Italian Sausage Pasta Casserole

I'm not exactly sure where the first week of December went, but here we are on the 9th with no posts yet! Everything is fine around here, but all the preparations for the holidays take time. I remember that my Mom used to complain that every year it seemed to take longer to do the things that went faster the previous year. Not just holiday prep, but most things. Grocery shopping takes longer, laundry seems to take longer (although that might be because the washing machine and dryer are over thirty years old and so are the pipes...the cold water in particular seems to dribble into the machine. I suspect the pipes are filled up with minerals so less water gets through). Even cooking and baking seem to take longer, so I guess I haven't started as many baking sessions and only a minimum of cooking.

Anyway, time flies by and it's dinner time. What to make? Well, there are a couple of cooked turkey Italian sausages in the fridge, and it doesn't take long to boil water for pasta, nor to make a simple white sauce, nor to crisp up some bread crumbs in melted margarine. Put all that together and you have a cozy casserole, perfect for a chilly, damp night.

The white sauce recipe comes from a classic cook book; the Joy of Cooking. For the pasta I found a half pound of multi-color twisty pasta. Since this casserole only serves 2-3, you don't need any more pasta than that. I served the casserole with steamed green beans and Sweetie was very happy. Hope you will be too, if you try this recipe out. The pasta and sauce are fairly bland, but the sausage lifts the flavors and the crunch of the topping adds texture so that the whole is delightful.

Italian Sausage Pasta Casserole
Serves 2-3 (Double the recipe to serve 4-6)

For the Pasta: 1/2 pound rotini (I used multi-colored, but plain is fine, too)
salt (optional)

For the White Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter (I used margarine), melted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used soy milk)
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

For the Bread Crumbs
2 tablespoons butter (I used margarine), melted
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

2 Italian sausages, cooked, and sliced in 1/4-inch slices

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt if desired. Once the water is boiling, stir in the pasta and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked al dente. Drain pasta and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, make the white sauce: In a medium sauce pan, combine the melted butter and the flour. Cook, over low heat, stirring 3-4 minutes, until well blended and flour has had a chance to cook off the raw taste without browning. Slowly stir in the milk and simmer and stir the sauce with a wire Whisk until it has thickened and is smooth and hot. Whisk in the ricotta cheese until smooth again. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce to keep a skin from forming.

In a small non-stick skillet, combine the melted butter and the bread crumbs. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until the crumbs are slightly browned and a bit crispy. Don't allow to burn.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a casserole dish. In the pot that the pasta was cooked in, combine the drained pasta, the white sauce and the slices of Italian sausage. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, use the back of a spoon to level the filling, then evenly top with the prepared bread crumb mixture. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the crumbs become golden brown. Serve at once while still hot.

Heavy on the Parmesan

Sweetie returned home from playing racquetball with a sore knee. I suspect that the injury he did last spring weakened the ligaments on that knee so that it is easier to re-injure it. Fortunately he didn't tough it out and keep playing, so once he had taken a shower it was better and then I was able to massage the knee, leg and ankle to help it feel better. He is still going to go easy on it for a few days but at least he isn't limping now.

Unexpected massage sessions like that can throw off the dinner plans a bit so I threw together a baked pasta dish instead of the slow braised dish I was going to make. He liked it so well that he asked me to make sure I wrote it down so that I can make it again. I must admit, it turned out well for a recipe that was made up on the spot. It contains leftover roast chicken, some broccoli and green peas, red and yellow peppers, carrots, green onions, whole grain penne pasta, herbs and a sauce with lots and lots of Parmesan cheese. It would be a fine dish without the Parmesan, but that full flavored cheese takes it to memorable.

Although there is 1/4 cup of fat between the olive oil and the margarine, it serves 4 generously, so that comes out to 1 tablespoon per person. I used non-fat evaporated milk and chicken broth for the liquid and thickened the sauce with all-purpose flour. I think the part I like the best was the mix of vegetables both for taste and because the mix of green, red, orange and yellow was lovely to look at.

You could serve this right from the pot instead of baking it but I find that the contrast between the creamy sauce and the chewy baked cheese is really nice.
Don't save this one for a time when you have less time than you thought to make the meal. It really will be appreciated even if you never twist your knee.



Baked Pasta with Chicken and Parmesan

1/2 lb penne pasta (I used whole wheat penne)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
2 green onions, sliced, white part only

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup non-fat evaporated milk
1 cup chicken broth
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cups cubed or chopped cooked chicken
1 cup broccoli florettes
1/2 cup peas (I used frozen peas)
2- 3 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the penne, stir, and boil until al dente', about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking prepare the sauce: In a saucepan heat the olive oil and butter or margarine over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, carrots and green onions and cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the veggies from the oil, keeping as much oil as possible in the pot. Set the veggies aside.

