Penne with Chicken, Sweet Potato and Sage

I was very surprised by how deep the flavors were in this dish. I found this recipe on Blue Kitchen, and Mike and both love sweet potatoes, so we figured we'd give it a try. This recipe is a keeper - delicious flavors and very cheap to make. I made only a couple of minor adjustments to the published version.

Sweet Potato Sage Pasta with Chicken

from the Blue Kitchen recipe

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage (or 2 teaspoons dried)

1 package of penne pasta

Parmesan cheese to taste (optional)

Start a pot of water for the pasta. Put the cubed sweet potato in a lidded, microwave-safe container. Add 2 teaspoons of water and microwave for 2 minutes with the lid vented. Test sweet potato with the tip of a sharp knife; the knife should insert easily. You want the potato just tender, but not mushy. If not, microwave it for an additional minute and test again. (Cook's Note: this took us 4 minutes.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Drain sweet potato and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring and turning occasionally. Add onion and toss to coat. If using dried sage, add to pan now. Cook for a minute or two, stirring occasionally. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook until chicken is just cooked through, stirring occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic to pan and cook until just fragrant, about 45 seconds. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Add to skillet with sweet potato mixture and toss to combine. If the dish seems dry, add a little reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time (I didn’t need any). If you’re using fresh sage, sprinkle with 2/3 of the sage and toss to combine. Divide among shallow pasta bowls and top with remaining sage. Serve immediately.

We also added some Parmesan cheese to the finished dish - because pasta's always better with a little Parm. :)

So simple. So delicious!

Avocado Cream Pasta

Brit found this recipe in one of her food blogs (a healthy vegan food blog in fact) and sent it my direction. We both love avocados, this recipe looked fantastically simple, and we eagerly added it to our list of new recipes to make. We make another dish that’s similar, linguine with pea pesto, and we knew we would love this version as well.

Avocado Cream Pasta

(originally posted on the Oh She Glows food blog)

Serves 3

1 ripe avocado, pitted

Lemon zest

½ lemon, juiced

3 garlic cloves

½ tsp salt, or to taste

¼ cup basil

2 tbsp olive oil

1 package pasta

Black pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once al dente, drain and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, blend the garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a food processor. Add in the avocado, basil, and salt and blend until smooth.

Toss the pasta with the avocado sauce until well mixed. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Brit decided to toast some walnuts and add them them as an additional garnish. (Great idea Brit!)

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes, and Chicken Sausage

Brit found this recipe in one of her food blogs she follows through Google Reader. It looked very light, healthy, and delicious and was perfect for our Thanksgiving recovery week recipes. We decided to throw in some chicken sausage to make the dish a more complete meal and ultimately threw in some more last minute additions which really helped with the flavor. This is a definite repeat meal and will probably show up again in our rotation fairly soon.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes, and Chicken Sausage
(Adapted and modified from a recipe publised on SimpleRecipes.com)


Serves 4


1 lb. broccoli rabe, cut into 1 inch slices
1/2 lb. penne pasta
1 onion, chopped (a new addition of ours to the recipe)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust depending on how much heat you want)
1 package chicken sausage, sliced (we used the sundried tomato kind from TJs)
2 oz sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp goat cheese (a last second addition)
1-2 tbsp mozarella cheese, diced (another last second addition)
Salt
Pepper

In a medium pot of boiling water, blanch the broccoli rabe for 1 minute. Immediately transfer to an ice bath (I drained it first in a colander instead of trying to scoop it out with a slotted spoon) to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot of oiled and salted boiling water, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return to the pot.

Once the pasta starts cooking, saute the onion in a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until translucent and then mix in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute or two, while stirring, and then add in the sliced chicken sausage. Brown the chicken sausage for a few minutes and then add in the blanched broccoli rabe. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the broccoli rabe is tender, and then stir in the sundried tomatoes. We had completely dry sundried tomatoes from TJs, but the kind preserved in oil would be best. Season everything with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the veggie mix to the pot of cooked and drained pasta. Mix everything well together. At this point we decided to mix in some extra goat cheese we had lying around. Once well mixed (and this took a bit of effort) we scooped our servings into some bowls and garnished with parmesan cheese. I then decided to additionally garnish my bowl with some cubed pieces of mozarrella cheese.

