Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli

When my Grampy turned 90 in 2016, we threw a big party to celebrate, complete with more Italian food than anyone could possibly eat in one day. The event took place at Sal's in Yonkers, my grandfather's favorite restaurant.

One dish blew me away with its simplicity. Orecchiette (little ears) pasta with sausage and broccolini. It was delicious and I've been trying to recreate it ever since.

Thanks to a recipe in the September issue of Family Circle magazine, I finally struck gold.

This meal comes together fast enough for a weeknight and I think it is perfect comfort food for a cool fall weekend, too.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli

1 pound rigatoni or orecchiette pasta, cooked al dente
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
4 cups broccoli florets or chopped broccolini
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional Parmesan cheese for garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While water boils and pasta cooks, heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add sausage and cook until brown, breaking meat up into small pieces -- about 8 minutes.

Add broccoli and chicken broth and cover pan. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook for 4 minutes. Uncover, add red pepper flakes and cook 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

Add drained pasta and grated Parmesan and stir to combine. If dish is too dry, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil.

Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Cauliflower Pasta Bake

Cauliflower is having a moment now that someone figured out how to rice the vegetable, but I still like to eat it in a more naturally occurring state.

I came across this Ina Garten recipe and thought my kids would like it. Pasta, cheese and a bread crumb topping sounded like a kid-friendly dinner to me. Read on for their honest reactions:

Son #1: "If you're going to make pasta, why don't you use tomato sauce?"

Son #2: "Why couldn't you have made baked ziti?"

Well, too bad for my boys. My husband and I loved this dish, which can serve a crowd or a family of 4 for a few days. Another plus? You can prep this in advance and bake it when you are ready.

Hope you like it as much as I did!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Cauliflower Pasta Bake

1 pound medium pasta shells
Olive oil
Large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
4 tablespoons sage leaves, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons drained capers
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
Zest from 1 medium lemon
2 1/2 cups freshly grated fontina cheese (about a 13 ounce piece with rind)
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
3/4 quarter cup panic bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large rectangular baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and put into large bowl.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Saute cauliflower (in batches, adding more oil as needed) in a single layer until lightly browned. Transfer to bowl with pasta.

Add the sage, capers, garlic, salt and pepper to the bowl with all of the cooked cauliflower and pasta.

Mix together. Add grated fontina cheese and stir to combine.

Place half of the pasta mixture in the baking pan. Top with dollops of ricotta cheese. Place remaining pasta on top.

If you are preparing this ahead time, let cool, then cover with foil and refrigerate.

Before baking:

In a small bowl, stir together panko, parmesan, parsley and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle on top of the pasta. Bake for about 30 minutes, until browned and crunchy on top. Serve hot.

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese

Hello from this long lost blogger! Guys, I'm sorry I fell off the face of the earth for a while there. Life got away from me. The husband and I run a small business, and we recently moved to a new office. It was way more work than I anticipated. Like WAY more. Needless to say, blogging to a back seat to...survival.

Although my house was a giant disaster area (please don't open my closet door), I did manage to feed my family. Admittedly some nights we ate crackers and cheese for dinner, but when I was feeling slightly more ambitious, I relied on HDHH classics.

Now that it's Spring, and asparagus is on sale practically every week, I figured it was time to make Fettuccine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese.

This is totally a 20 minute meal. And it's easy clean up. Cook the pasta and asparagus in the same pot, then stir in tangy goat cheese, grainy mustard, and fresh dill for a creamy, Spring-y sauce. So easy and delicious, even I could manage it!

Dinner? You've got this!

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese
Originally posted in April 2013
Serves: 6

1/3 cup pine nuts
1 pound fettuccine
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut crosswise into thirds
5 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pine nuts on a rimmed baking dish and bake for about 5 minutes, until they are golden brown and smell toasty. (Alternatively, you can toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, but I always burn nuts when I toast them on the stove. Feel free to live dangerously, though.)

Cook the fettuccine to al dente according to package directions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Add the asparagus during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.

Drain the pasta and return pasta and asparagus to the pot. Stir in goat cheese, mustard, dill, and toasted pine nuts. Add pasta cooking water and stir until the cheese is melted and the pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni

I recently made a Slow Cooker Low Country Boil and had leftover andouille sausage. Here's what I did with it — make Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni.