Sprinkle the flour over the oil and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Cook, stirring once or twice, over medium-high heat for 1 minutes to cook the flour a bit.
In a bowl, while the flour is cooking in the pot, stir together the milk and broth. Season with the pepper. With a whisk at hand, pour all of the liquid into the flour mixture and immediately whisk to combine thoroughly. Continue to stir with the whisk while the liquid thickens. Mixture will begin to bubble slightly once it has thickened. Add the 1/2 cup Parmesan and whisk to combine. Stir in the bell pepper/onion/carrot mixture to combine. Taste for seasonings and add more pepper or herbs if needed. With all that Parmesan it is unlikely you will need more salt.

Place plastic wrap directly on the top of the sauce. Set aside.

Heat the broccoli, peas and chicken in the microwave 1 minute, just to warm them.

In the pot you used to cook the pasta mix the penne, chicken, broccoli, peas and sauce. Stir with the wooden spoon to thoroughly combine. If not baking the dish you can serve it now.

If baking it, spread the mixture in a 9 x 13-inch shallow pan and sprinkle with the 2-3 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 15 minutes with the shelf being toward the top of the oven. If the cheese doesn't brown at all by then, use the broiler briefly to brown some of the cheese. Serve at once.
Serves 4 - 6.

Harvest

When we first moved to our part of northern California, we tried out being exhibitors at the local county fair. Both kids won some ribbons for craft entries and I eventually won at the fall Harvest Fair for an over the top Victorian gingerbread house. Although the kids loved the summer fair with its fun carnival rides and contests and lots of animals and fair food, Sweetie and I have always been fond to the Harvest Fair which has more of a focus on local products and local wines. There are still lots of crafts and cute animals and fair food but the crowds are smaller and the pace is more relaxed.

This year I was lucky enough to do something I've wanted to do for a long time...work the Harvest Fair. Although the long days and challenging cash register set-up were tiring, I had a great time. The people I worked with were old hands at doing the wine sales (yes, that's where I ended up...ringing up wine sales! Isn't that a hoot?) and they were generous with their knowledge and welcoming as co-workers. I felt very fortunate to have such a positive work experience and to meet them. When there were slow times we were able to chat a bit. Each one was a stellar human being and interesting, too. I hope I see them again....maybe next year I'll work the fair again.

Speaking of harvest, we have been harvesting lots of tomatoes. Due to the cool and rainy spring and early summer everything is late, but there is something very special about being inside on a cool, rainy October evening and eating ripe heirloom tomatoes

that were only picked a day or two before. That wonderful fresh tomato fragrance is still strong, the slices are juicy and succulent, especially with a sprinkle of good olive oil, another sprinkle of aged balsamic vinegar, and a dash of garlic salt and fresh pepper.

It's hard to beat and makes the waiting worthwhile.

Some of the plum type tomatoes were cooked and the skins and seeds removed to make a fresh tomato sauce. Although I neglected to take a photo (thought I had, but the memory is not as reliable as it once was), I can assure you that the baked pasta dish I made using that sauce was excellent. I'll share the recipe at the end of the post.

The other harvest that is going on right now is of seeds. I have let some of the French thin green beans go to seed and the seed pod to dry out.

Before the rains came this week I was able to bring in the dry pods and remove the beans...I felt a little like Jack in the fairy tale

...those few beans will sit in the freezer until about March, then I'll plant them for the spring and summer harvest of fresh, delicious tender green beans. This kind of bean produces all at once (over about a week and a half), so I do succession plantings to keep the beans coming so having a lot of beans (seeds) is a good thing.

I also harvested some sweet pea and morning glory seeds to plant early next spring. I've tried planting them now but the snails usually munch them right up during the winter. Come spring I have no seed and no seedlings. If I can figure out how, I'll also collect tomato seeds and dry them, then freeze them for next years' seedlings.

Sorry about the lack of photos, but I'm sure you've baked a penne pasta casserole before...and that's what it looked like. The flavors went really well together. Besides, who can hate melty cheese?

Spinach Chicken Pasta Bake with Three Cheeses

1/2 lb (dry) penne, cooked according to package directions and drained. (I used whole grain penne but any kind will do...you could use another type of pasta, too, if no penne is in your pantry)
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
5 oz (half a box) frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups tomato sauce, fresh if possible
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry basil
salt and pepper to taste
three sticks string cheese (or about a cup grated mozzarella cheese)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Set aside.

In the pot that the penne was cooked in, mix together the cooked chicken, frozen spinach, tomato sauce, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, oregano, basil and salt and pepper. Add the cooked and drained penne and stir to combine. Put this mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Cut the string cheese into coins and place evenly over the pasta mixture (or scatter the grated mozzarella evenly over the casserole.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 -50 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted on top.
Serve while hot. A salad and some crusty bread is a nice addition to this dish.

Serves 6 -8.