The addition of the onion, chicken sausage, and goat cheese were awesome. Brit and I both agree that this dish would have been bland and boring without them. Also, I really enjoyed the mozarella cheese in my bowl, but it wasn't necessary.

Pasta with Cauliflower, Sausage, and Mozzarrela

Tonight's meal is a recipe that we made a long time ago and had been forgotten about. While flipping through our recipe book, we were quickly reminded how good it was and quickly decided to make it again. The original recipe is from The Kitchn food blog and calls for using a sweet Italian sausage. We substitute chicken sausage that we get from Trader Joes, but that's the only modification that we make to the recipe. There is one other modification that I make and that's to the title of the recipe. Originally, the mozzarella is not included in the title, but the breadcrumbs are showcased instead. This makes no sense to me. Gooey delicious mozzarella is a much better sell than toasted breadcrumbs. Either way, it's delicious.

Pasta with Cauliflower, Sausage, and Mozzarrela
(Adapted from a recipe on The Kitchn food blog)

Serves 6

Olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz chicken sausage, cut in half and then sliced (I used the spicy jalapeno from Trader Joes)
1 head cauliflower, cut into small, bited-sized pieces
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 lb. penne rigate pasta (the type of pasta that can be used is really at your discretion)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 lb mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Toss in the shallots, season with salt and pepper, and saute until soft. Add in the garlic, cook for another 1-2 minutes, and then throw in the sausage pieces. Continue to cook until the sausage is beginning to brown.

Once the sausage is ready, add in the cauliflower florets. Season with some more salt and pepper and add a little bit more oil to help it all cook. Stir occassionally, but let the cauliflower cook so that it is beginning to brown.

Once the cauliflower is beginning to brown, pour in the can of diced tomatoes and raise the heat on the dish. Scrape up all the good stuff on the bottom of the skillet, bring the dish to a simmer, put the lid on, lower the heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked through.

While the cauliflower is cooking, boil the pasta. Also spread the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and toast under the broiler until browned. Once the pasta is ready, drain the pasta, return it to its original pot, carefully add the cauliflower mix into the pot and mix well. Add in the cubes of mozzarella and mix until gooey. Garnish with the breadcrumbs and enjoy!

Linguine with Saffron and Andouille Sausage and Cauliflower

This is a dish Brit found on The Spice House website, I believe while searching for cheap spices to purchase. The recipe is so simple, but so incredibly rewarding. We changed one of the ingredients to make it healthier, specifically using fat free half and half instead of whole milk. Snobs might be able to notice a difference, but it's quite delicious exactly as we made it. We also added in some andouille sausage and roast cauliflower to add protein and make the meal more well rounded. This is a definite repeat recipe.

Linguine with Saffron and Andouille Sausage and Cauliflower
(Modified from a recipe at The Spice House)

Serves 4

Generous pinch of saffron
1 1/3 cups fat free half and half
3 tbsp coarse salt
1 box linguine
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1 package of TJ's andouille sausage, sliced
1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets


1-2 days in advance, mix the saffron with the half and half and store in a sealed container in the fridge.
Cook the pasta according to the packaging.
Roast the cauliflower in the oven at 400 F until it is cooked through.
Saute the sausage in a tbsp of oil in a pan until browned and heated through.
Warm the saffron mix in the same pot that the pasta was cooked in. Once warm, add back to the drained pasta and stir well. Add half of the cheese and stir well. Add in the salt and stir well. Let sit 1-2 minutes and season to taste.
Serve with the cauliflower and sausage on top.