Disclosure: I Googled "andouille sausage recipes" and this one — One Pot Andouille Sausage Skillet Pasta — is the first that came up. (Congrats, Damn Delicious, your SEO worked!)You will see this recipe calls for 12.8 ounces of sausage. I had just 8 ounces of leftover sausage, but I had a little more ground beef than needed to make Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna, so I improvised and used some of that.

Verdict: The hubs liked it a lot. Penny and I liked it and Penny even took it in her Thermos for two day camp lunches. Lucy didn't like it; there's always one.

XOXO,
Amy

Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 (12.8-ounce) package of smoked andouille sausage — or if you are short on sausage, supplement with some ground beef
2 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces elbow pasta, uncooked
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese — or cheddar/pepper jack, or whatever cheese you choose

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, meat(s) and cook, stirring frequently until sausage is lightly brown and ground beef is cooked through — about 3-5 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, milk and pasta; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through — about 14 minutes.

Remove from heat and top with cheese. Cover until cheese has melted — about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Greens, Chicken & Pasta Salad

As I may have mentioned, I'm a baseball mom. This means many of my waking hours are spent on a ball field in the spring, summer and fall months, but especially in the summer. Last Saturday I was at the diamond for 12 hours straight.

This doesn't leave much time for cooking and a mom can only stomach so many hot dogs and pork chop sandwiches for lunch and dinner.

Enter the summer salad. If it can be made ahead and holds up for a few days in the fridge, I am all over it. Last season, Amy's Chickpea Salad was my go-to meal. 

This year, it's going to be this yummy spin on pasta salad, thanks to my latest issue of Cooking Light magazine, which features simple summer dinners. I made some changes to the original recipe to help it keep longer in the fridge and to use what I had on hand. I also prefer to double the recipe, so that I can feed a crowd. Let me know how you make it your own!

Mangia! Mangia!

Andrea

Greens, Chicken & Pasta Salad

Inspired by this recipe from Cooking Light

8 ounces uncooked whole wheat pasta, fusilli or your favorite shape

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed and finely chopped

2 cups of skinless, shredded boneless chicken breast (make it even easier and use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken)

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon ground pepper, divided

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

5 ounces of arugula, spinach, baby kale or baby chard (or a mixture of these)

1/2 a pint of grape tomatoes

Cook pasta until al dente. Do not add any salt or oil to the water. Set aside 1/4 cup pasta liquid before draining the pasta. 

Place sliced shallot and garlic in a small bowl. Pour pasta water on top and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl combine hot pasta and Brie cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Add chicken, vinegar, shallot mixture, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and salt.

In a separate bowl, toss greens with olive oil and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add greens to pasta mixture. Add tomatoes and stir to combine. 

Serve immediately or chill. Holds up well in the refrigerator for about 3 days.

Kid Friendly Pesto Chicken Bow Tie Pasta

My Tower Garden is going gangbusters. So far this Spring, I have harvested two kinds of lettuce, two kinds of kale, some spinach and some cilantro and basil. And there's so much more goodness to come -- tomatoes (large and cherry), yellow squash, peppers, celery, cucumbers and more.

I'm practically living off the land right here in South Charlotte. Ha!

With the basil I harvested this weekend, I made one of my kids' favorite dishes -- Pesto Chicken Bow Tie Pasta. They love this dish and I love that it goes a long way in that it fills them up for a few dinners with leftovers packed in their school lunches.

I hope your kids love it,  too!

XOXO,
Amy

Kid Friendly Pesto Chicken Bow Tie Pasta
For the pesto:
1 bunch of basil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 garlic clove
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For the rest of the dish:
1 pound bow tie pasta, cooked and drained according to package directions
1 pound chicken breast or tenders, seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Put all of the pesto ingredients into food processor and blend until pine nuts are mostly smooth.

A note or two about the pesto: I really just eyeball all of the ingredients based on what I am making and the amount of basil on hand. Here is how much basil I harvested from my Tower Garden for this dish. Ideally, it would have been a bit more, but I was OK with that because this dish is going in my kids' Thermoses for their lunches for the week and they prefer the dish to be a little less "green."

