has taken a while for me to build up confidence to make pasta for someone who lived in Italy and is very particular about his pastas. I still don't think I make any pasta as well as he does, but I am not as sheepish as I once was. The pasta snob and I agreed that this was a delicious, light pasta- the tomatoes were so sweet from cooking with the sauce... the bit of spice from the arugula...and the fresh mozzarella (though Nick did say the cheese didn't compare to Italian cheese at all). Lucky for us, we'll be in Italy in 5 months were we'll get to have all the cheese we want-including the mozzarella di bufala I keep hearing about.

Ingredients

1-2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 small/medium onion, diced 

3-5 sweet Italian turkey sausages, removed from casings and rolled into small meatballs

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2-1 tsp. dried basil (use more if fresh basil is available)

1  1/2 cups grape tomatoes (halved, if desired)

kosher sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

box of pasta (The original called for linguini- but penne is more toddler-friendly)

1  1/2 cups arugula, roughly chopped

10-12 balls ciliegine mozzarella cheese, halved

Directions

 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion and sautee for 2-3 mintues. Place meatballs in the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes. When meat is fully cooked, add chicken broth, oregano, basil, tomatoes, salt & pepper, and stir until all are incorporated. Allow to cook 8-10 minutes, while pasta is cooking.

2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and combine with sauce in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Add the arugula and ciliengini cheese then serve immediately. {If anticipating left overs- only add the necessary amounts of arugula and ciliengini cheese.}

Not-So-Sloppy Joes

from Real Simple: Meals Made Easy

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 lb ground turkey (could use ground beef)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. kosher salt
ciabatta rolls or wheat hamburger buns, toasted (enough for 4-6 people)
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Avocado, sliced (optional, but delicious)
Sliced Jalapenos (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until softened, about 3 min. Add turkey and cook, crumbling with spoon, about 7 min. Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 12 min.

2. Spoon the mixture onto the bottom half of each bun and top with the cheese, avocado slices, a dollop of sour cream.

Serves 4 - 6 people.

Jambalaya with Creole Seasoning

adapted from A Hint of Honey and allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.)
3 bell peppers, diced (red, yellow, orange)
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 can kidney beans, drained
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) Andouille pork sausage. sliced (I used mild sweetened Italian turkey sausage )
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 Tbsp. Creole seasoning blend (see recipe below)
1 cup long grain brown rice
1 cup water (or another cup of low-sodium chicken broth)
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine onions, garlic, peppers, celery, chicken broth, kidney beans, sausage, chicken, tomatoes, and creole seasoning in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2-3 hours (or on low for 5-6 hours) until the chicken is tender but cooked through.

2. Stir in the rice and water. Recover and continue cooking on high for about 1 hour (turn to high at this point if you were cooking on low), until the rice is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid.

3. Stir in the shrimp. Cover and cook several more minutes until the shrimp are opaque (no longer or they will become tough). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

(Would be equally tasty without shrimp--I only mixed shrimp into Nick's half)

Creole Seasoning Blend

Ingredients

2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
5 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. sea salt

Makes about 1/2 cup.

Baked Ziti with Spinach and Tomatoes

adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

3/4 lb. sweet Italian sausages, casing removed (I used low fat turkey Italian sausage)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 28-ounce can diced peeled tomatoes
1/4 - 1/3 cup pesto sauce ( I buy in bulk and freeze)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 box Barilla ziti or penne pasta, freshly cooked
6-8 cups fresh baby spinach (about 8 oz.)
6-8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed*, with some shredded to top pasta (I used fresh)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onion and garlic and sauté until sausage is cooked through, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices to pan. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. {While simmering, cook the pasta, if eating immediately.} Add pesto to sauce. Season sauce with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

2. Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly oil 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish. Combine pasta, spinach, cubed mozzarella and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese in large bowl. Stir in hot tomato sauce. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup Parmesan and shredded mozzarella. Bake until sauce bubbles and cheeses melt, about 30 minutes.

*To have a more even distribution of cheese, make mozzarella cubed on the smaller size. If using fresh mozzarella, there may be a bit of excess moisture after pasta has baked, this can easily be spooned out if needed.

Serves 6-8

Spinach and Feta Turkey Burger

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
3-5 oz fresh spinach, roughly chopped OR 1/2 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry {I used fresh}
1 egg, beaten
splash of Worcestershire sauce
2-4 ounces feta cheese
1 pound ground turkey
salt and pepper
whole wheat buns
sliced tomatoes

Basic Tzatziki sauce:
6 oz plain Greek yogurt (Fage)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 large cucumber peeled and shredded, water squeezed out
a little more flavor--Beau Monde seasoning and dried dill, to taste

Directions

1. In a small pan over medium heat, add olive oil and saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add spinach and gently toss until spinach is just wilted. In a large bowl mix together spinach mixture with egg, Worcestershire sauce, feta cheese, and turkey until well combined; form into 4-5 patties. Freeze or refrigerate to help meat set.

2. Make Tzatziki sauce by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

3. Cook burgers on preheated, lightly oiled grate. Grill until no longer pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve on whole wheat buns with tomatoes and Tzatziki sauce.

Penne with Tomatoes and Sausage

adapted from stephmodo

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. sweet Italian sausages, casing removed (I used the turkey version)
3/4-1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 lb. pasta (penne, rigatoni, etc.)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add sausage and sauté until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Try to break up the sausage along the way with the back of a spoon. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender and sausage is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and cream. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sausage mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with good sea salt and a little fresh ground pepper.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, and return pasta to same pot. Add sausage mixture and toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta. Sprinkle with basil and then Parmesan.

Serves 4-6.