Chickpeas and Charred Tomato Pasta

We whoopsied and waited too long to use the tomatoes we got from the farmer's market on Saturday - they ended up being gushy and moldy. TEAR! So we had to throw them out and improvise a little bit. We made the Chickpeas and Charred Tomato Pasta recipe again, but we were forced to make a few changes. 

Instead of a pint of cherry tomatoes, I charred a half of a regular tomato we had in the fridge. To supplement the flavor, we added 2 links of TJ's garlic chicken sausage and 1/2 of a diced onion to the charred tomato. Satisfied that the dish had been saved, we reverted back to the recipe and followed all the subsequent instructions.

As a topping, we steamed some broccoli and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. We also topped it with parmesan this time - I think it was a good, but not necessary, addition to the dish.

Summer Vegetable Soba

Brit and I used to make a soba noodle dish with asparagus, garlic, prosciutto, parmesan cheese and a fried egg. It was incredible. We made this dish several times until one time the leftover soba noodles tasted like ass. It was just awful. I had a suspicion it occurred because we had purchased a new brand of soba noodles and that the original brand would be fine. Nonetheless, Brit had lost her desire to eat this dish.

Recently, I came across a recipe in on of the food blogs that I follow that utilized soba noodles again. I've been craving/missing soba noodles for a while, so I approached Brit about giving the recipe a try. Brit agreed to give it a try with the original brand of soba noodles and we're all crossing our fingers that the leftovers turn out well.

Summer Vegetable Soba
(Originally posted on the Macheesmo food blog)

Serves 4

1 12 oz package of soba, cooked according to package
1-2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cups green beans
1 onion, diced
2 ears corn, corn removed from cob
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
2 scallions, only greens
Fresh basil, chopped
Peanuts, chopped
Sauce: 2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 jalapeno pepper, minced without seeds
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 inches ginger, minced

Cook the soba noodles according to package directions, drain, and return to pot. Toss with the sesame oil and set aside.
Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
Meanwhile, saute the onion, pepper, green beans, and corn in the olive oil over high heat for just a few minutes so that the veggies stay crunchy. Mix in the sauce and saute 1-2 minutes until the sauce is very fragrant. Mix in the carrots and then transfer all of the ingredients to the pot with the soba noodles. Mix in the scallions and stir it all together very well.
Garnish with basil and peanuts and enjoy.

This meal turned out really, really well. The vegetables were fantastic and the soba noodles are a very flavorful pasta. We felt like there wasn't any heat coming from the jalapeno so we'd consider adding some of the seeds into the sauce. We also felt like there wasn't enough sauce so we had to season our dish with some extra soy sauce and pepper. For future preparations we would double the sauce portion.

Cold Sesame Noodles

Tonight we've been invited to a potluck housewarming of a friend of ours. Since the cold sesame noodles dish we made recently turned out so well, we decided to make this one again with some minor adjustments.

The amount of soy sauce and chili paste used in the sauce was slightly increased and the amount of peanut butter was reduced very slightly.
Instead of just using one red bell pepper I also sliced up a yellow bell pepper.
I also ground up two carrots in my mini food processor until they were in small chunks and I threw those into the mix.

The additional veggies were a nice touch for the overall presentation and taste of the dish.

Garlic Noodles with Shrimp

We haven't eaten a meal with Brooks in a while and wanted to share with him a dish that we've always enjoyed and knew would turn out really well. We decided to make the Garlic Noodles with Shrimp dish that we love so much.

I tried to remove the tails from the frozen shrimp before they marinaded, but failed miserably. If I can remember in advance, I will thaw the frozen shrimp beginning the night before and remove all of the shrimp tails before the cooking begins. In the meantime, we're left to removing them by hand as we eat the meal.

Cold Sesame Noodles

This recipe showed up in a new food blog I've been following. I've always enjoyed a cold pasta dish and although Brit isn't the biggest fan of cold dishes, she was willing to give it a try. We ended up eating it at room temperature and it was delicious and filling. I would highly recommend this dish and I can't wait to make it again. Next time I would add some extra veggies to this dish, such as some julienned carrots, and also add some roast turkey on top to give the dish some protein and fill out the entree.