You could easily double the amount of pesto you use here. You could also add more or less garlic. You could add a pinch of red pepper. You could add more olive oil if you want a runnier pesto. But be careful on the olive oil and add it bit my bit because you can quickly go from perfect pesto to an oily mess.

In large bowl, combine the cooked pasta and chicken with the pesto and the grated Parmesan cheese. Place in a baking dish that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Top with the shaved Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees until hot throughout.

Pasta & Fresh Tomato Sauce

Last week was busy. We had extra drama performances, a spring concert, baseball practices (and games) and the school play. My mother-in-law was in town, too, for a chance to cheer on her grandsons.

Despite all of this activity, I managed to cook dinner — twice. This is one of the meals I made.

In the time it takes for water to boil and pasta to cook, you can make a fresh and light tomato sauce instead of opening a jar. This recipe uses the same method as my recipe for Halibut with Tomato, Orange and Olives.

Cooking the tomatoes yourself is an easy way to dish up a healthy topping for pasta. A little lemon juice brightens up all those fresh flavors.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Pasta & Fresh Tomato Sauce

3/4 pound pasta (any shape; my son Sam picked out rigatoni)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 pints cherry or grape tomatoes (I like a mixture of red and yellow ones)
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Fill a large pot with water and 1 tablespoon oil and set over high heat until it boils.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until onion just starts to get light brown. Add tomatoes and let cook for a few minutes.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook per package directions. Place in serving bowl after draining.

Continue to cook tomatoes, stirring occasionally. They will begin to burst. You can also gently press down on the tomatoes to release their juices. Cook until all tomatoes have burst and sauce thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes total.

Add lemon juice, parsley salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine. Pour tomato sauce over pasta and gently mix to coat all of the pasta. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese or your favorite Italian cheese.

I served my pasta as a side dish with grilled baked halibut and asparagus. It makes a terrific main dish, too, along with a nice green salad.

Classic Mac 'N Cheese

You know how you have some recipes for the classics and you never need to deviate? Well, if you happen to be looking for your go-to macaroni and cheese recipe, here's mine. I started making this hearty version more than a decade ago after discovering it within my own larger family. This is my husband's stepmom Janni's go-to mac and cheese and it comes from Southern Living. It's the perfect side or can stand on its own. My kids take leftovers in their Thermoses for lunch at school.

XOXO,
Amy

Classic Mac 'N Cheese
Southern Living
One 8 ounce package elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten

Cook  macaroni noodles and drain.

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan, over low heat. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly.

Gradually add the milk. Cook over medium  heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.

Stir in salt and cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Gradually stir about a quarter of the cheese mixture into the egg and add that back to the remaining cheese mixture, stirring constantly.

Stir cheese sauce into macaroni and pour into a lightly greased baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes -- or until hot and bubbly -- in 350-degree oven. Yields 4-6 servings.

You can double  this recipe -- as I always do. Make a tray for now and freeze a pan for later. Note that if baking cold, you will need to up the baking time.

Amy's Yummy Year

This time last year, my friend Erin invited my friend Andrea and I join her on this delicious blog she created. Andrea and I bellied right up. Thank you, Erin for the creative culinary outlet. It's been a sweet year blogging with two awesome foodie friends who share the goal of putting food on the table and keeping the tradition of family dinner alive.

Here are some of my happiest Hot Dinner Happy Home moments from the past year as well as some of my favorite dishes by Andrea and Erin.

Enjoy!

XOXO,
Amy

Happiest Moments

• Cooking with my kids, including "baking"  sugar cookies with them on live TV. Check out these posts:
• Good Day Charlotte Features George Girls and Sugar Cookies
• Chocolate Madeleines
• Ginger Cookies
• Smokehouse Spaghetti

• Creating Spring on Toast with Erin while my Lucy and Penny "babysat" her Danny-boy. (Love that Erin shared this memory in her Friday post.)

