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!

Peach Crisps for Two!

I came across this recipe, after looking for something dessert-y to do with some peaches I got from a local fruit&veggie stand. I only had two, so I couldn't pull off a whole cobbler, and since it's just me and my husband, we definitely didn't need a whole cobbler anyway! Once I found this recipe, I couldn't wait. And it was really good!!

Peach Crisps for Two!

slightly adapted from Joy the Baker

1 peach

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 Tb. chilled butter

3 Tb. old-fashioned oats

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350 degrees.

Cut peach in half, scoop out pit. Scoop out spaces a little more to make room for the oat mixture. Score the peach flesh with a knife. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Using a fork, mix in the butter with the oat mixture until you get tiny bits of butter mixed through. Pile in the oat mixture into the center space and on top of the rest of the peach half. (You can either use the whole amount of oat mixture and spread it all around, or save half for a future peach. It makes a lot!)

Bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

For most of my life, I basically hated oatmeal raisin cookies. I thought the raisins totally ruined the delicious oatmeal cookies. Recently I had a hankering for oatmeal raisin cookies, and came across this recipe. With a little tweaking, I think this one is definitely a keeper!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
as adapted from Mary Ellen at Whisk Together

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 c. oatmeal*
3/4 c. raisins**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the flour, powders, and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the vanilla and egg and mix on high until light and fluffy. Add the dry mixture into butter mixture about 1/2 c. at a time until completely mixed in. Stir in oatmeal and raisins.

Drop dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for about 11-13 minutes.

*You can use either quick cooking or old fashioned oats. I've used both and the cookies turned out fine each time.
**I used three little boxes of raisins. This isn't exactly an exact science. You can leave the raisins out, exchange them for something else (cran-raisins, chocolate chips, etc), or add more/less!

Honey Coconut Rice Pudding

Recently, I've been trying out new recipes. Combine that with the need to make a light dessert, and I settled on this recipe for rice pudding! I have never had rice pudding before, and the ingredients in this one sounded so delicious, I just had to try it. End result? DELICIOUS!

Honey Coconut Rice Pudding
recipe courtesy of, and slightly adapted from, Fujimama

1 3/4 c. light coconut milk
1 1/2 c. 2% milk
1/2 c. Japanese rice (also called Sushi rice--NOT Jasmine rice!)
2 Tb. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tb. honey

Mix together coconut milk, 2% milk, rice, sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir continuously so the rice doesn't stick to the pan. When mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Keep stirring!

Remove saucepan from heat and add honey. Let pudding stand for about 5 minutes before splitting up into 4 separate bowls. Add more honey, if desired.