Cold Sesame Noodles
(Originally posted on The Perfect Pantry blog)

Serves 4 (as a main dish)

4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar (we used white wine vinegar)
1 tsp chili paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tbsp sesame oil, divided
2 tsp grated fresh ginger root
1 lb linguine or lo mein noodles (we used regular spaghetti)
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3-4 green onions, diced

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, drain pasta, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Toss pasta with 2 tbsp sesame oil and refrigerate 30 minutes, until cold, or at your desired temperature.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, combine the first 8 ingredients and simmer over low heat. Whisk for a few minutes until smooth and set aside to cool.

When the pasta is cooled, mix in the remaining veggies. Use some of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce and help it mix and stick well to the pasta. I didn't use very much of it at all.

Chickpeas and Charred Tomatoes Pasta

This is a dish we have made a few times before and have even cooked for our friends Jeremy and Kendra in the recent past. It's super easy and delicious, so we're always willing to make it again.

Chickpeas and Charred Tomatoes Pasta

(adapted from a February 2011 Bon Appetit Magazine recipe)

Serves 4

1 package penne pasta

1 cup roasted garlic hummus (we doubled the amount of hummus and didn't use plain hummus)

2 tbsp olive oil

Pint of cherry tomatoes

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

5-6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 cup halved and pitted kalamata olives

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Before draining the water, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and whisk the hummus into the liquid.

Meanwhile, add the cherry tomatoes to the heated oil over high heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook about 10 minutes until blackened in some areas. Add the chickpeas, garlic, and smoked paprika, crushing some of the tomatoes to release their liquids. Mix in the pasta, hummus mixture and then the olives and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Linguine with Pea Pesto

This dish is one that we've made before and turned out really well. Well, it was even better tonight. Previously we used a mix of fresh peas from the farmer's market that we shelled ourselves and frozen peas that we already had, but this time we just stuck with the frozen peas. Frozen peas are a lot less work and cook faster too. This is a definite keeper recipe and we plan to make it again on a regular basis.

Linguine with Pea Pesto
(Originally printed on the Smitten Kitten food blog)

1.5 cups peas
2-3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted and cooled
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup olive oil
12 oz package linguine

Boil a large pot of salted water with olive oil for the linguine and cook to according to package directions. Reserve up to 2 cups of pasta water before draining, drain pasta, and return to pot.

In the meantime, boil a smaller pot of water for the peas. Cook for 2 minutes, transfer to an ice bath, and drain. Also in the meantime, toast the pine nuts and set aside.

Mix half of the peas, all of the garlic and pine nuts, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and blend. Add in the olive oil and blend for a few minutes until smooth.

Over a low heat, mix the pasta, remaining peas, and pesto. Mix well and slowly add the reserved pasta water to smooth out the pesto. We didn't actually use more than 1/4 cup of the reserved water, but add more or less to your preference.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Garlic Noodles with Shrimp

Tonight we re-made the garlic noodles with shrimp dish from last month that we both really enjoyed and appreciated for how easy it is to make. There were a few minor variations that we added to tonight's recipe that definitely made the dish better and more fun.

Last time I made this dish I counted out 40 pieces of pre-cooked shrimp thinking it was approximately half of the bag. Turns out we still had well over half of the bag remaining and we decided to just use it all. Since there was significantly more shrimp this time, I doubled the volume for most of the marinade components (oyster sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper).

We also had a 1-2 ounces of cooked pasta leftover from the linguine with ground turkey meat sauce that I added to our freshly cooked package of linguine when it came time to stir fry the noodles in butter and garlic.

The increased amount of pasta complemented the increased amount of shrimp very well and the concentration of seafood in this dish was a lot better than the previous time we made it.