• Conquering the pressure cooker. See these posts:
• Midwestern Vegetable-Beef Soup
• Pressure Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
• Pressure Cooker Potato Soup
• Shrimp Curry Under Pressure

Favorite dishes by Andrea

• Having an Italian BFF means access to recipes for classic, authentic dishes. It also means I get to know how each member of her family tweaks their own interpretations of the classics. Check  out:
• Traditional Italian Meatballs
• Sunday Gravy (Tortora family tomato sauce)
• Family Lasagna
• My favorite of Andrea's non-Italian dishes and a fantastic lighter dinner paired with a green salad: Buttermilk Spoonbread.

Favorite dishes by Erin

• Erin's Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Pork is the first HDHH dish I ever made and I chatted it up A LOT on my Facebook page. I couldn't even tell you how many friends have made that dish. Suffice to say it's a hit from coast to coast and all points in between.
• Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken is a George family go-to dinner. My younger daughter Penny requested it for her birthday dinner last month.
• I see Spiced Pecans becoming my go-to holiday party nosh. I didn't make them last year like I intended. But in 2014 my friends walked off with the few remaining nuts after the Thanksgiving feast Chez George. I don't blame them, because, after all, we call these crack nuts.

Salmon Penne in Vodka Sauce

Dinner doesn't have to be hard. There are days when I like to go all out and whip up a new dish or two and then there are days when I want to have wine for dinner, but to quote my 9- and 7-year-old daughters, "that's not appropriate." What I am saying is that sometimes I just want to get dinner on the table fast. In the end, it really is about eating together as a family.

God bless short cuts and leftovers. Several of my favorite short cuts -- or cheats, as I call them -- come from Trader Joe's. You already know some of my TJ's creations -- from my posts about Cheater Crockpot Chicken Curry and Easy Yellow Curry Shrimp Pasta. I serve those dishes over another TJ's cheat -- the microwaveable organic jasmine rice.

Salmon Penne in Vodka Sauce is another Trader Joe's dish of mine. I often make this dish for meatless Lenten Fridays, as I did last week.

I use the Trader Giotto's Organic Vodka Sauce. I've tried other brands, but this is my favorite, because it has chunks of tomatoes in it and it's not as fatty as its peers. I also get the salmon for this dish from TJ's -- the silver brite salmon found in  the freezer case.

You know what's funny? Whenever I make my Trader Joe's short-cut meals, I always envision myself scooping little tastes into white paper cups and handing them out at the sample counter.

XOXO,
Amy

Salmon Penne in Vodka Sauce

1 1/2 pounds salmon, cooked and then chipped away from skin in medium-sized hunks
2 jars (25 ounces each) of vodka sauce
1/2 to 2 pounds penne, cooked just slightly al dente and drained
Sea salt

Put salmon flesh side down in a glass dish sprayed with Pam. Cook salmon in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. It will look opaque and there will be liquid at the bottom of the pan. Cook for too long and the fish will look dried out and there will be no juice in the pan.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

When the salmon is done, use two forks to chip it away from the skin. Don't shred it. You want some nice-sized hunks of fish.

Mix together the salmon and sauce and allow to warm through for several minutes. Add penne pasta to the sauce and stir all together.

Serve salmon penne in vodka sauce, topped with sea salt to taste, alongside a green vegetable or salad.

This recipe yields a lot of salmon penne. I'm talking two dinners and several lunches for four. I like leftovers, which can be kept in the fridge for a week or frozen. My kids like to eat these leftovers in their school lunch.

If you are not into leftovers, what's wrong with you? Kidding. If you are not into leftovers, simply cut the above recipe in half.

Smokehouse Spaghetti

I'll keep this entry short. You will make this dish. You will make this dish for one reason: bacon.

Smokehouse Spaghetti is one of my favorite dishes my mom made when I was growing up. I've tweaked Mom's version ever so slightly -- mainly leaving out the can of mushrooms with juice called for in her version. Mom also uses garlic salt if she doesn't have fresh garlic around, but I always have fresh garlic on hand. Now, this baked pasta is a favorite with my kids and hubby, too.

Penny and I recently made a double batch of Smokehouse Spaghetti. I asked Penny why she likes it and her response: "Because it's like spaghetti and lasagna together."

You will make this dish. I hope you will tell me about it, too.

