Summer Vegetable Alfredo Pasta

This recipe came together on a whim, based on stuff I had in the fridge that needed to be used! It ended up being super tasty, and I think you'll like it too!

Summer Vegetable Alfredo Pasta
1 box multi-colored rotini pasta
3 medium yellow squash
3 medium zucchini
2 Tb. canola oil
1 turkey sausage kielbasa
1 c. Alfredo sauce (I used Ragu's Light Parmesan Alfredo)

Cook pasta according to directions.

Chop yellow squash and zucchini. Saute in canola oil until soft.

Chop kielbasa into small slices. In a separate pan, saute kielbasa until browned. Add pasta and kielbasa in with vegetables. Add the Alfredo sauce and stir all together. Heat through and serve warm.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

This is my favorite pasta sauce! Its really easy to make and now that I've discovered this gem, I simply cannot accept jarred pasta sauces anymore!

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce
adapted from Italian Food Forever
1 lb. ground mild Italian sausage
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tb. olive oil
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
3 Tb. dried basil (start off with 2 Tb. and add more to taste)
2 tsp. dried oregano (start off with 1 tsp. and add more to taste)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
cooked pasta (your choice)

Saute the chopped onion and minced garlic in the olive oil until onions are translucent. Add Italian sausage, cook until just done. Drain any grease and add back into saute pan. Add in crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes on a low heat. **Adjust seasonings to taste**

Pour over pasta, and enjoy!

Italian Cream Chicken

This is a recipe I found from a friends food blog, Sweet as P.I.E. She is big into slow cooker recipes, and when she posted this new one, I decided to give it a shot. I adjusted it a tiny bit, and fixed it with regular angel hair pasta. I also made roasted brussel sprouts with this dish, and you can find that recipe here. The best thing about slow cooker recipes--you can put in frozen meat! No defrosting needed!

(all the ingredients--notice the box of slow cooker liners in the back--they are great!)

(the finished product!)

Italian Cream Chicken
as adapted from Sweet as P.I.E.

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 packets of zesty italian dressing dry mix
1 8oz. package of fat free cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup

Put the cream cheese, soup, and mixes into a slow cooker. Allow the cream cheese to melt until all can be stirred and mixed together. Add in chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Use a fork to shred chicken. Serve over pasta.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

My Mom downloaded this recipe from the Pioneer Woman website and was going to make it for just her and my Dad, but I offered to make it and clean up if she would buy the ingredients so all four of us could enjoy it. It was a good deal! :)

I liked this casserole, but it ended up tasting like lasagna to me. Which is fine, but I guess I just expected it to have its own unique taste. I made some adjustments to the original recipe to make it a tad healthier.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

as adapted from The Pioneer Woman, here

1 pound ground chicken breast

1 15oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

black pepper

8 oz. weight egg noodles

1/2 c. light sour cream

1-1/4 c. low fat small curd cottage cheese

1/3 c. green onion

1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground chicken in a large skillet. Drain any fat and add tomato sauce, salt, and plenty of pepper. Stir together, and simmer while you prepare other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente.** Drain and set aside.

Combine sour cream, cottage cheese, and more pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions to this mixture and stir.

With a prepared baking dish (need a big one here, like 9x13-ish size), add half the noodles to the dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the cheese. Repeat with noodles, meat, and cheese. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

**I have this instruction starred because I don't want you to be like me. Usually when I cook pasta, I put it right into the water and then turn on the heat. Mostly because I think waiting for water to boil first is dumb. And I am impatient. I took this approach with the egg noodles, and I am here to tell you, DON'T. They turned out fine, but they were way over cooked. Like, incredibly soft. Not the way a noodle should be. It ended up being fine in this dish, and no one said anything about it, but for the future, definitely boil water FIRST, and then put in the egg noodles.