Sadly, we forgot to get parmesan cheese for tonight's meal and ate it without the garnish. Everything was still delicious, but I would highly recommend to anyone making this recipe to ensure you have parmesan cheese nearby.

Linguine with Ground Turkey Meat Sauce

When returning from Oklahoma last week, our friend MLove graciously picked us up from the airport, saving us a lot of money that would have been spent taking a taxi home. To repay her, Brit and I invited her over for dinner the following week. Brit and I considered making either our seafood mix with garbanzo beans or my ground turkey meat sauce with pasta. MLove liked the idea of either and Brit and I decided to do something we hadn't eaten in a while, so pasta and sauce it was.
This dish is a recipe of mine from my childhood that Brit has fallen in love with. The original recipe was for homemade meatballs my mom would make, but I've adapted it to be a meat sauce. In reality, every time I would try to make the meatballs, I would get anxious about how cooked they were and would break open a few to see if they were done. By the time they were all cooked, the dish had devolved into just being a pasta sauce with meat chunks. I have since stopped trying to make meatballs and have evolved the dish into what it is today.

Pasta with Meat Sauce

serves 5-6

1 package pasta of your choice (we actually used a combo of linguini and thin spaghetti)
Olive oil
Salt
1 can pasta sauce (we bought a roasted garlic marinara from TJs)
1 lbs ground turkey breast
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 lemon, freshly squeezed
2-3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Black pepper
Garlic powder
6 garlic cloves, minced
Mushroom/asparagus/red onion mix from TJs (we were going to use this in another dish, forgot to, and decided to use the veggies in the meat sauce instead)
1 bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
6 carrots, diced and then quartered (we bought a mix of 3 different types of carrots from the farmer's market)
1-2 tbsp diced chives
Head of broccoli, chopped small
Parmigiano-reggiano cheese

In a large pot of water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Be sure to add 1-2 tbsp olive oil and to salt the water liberally.

In a glass bowl, combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, lemon juice, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until everything is well incorporated and then set aside.

Saute all of the veggies except the mushrooms, garlic, and chives. Cook over medium heat until soft. Add in the mushrooms, garlic, and chives and continue to cook until the mushrooms are done. I usually try to separate my veggies like this since the pepper, carrots, and onions always need more time to soften. The mushrooms and garlic don't need as long to be done and I've found that adding garlic at the beginning causes it to burn.

Once all of the veggies are complete, add the ground turkey and break it up into small bites with a spatula as it cooks. When the meat is fully cooked, add in the pasta sauce, mix everything together well, and simmer with the lid on for at least 10 minutes. Longer cooking times would help incorporate the flavors into the sauce better, but sometimes we're just too hungry to wait.

While the sauce is simmering, boil some water to cook and steam the asparagus and broccoli. The asparagus needed more time than the , so Brit removed the cooked broccoli with tongs, strained them dry, and let the asparagus cook until they were done.

Just as the asparagus were being strained, MLove showed up and we eagerly sat down to eat. The meal was served Brit's favorite way: in a bowl with the greens on top of the sauce, which is on top of the pasta. Parmigiano-reggiano cheese was provided to garnish the dish.

I love this meal and so does Brit. It's such a delicious reminder of both of our childhoods. There are always a lot of leftovers, so it's great to eat it for a few lunches or even dinner later in the week. The types of veggies we use varies every time, but I try to at least have onion, mushrooms, garlic, carrots, bell peppers, and the steamed broccoli. Asparagus and red onion was a new one for us and I rather liked it. This is also such a healthy dish too that I love to prepare it.

Garlic Noodles with Shrimp

Brit sent me this recipe a few weeks back and I immediately agreed that it looked delicious. The original recipe calls for prawns, instead of shrimp, but we had conveniently just purchased a bag of pre-cooked frozen shrimp the night before. Buying frozen (and especially fresh) shrimp from anywhere besides the wholesaler we had gone to would be too far out of our price range, but with the shellfish purchased, we were both excited to give this dish a try.