XOXO,
Amy

Smokehouse Spaghetti
12 ounces spaghetti
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound bacon, cut up
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Pepper
15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup shredded provolone, mozzarella or Italian blend cheese, divided
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Grated Parmesan cheese for serving, if desired

Start water for pasta to boil. Add spaghetti when water is boiling and cook until done.

In your biggest skillet, fry beef, bacon, onion and garlic together, seasoning with pepper as desired. Drain.

Stir in tomato sauce, oregano and basil into the beef  and bacon. Add a little water -- just enough to basically clean out the inside of the can of tomato sauce. (If you are making my mom's version, here is where you would add the mushrooms and juice.) Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add spaghetti, which you have drained by now, to the meat and sauce mixture. Stir to incorporate fully.

Spray with Pam the bottom and sides of a 9X13 dish. Place half of spaghetti and meat sauce mixture into dish. Top with half of each kind of cheese. Repeat layer. Bake in 375-degree oven for 25 minutes.

Smokehouse spaghetti can be frozen, so I always make two at one time. Keep in mind that once thawed you will have to up the cooking time on the previously frozen smokehouse spaghetti,  because it is not going straight from stove to oven.

Pasta with Sausage, Sage & Pumpkin

A bit before Thanksgiving, I vaguely remember hearing some news stories about a pumpkin shortage.

I live near a Libby's pumpkin packing plant and short of storming the castle, I stocked up at my local grocery store. I had visions of baking gorgeous loaves of pumpkin bread for everyone on my holiday list. Now that we've had our fill of pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread, my pantry still is full of canned pumpkin (10 cans, to be exact)  – and I'm looking for new ways to use it.

Pumpkin is especially good in savory dishes. It goes well with pork, and stands out in Pumpkin and Ricotta Pasta Bake and Pumpkin Black Bean Chili.

After staring at my pumpkin-filled pantry, hoping for a sign from the culinary Gods, I opened the freezer. A few packages of Italian sausage in there. A check of the fridge revealed a carton with a bit of remaining cream and a few bottles of white wine. Yay! So here we go.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Pasta with Sausage, Sage & Pumpkin

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage (use ground or thinly sliced links, or you can remove the meat from the casings)
4 cloves or 4 teaspoons of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons (about 6 sprigs) sage leaves, cut into thin strips
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound penne pasta, cooked al dente
Shredded or shaved parmesan cheese
Additional sage leaves, sliced

*Note: if you want to leave out the wine, replace it with chicken stock.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown. Remove sausage from skillet and let it drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Drain drippings from pan and return pan to heat.

Add 1 tablespoon oil, garlic and onion. Cook until onion is tender.  Add bay leaf, sage and wine to the skillet and cook until the wine is reduced by about half. Scrape up any browned bits in the pan while cooking. Add chicken stock and pumpkin and cook until bubbly.

Add sausage to the sauce, reduce the heat and add the cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove bay leaf.

Put pasta back into the pot you cooked it in and pour the pumpkin sauce on top. Gently stir to combine.

Place pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Generously stop with parmesan cheese and more sage leaves.

White Puttanesca Linguine

When I think of the things I never thought I'd buy at the grocery, you know what's near the top of the list? A tube of anchovy paste. Yet, I assure you that it is absolutely essential and absolutely yummy in this easy, weeknight dinner dish.

My former colleague Liz turned me onto this dish and she advised using anchovy paste over actual anchovies. This is one of her go-to dishes when she has to throw together a quick dinner after a busy day at the office. It's one of mine, too. Thanks, Liz!

XOXO,
Amy

White Puttanesca Linguine
Adapted from italianchef.com

1 pound linguine
1/4 cup (or even a little less) olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Anchovy paste
Pinch of salt
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 heaping teaspoon capers, drained of liquid
12-18 oil-cured black olives*, pitted
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping, if desired

*Oil-cured black olives can be found on some grocery stores' anti pasta bars. Whole Foods has them. But I often cannot find them at my regular grocery and so I often use the unpitted variety and just tell hubby to mind the pits. The kids don't eat the olives anyhow.

Bring pot of water to boil. Add linguine and cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.

A few minutes after you add the pasta to the pot, heat olive oil in large pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, anchovy paste (three big squirts will do), salt and red pepper. Cook until garlic starts to soften. Add capers and olives and continue cooking until garlic is lightly browned.

