Pasta di Amy

Pasta with Bell Peppers, Sausage in a Creamy Tomato Sauce, originally uploaded by mud pie gourmet.

I am loving this Fall weather. The mornings are a little too cold for me at 5:45 am, but come afternoon the crisp air is great for running around with the kids outside. Life has been a little hectic, so I picked up some shelves from Costco today hoping to do some organizing to make me feel a little more under control. As a general rule my house is clean, but WARNING: Do not go in the Utility room!! I miss "pop ins." No one lives close enough to just pop in. And this cell phone thing? Everyone always calls before they head over. But, I digress.

Here is one of my favorite pastas to make. My good friend Amy (we would do pop ins ALL the time to each other in Cville. Comes from living four little townhomes over, I guess) came up with the recipe when we had our dinner co-op down in Charlottesville. For a church event our husbands even made it for all the women in our church. Okay, so I think my husband was the only one that actually made it, with Amy and others filling in for their husbands. It reminds me of fall because of the colors of the peppers.

Pasta with Bell Peppers, Sausage and Creamy Tomato Sauce

Serves 6

1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 pound sliced kielbasa or smoked sausage (I have used turkey sausage--healthier)
2 medium bell peppers (red, orange or yellow)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup dry white wine or 2/3 cup apple juice and 1 T vinegar
2 14 1/2 ounce can diced, peeled tomatoes with juices
1/2 cup whipping cream
6 T chopped Italian parsley
1 1/2 pounds penne or fusilli pasta
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until golden brown and tender, about 7 minutes. Add sausage and saute until golden brown about 7 minutes. Add mushrooms and peppers. Add wine to pot and boil until almost all liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices and simmer 3 minutes. Add cream and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in 4 Tablespoons parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat (Sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate).

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, but still firm to bite (about 9-11 minutes). Drain pasta; transfer to large bowl.

Bring sauce to a simmer. Pour sauce over pasta. Add 3/4 cup cheese and toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley.

S. is not the biggest fan of mushrooms so we have completely omitted them and this still tastes fabulous. I also usually use whole wheat penne pasta.

Menu:
Penne with Bell Peppers, Sausage and Creamy Tomato Sauce
Italian Salad
Baguette
Profiteroles with Ice Cream and Homemade Fudge Sauce

The last drop

Artichoke, Sun-dried Tomato Pasta, originally uploaded by One of the many Mudricks.

I love finishing things. I'm not talking about a 100 page paper (that would just be a relief). I delight in using the last drop of shampoo, eating the last chocolate in a box, or crossing off the last of the tasks on my "things to do list." When is shampoo and soap finished at our house? Not until water has been added, and the bottle shook (at least two times). Yes, S. finds it pretty annoying and sometimes just gets a new bottle with the other still sitting on the bathtub ledge for me to finish. It's not even that I love opening a new shampoo bottle or that I want my money's worth (though I am pretty cheap). It's just that I love the end of things. Well, not the end of the milk jug, or the end of an Orangina that I have shared with my kids.

Ahhh, a clean refrigerator. I have memories of cleaning out our family fridge and finding fungi that should only be in a science fair. With a family of eight you never knew when food was put in the fridge. You'd leave it there for the next person to figure out. The fridge would get so full and somehow my sister, Mary and I always ended up with the duty of purging. I have seen a tupperware lid fly off as if a poltergeist was leaving it (10 feet across the room), a potato in five shades of pink, and a whole salsa jar filled with colorful mold. I try to make sure that my fridge doesn't get to that point (no offense, Mom). Tonight, I used up two jars in my fridge. Now they are washed and ready to be recycled. What a great sense of accomplishment! (Hey, I've got to take what I can since I'm not going to see the result of my mothering until my children have kids of their own!)

Here is the result of using the last drop:

Artichoke, Sun-dried Tomato, Red Pepper and Chicken Pasta

2 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 oz canned artichokes
2 T sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 T chopped roasted red peppers
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup skim milk
2 T fresh basil
Freshly shaved parmesan cheese

1/2 lb whole wheat pasta

Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. After pounding the chicken breasts, season with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. Add the chicken breasts to the olive oil. Cook about 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Remove from pan and slice diagonally.

Combine artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and red peppers in skillet used for the chicken. Saute about 2 minutes. Add cream and milk. Add sliced chicken and basil. Stir until combined (add more milk if needed). Serve over cooked pasta with fresh parmesan.