Garlic Noodles with Shrimp

Serves 3

8 oz linguini (we ended up cooking all of it, but only using 3/4 of the package)
1/2 lb shellfish (we used 40 of the fairly small frozen shrimp we purchased)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (original recipe called for 1/2 tsp)
2 tsp pepper (original recipe called for 1 tsp)
4-5 tbsp garlic, minced (original recipe called for 3 tbsp)
3 tbsp butter, divided (original recipe called for French buerre demi sel..... yeah right i'm going to buy that....)
3 green onions, chopped (original reciped called for 1 green onion)
Grated parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta, as the package instructs, until al dente. Drain and set aside. In the meantime, marinade the shrimp with the oyster sauce, salt, sugar, pepper, and 1/3 of the minced garlic for 15 minutes.

In a wok over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp butter with 1/3 of the minced garlic. Add the marinated shrimp and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. We were using pre-cooked shrimp, so this step is purely to cook the flavors together. The original recipe indicates that this step should be used to cook the shellfish until they are half-way done. After a few minutes, remove the shrimp to a bowl and set aside.

Melt the remaining butter with the garlic and add in the pasta. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes, tossing the pasta until it's well coated with the garlic sauce. Add back in the shrimp and cook an additional 3-4 minutes (if using raw shellfish, make sure it is fully cooked at this point). Mix in the chopped green onions and serve. Garnish with the parmesan cheese.

We also garnished our dish with steamed broccoli we bought from our farmer's market that had been quickly tossed with salt, pepper, and white wine vinegar.

Oh wow. You have got to try this dish. No real surprise though; it's shrimp cooked with butter and garlic! We both ate our full plate and went back for another full serving. That was a mistake as we felt stuffed after and we should have just eaten another half serving at the most. Adding the additional amount of pasta, that we didn't incorporate, could help this dish stretch a little further and provide for guests or leftovers, but we'd need to add more shrimp at the beginning. Additionally, I need to peel the shrimp tails off before cooking so that the shrimp can be eaten without having to use your fingers.

Spanish Noodles

Tonight Brit and I made Spanish Noodles, a dish that I had grown up eating and was feeling nostalgic for (seems to be a trend lately). Brit had taken a look at the recipe and was curious as to what gave the dish the title; there didn't seem to be any specific flavor profile amongst the ingredients that led to the title making any sense. Coincidentally, my mom called me while I was cooking dinner and I asked her where the name came from. Here's the story:

Turns out my mom was in the girl scouts many, many, many decades ago. Back when my mom was a brownie, attending the girl scouts meant going to home ec. The brownies were given lessons in etiquette and cooking and whatever else is involved in "women's lessons." One of the dishes my mom was taught was Spanish Noodles. Back in the 1960's, international/ethnic food was not as popular. By the fact that the recipe involves cooking the pasta/meat in tomato sauce made this a Spanish dish. And that story is probably far less interesting than you were expecting!


Spanish Noodles

Serves 4

olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell chopper, chopped
1/2 cup (2 stalks) celery, chopped
1 lb ground turkey
2 cans (16 oz) tomato sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp wine vinegar
3 cups cooked pasta

Cook the pasta until al dente.
Heat oil in a large pan and saute the vegetables until brown. Remove the veggies to a side bowl and cook the turkey, breaking up until done. Add back the vegetables, pasta and all the remaining ingredients. We had to put everything into large pasta pot for it all to fit.
Simmer on the stove another 20 minutes (or in our case, just 10 because we were too hungry to wait). I seasoned the dish a little with salt and pepper (and because Brit looooves pepper and would have added a great deal herself later) and then put some grated taco cheese blend on top.

Yum! We both really liked the dish and enjoyed eating outside in the beautiful weather. We're going to have so few days left before it gets too humid to be outside in the Phila summer. Next time we make this dish we plan on doubling all the veggies. The dish was also similar, but not as good, as my spaghetti and meat sauce dish. We'll make this dish again, but will probably just stick to my meat sauce for the most part.