Drain pasta and add to pan with the sauce and combine until all the of linguine is coated with the oil. Serve immediately. Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Sriracha Pork Noodles

Move over Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Pork. Amy has a new favorite HDHH pork dish: Sriracha Pork Noodles.

I'm joking. Erin's Thai Peanut Pork became the first recipe on this blog to win over my belly. I've made it many times and passed it along to many friends, all of whom gave it rave reviews. I'd say they gave it two thumbs up but they were too busy shoveling the food in. So, if you love that dish, you are going to love Sriracha Pork Noodles.


XOXO,
Amy

Sriracha Pork Noodles
Adapted from Good Housekeeping

1 pound linguine or lo mein noodles
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sriracha (or other hot sauce)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground pork
Red pepper
Ground black pepper
11 ounces fresh spinach

Start water to boil to cook noodles according to package directions.

Mix together soy sauce, sriracha and balsamic vinegar and set aside.

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add pork and cook through, breaking up big pieces. Add a pinch of red pepper and and pinch or two of ground black pepper. When pork is cooked, add in the sauce and spinach and stir through until spinach is wilted.

Drain noodles and combine with meat, spinach and sauce.

Yum!

Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Peas

Sometimes you need to stuff your face with something delicious and creamy and carby and salty and perfect that you can have on the table in 15 minutes.

This is just the ticket.

It is a simple meal. But so, so good.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Peas
Adapted from Everyday Food
Serves: 3-4

8 ounces fettuccine
1/4 cup half & half
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
8 slices (about 4 ounces) thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into thin strips
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Salt and pepper

Cook fettuccine in salted boiling water until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve a cup of pasta cooking water then drain the pasta. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat half & half, peas, prosciutto, and nutmeg in a large skillet over medium heat until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Stir in cooked fettuccine and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Add a little bit of reserved pasta cooking water to thin the sauce and help the cheese coat the pasta. (You probably won't need the entire amount; I used about 1/4 cup.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve topped with extra Parmesan cheese.

Easy Yellow Curry Shrimp Pasta

Busy moms need secret sauces. Plain and simple. And I am here to share one of mine with you. Trader Joe's Thai Yellow Curry Sauce. I always have a bottle or two of that -- and Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce, for that matter -- in my pantry. I also always have a bag of frozen shrimp on hand, too. I snatch up a bag or two whenever they go on special at the grocery.

One day when short on time and without a fully stocked fridge and pantry, I made up this easy, yummy dish. Easy Yellow Curry Shrimp Pasta yields a ton of leftovers, which is also nice. It's now a regular go-to and a hit with my family (excluding one of the daughters, because there's always one) and my neighbors, the beneficiaries of leftovers.

XOXO,
Amy

Easy Yellow Curry Shrimp Pasta

1 medium to large onion, chopped
2 yellow squashes, diced
Olive oil
1 to 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
Red pepper flakes
16 ounce box of angel hair pasta
1 bottle of Trader Joe's Thai Yellow Curry Sauce

Heat a splash or two of olive oil over medium to medium high heat and add in the onions and yellow squash. Meanwhile, start a pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Saute veggies for two to three minutes. Add in the shrimp and a pinch or two of the red pepper flakes. Cook until shrimp is pink and opaque. This will take just three to four minutes.

Cook entire box of angel hair pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and in a large bowl or pot combine pasta with shrimp, veggies and curry sauce.

Eat. Enjoy. And don't forget to share with your neighbors.

Stovetop Veggie Macaroni & Cheese

Hungry for delicious, creamy pasta that is as healthy as it is delicious? I've got you covered.

Want dinner on the table in 20 minutes? Well, here you go.

Trying to trick your kids into eating vegetables? Have I got the meal for you!

