With a personal goal to try new things and push the limits of my cooking, I found a fun inspiration. It seems that Ancient Fire Wines and I have something in common; neither one of us are big pasta eaters. Now that’s not to say we don’t like pasta; we just couldn’t eat it every day. Ancient Fire Wines wrote a blog called Light & Easy Pasta Bake, and it looked wonderful. Now, I didn’t have all the ingredients in the house to make Jason’s pasta dish so I started scheming my own. It is such a fun thing to be able to take a risk and try something new, especially with cooking. You know the flavors you like and usually have a general idea of what tastes good together. That’s when the magic happens: trying combinations you have never tried before and coming up with something tremendous.

Now, just like Jason’s, my wife loves, loves, loves pasta! It’s very funny to read his blog and find these commonalities. It’s also fun to note that every once in awhile we like to make our wives happy and cook a little pasta. This dish is, according to my personal critic (my wife), one of the best pasta dishes I have made to date. Her exact words were, “You can make this any time!” And you  know, when momma is happy, we’re all happy. It’s a simple dish I threw together with random ingredients, and then we devoured. I am learning a great lesson in cooking. You have to take the things that are not your favorite ingredients (in this case, pasta) and find a way to make them their own. I am not a fan of red tomato-based sauces (I prefer cream white sauces). Also, I am a carnivore by heart, so almost any dish that is loaded with meat, I can take it a long way. When you try this dish be prepared for an amazing delight.

Italian Sausage & Linguini

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 Box Pasta, uncooked

1 Small Onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Italian Sausage Links, casing removed

1 Cup Button Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 Cup Olives, chopped

1 1/2 Teaspoons Italian Dressing Seasoning Blend (I used Good Seasons brand)

1 Cup Half & Half

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 Green Onion, diced

3 Slices Tomato, diced

Directions

1. Cook linguini to directions on the box.
2. In a large skillet, saute onions in butter until lightly opaque on medium-high heat.
3. Crumble sausage and cook until no longer pink (about 5 to 7 minutes).
4. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 more minute.
5. Stir in olives, Italian dressing mix, and half & half.
6. Bring to a boil; then simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.
7. Add tomatoes and mix in right before serving (you don’t want to cook them, just warm them up)
8. Serve and garnish with green onions and Parmesan.
9. Enjoy!

Lately, I have been putting in a lot of time with all the work I do and have not cooked as much as I like. On my way home after yet another long day, I called my beautiful wife to ask if she wouldn’t mind whipping something together for dinner. The conversation played out as it always does: I say, “Can you make dinner?” To which she replies,  “What do you want me to make?” I say, “Whatever you want.” And then she says what she always says,  “I don’t know what I want.” What’s funny is that we have that same conversation any time we go out to eat. To be fair, it’s true that my wife doesn’t cook often; however, whenever she does, it always comes out wonderful and yet it’s usually a type of fare I tend to stay away from. Given free reign, she will most likely make some sort of pasta dish since I don’t cook pasta often and because she loves it. Last night she did a brilliant job of putting together a wonderful, hearty meal, and here it is for your pleasure.

Simple Linguini & Meatballs

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Bag Italian-Style Meatballs

1 Jar Home-made Tomato Sauce or Store-Bought Equivalent

1 Tsp Oregano

1 Tsp Onion Powder

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 Pound Fresh Mushrooms

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 package Linquini Pasta

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to directions on package (ensure that you salt the water); when pasta is done, transfer to a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
2. In a large skillet over medium high heat cook the meatballs according to package directions (Usually about 8 to 10 minutes).
3. Add jar of tomato sauce to meatballs.
4. Spice it up with oregano, onion powder, garlic powder and salt & pepper.
5. Serve over cooked pasta and with garlic bread.
6. Enjoy!

Last night’s dinner was a fun escapade for me. I am not the biggest pasta eater; however, pasta is one of my wife’s favorite things. That girl could eat pasta and seafood for every meal of the day. I dabble with cooking pasta every now and again to keep the sanity in our marriage, but I really have to step out of my comfort zone to make a dish that we can both enjoy. I am notorious for eating the toppings of a dish and leaving a majority of the pasta on the plate. It’s funny that I like cream sauces, and I like some red sauces, but I just can’t get into the combination of the sauces and pasta. If anyone has a pasta dish they think I could eat, let me know.; I’d love to have the recipe. Now, antipasto? I love that! Give me a plate of meat and a few veggies and I’m in. . . .

So back to last night’s dinner. . . .  For me to eat pasta, I have to give it a Manly Housewife twist. Put something in the pasta to really set the dish off. I didn’t feel like making sauce, so I needed something that would carry as much flavor as a sauce but be a lot less heavy. My answer: Italian sausage, and it worked great. The flavor really carried the dish, and I ate most of my pasta.

Italian Sausage & Pasta

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Italian Sausage Links

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Dash of Red Pepper (optional)

1 Clove Garlic, minced

½ Small Yellow Onion

¼ Red Bell Pepper

¼ Yellow Bell Pepper

¼ Orange Bell Pepper

2 Green Onions

1 Bunch Linguini Pasta

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook linguini to package directions, and drain (for two people I usually use about ¼ of the contents).
2. Remove the casings from the Italian sausage and discard.
3. Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil to a large frying pan, and heat to medium-high heat.
4. Add Italian sausage and with a wooden spoon began to break it down to small pieces.
5. Cook sausage until almost brown; then and add garlic and red pepper and stir for 3 minutes.
6. While sausage is cooking, chop peppers and yellow onion into long strips; add to pan with sausage, and cook until seared well.
7. Add pasta to pan and stir to combine.
8. Top with finely chopped green onions