Hearty Christmas Pasta

My dad and I created this recipe together when I was home for a few days leading up to Christmas. I call it Christmas pasta because it is red and green. It is very filling and delicious, and has some unexpected ingredients that most people (myself included) don't tend to think of as going with pasta (such as the carrots), but worked very well. This could be made healthier by using lean ground beef and turkey sausage, but since it includes so many veggies already it isn't too bad. Since we made this up by tasting as we went along, I am going to try my best to recall this exactly how we did it, but I didn't take any exact measurements so keep that in mind.



Hearty Christmas Pasta
A Kelsey and Jeff original

1 box farfalle pasta, cooked
1/2 lb. ground beef
2 links italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 - 1 whole onion, chopped
3-4 cloves minced garlic1 1/2 green peppers, in a large dice
2 handfuls baby carrots
4-5 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste and 1 can of water
2 teaspoons Dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
Handful fresh basil leaves
Handful cherry tomato halves

Brown ground beef and sausage in a large skillet. Remove from pan and add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes then add the green peppers, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes or so until starting to soften, then add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and seasonings. Add browned meat back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is reduced to the consistency you want. Make sure to taste the sauce as you go and adjust seasonings. Remove from heat, stir in basil and cherry tomatoes, and serve over the farfalle.

Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage and Arugula

I have been a really bad blogger! I have been so busy the past couple weeks I haven't even had time to unload my pictures off my camera, so I apologize for the lack of updating!

On to the food- the only thing I have to say about this is that it was delicious! I ate it for lunch for the next two days and it was just as good as the first time.

Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage-Tomato Sauce, Arugula, and Parmesan
Source: Bon Appetit Magazine, June 2008 via Pachey's Treats

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 pounds fresh hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes in juice

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes with added puree

8 ounces rigatoni

2 cups (packed) fresh arugula, stemmed

1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (I used dried)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I omitted)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion; saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add sausage; cook until browned, breaking up with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Drain drippings. Add wine, diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes; increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Stir pasta, arugula, basil and oregano into tomato sauce. Simmer until arugula wilts, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

I didn't get a good picture of this before we ate, so this is actually my leftovers the next day... oops! I guess that is something I need to work on, because I have made several dishes over the last few weeks and totally forgotten to take photos. And what fun is a blog post with no photos!