Stovetop Veggie Macaroni & Cheese. It's the answer to all of your dinner questions. While the pasta cooks, stir together a creamy sauce rich with nutty Parmesan cheese. Frozen butternut squash puree (so easy!) adds depth and that glowing orange hue that will make your kids think it came from a blue box. Next thing you know your whole family will be begging for seconds...picky kids and meat-loving husbands included.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Stovetop Veggie Macaroni & Cheese
Adapted from Kitchen Daily and inspired by Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Serves: 6

16 ounces small pasta (I used little shells.)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups warm milk (I used 2%.)
12 ounces frozen butternut squash puree*, thawed
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

Cook pasta in salted water until al dente according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until it begins to turn light golden brown and smells a bit toasty, about 2 minutes. Very slowly whisk in warm milk until it's smooth. (Using warm milk helps prevent lumps.) Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the milk begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.

Stir in squash puree. Then stir in Parmesan cheese until it's melted and creamy. Season sauce to taste with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Stir in cooked pasta and serve immediately.

*Frozen butternut squash puree is typically sold in a little box like frozen chopped spinach. It is fantastically convenient and delicious.

Valentine's Day...Are you ready?

Public Service Announcement: Valentine's Day is this Saturday. No pressure or anything. 

The husband won't be around for Valentine's Day this year, so Danny and I will be on our own. I think I'll make my little sweetheart his favorite meal to celebrate, which means we'll be eating macaroni and cheese from a box. Just keepin' it real, people. 

But if I had to cook for someone who was interested in more than Kraft for dinner, noodles would still be prominently featured. I think it started with Lady and the Tramp. That spaghetti slurping scene was my first glimpse at romance, and it stuck. 

With that in mind, here is just a taste of some Valentine's Day inspiration. Buon appetito!

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce: Classic. Rich. Disney-approved. 

Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli: The husband's favorite. 

Three Cheese Bacon Macaroni and Cheese: Three cheeses and bacon? Just...yeah. 

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Chicken

Is it just me or is the hour leading up to dinner the most insane part of the day? This is how it looks at my house:

I paw frantically through the cupboards while I wait for a genius meal idea to dawn on me. So far, the front runners are Eggos, Lucky Charms, and ice cream. I'm leaning toward ice cream. Danny decides that although he is 2 years old, he needs to be held while I make dinner. Either I acquiesce and cook (pull out cereal bowls) one-handed or drag him around the kitchen while he hangs on my leg and howls. I pray fervently that the husband will be home early from work. (He won't be.)

Danny is tired, hungry, and cranky. The husband is tired, hungry, and cranky. I am very tired, very hungry, and very cranky.

This is not the time to slay dragons. This is the time to pull a casserole out of the fridge and pop it in the oven. Then you can snuggle with your kid while he watches Thomas the Train. Or read In Touch Weekly. Or have a glass of wine. Or all of the above.

That's why we're making Creamy Baked Pasta with Chicken. Sure it's delicious and cheesy and even healthy, but my favorite part? You can make it ahead of time.

Now about that glass of wine...

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Chicken
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven and this Bacon Mac & Cheese
Serves: 4-6

8 ounces whole wheat penne (or your favorite short pasta)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Big pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute to get rid of the raw taste. Very slowly whisk in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce thickens a bit, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in mozzarella and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Stir cooked pasta and chicken into sauce. Pour into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until pasta and cheese are golden.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

My dad tries to avoid tomatoes because they give him headaches. When I was a kid, if my dad was away for dinner, we would have spaghetti smothered with sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese that my mom would melt in the oven. It was special occasion food, and it was so, so good.

Since I grew up and married a wonderful man who also gets headaches from tomatoes, spaghetti continues to be a special occasion meal. Recently my mom came to visit without my dad. And the husband was out of town, too. So us girls got crazy...and we made spaghetti with homemade meat sauce.

It was indeed a special occasion.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman and allrecipes.com

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 pounds ground beef
Salt and pepper
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes*
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
Cooked spaghetti, for serving
Shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high. Add ground beef and cook, stirring, until browned, about 6-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove ground beef and set aside. Drain grease from the pot and return to medium-high.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty pot. Add onion and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in wine and cook, stirring, until slightly reduced, 1-2 minutes.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, Parmesan cheese rind, and reserved cooked ground beef. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to simmer about 2 hours. Remove Parmesan cheese rind and bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over spaghetti and top with plenty of Parmesan cheese.

*I bet you could use tomato sauce if you wanted to avoid any chunks of tomatoes.