Pasta with peas, sausage, and ricotta

i feel pretty much horrible that i haven't cooked dinner in about a week. but i guess that's what happens when you get busy. i thought i would make it up to myself tonight by trying a new recipe. i was watching "everyday italian" last week and saw a really tasty looking dish with peas and italian sausage. i went straight to the website and saved the recipe. the outcome was just ok. it seemed a little bit bland to me, but it may have just needed salt. i get scared of over salting things. oh well. i gave it a go! take note: the amounts called for in the recipe make A LOT of pasta, so you may want to cut it down and play it by ear.

1 lb fettucine, spaghetti, ect (a long skinny pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped (i used minced from the jar)
1 lb italian sausage (remove casings)
1 lb frozen peas, defrosted
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese (in this instance, it's not ok to substitute with cottage cheese)
basil and salt to taste


bring a large pot of water to boil for your pasta. don't forget to salt the water! cook pasta until tender but still firm. drain the pasta, but keep about 2 cups of the pasta water.

while pasta is cooking, heat olive oil and garlic in a LARGE skillet. add sausage and brown while breaking it up into pieces like ground beef. remove the sausage once it's browned, and add the peas to the pan. smoosh up some of the peas with a wooden spoon. i actually used a ladle for this and it worked really well. turn off the heat.



by this time, your pasta should be done. add the ricotta to the skillet with the peas, and then add the pasta as well. if the pasta is really dry and stuck together, ladle in some of the reserved pasta water. add sausage, basil, and salt, and toss to coat. this can be a bit tough in a skillet. i used tongs and it seemed to work out ok. you should serve this immediately while it's still hot. top with parmesan cheese!

Oatmeal Banana Bread

i love to bake. granted, it sometimes brings disastrous results, but who doesn't love some baked goods?

i also love cereal. and i love me some bananas in my cereal too! but when the weather started turning colder, i started eating less cereal for breakfast, and therefore less bananas. for some reason, i kept buying bananas, and then they just turned too brown for my taste. well, when life hands you brown bananas, make banana bread!

every few weeks this winter, i've made a loaf of this oatmeal banana bread. i love anything with oatmeal, and this is a good way to add a little more fiber to your normal loaf of banana-y goodness. my version doesn't incorporate nuts, but feel free to add walnuts or pecans for a "good fat". you could even throw in a few flax seeds for some omega-3s; you'll never even notice them.


1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (not a butter spread)
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (i use 3)
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs

crumb topping:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons quick oats
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar

preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9"x 5" loaf pan. combine baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, oats, and brown sugar until blended. cut in the butter until you form coarse crumbs. i use a fork for this, but you could use two knives, one of those pastry butter-cutter-inner thingies, or even your hands. once butter is cut in, stir in bananas, milk, vanilla, and eggs until every thing is just moistened. pour into your loaf pan.


crumb topping:
combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and butter, again cutting in the butter to form the "crumbs" of the topping. if you like more of a glaze type topping, i also found out (by mistake) that you can pop these ingredients in the microwave until the butter melts and it will become more of a liquid. either way, top your batter with the mixture.

bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until knife comes out clean. the reason i say knife is that this bread will rise considerably and if you stick a toothpick in there, it will barely reach the middle of the loaf. use a very thin knife, like a filet knife and you'll be able to make sure it's done through the middle.

run a knife loosely around the edges, remove from pan, and cool on cooling rack.

enjoy!

Creamy potato soup with cheese

it snowed in georgia!

the other night i needed a hearty and warm meal to go along with the first snow of the year. i decided to do a creamy potato soup, and nick wanted it to be cheesy so he could add some bacon and make himself a baked potato soup.

i love making any type of soup, but especially potato based. they're creamy and filling, and you can add so many things to change them up.

this is a very simple recipe. so simple and versatile that i don't use a recipe. i'm going to give some approximate amounts, and they can be adjusted, depending on how much soup you'd like to make. i like to make extra and take it to work the next day or add some milk and reheat it on the stove for dinner the next night.

Creamy Potato Soup (with cheese)

-about 4 cups of your favorite potato, peeled and cubed

-one small onion, chopped

-chicken or vegetable stock, enough to cover the potatoes (you can also use chicken base and add water. if you don't like the idea of using stock or don't have it available, you can use water and just pump up your spices.)

-2 teaspoons black pepper

-1 teaspoon minced garlic

-half a stick of butter

-about 4 tablespoons all purpose flour

-milk to add to roux, and to thin out soup

-1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded chedder cheese


start by putting the cubed potatoes into a large soup pot. add enough stock or water to reach about an inch above the potatoes. add your pepper, onions, and garlic. bring to a boil.

cook your potatoes until they are easily broken with a fork. bring heat down to low. at this point, if you do not own a stick blender, use a potato masher to mash your potatoes. you can do this to suit your taste. some people like a smooth soup, others a chunky soup. if you do own a stick blender, don't mash your potatoes yet.

in a saucier, melt butter until simmering. whisk in flour a bit at a time, making sure to avoid lumps. when flour starts to smell a bit nutty, start adding milk. you will need to whisk pretty quickly to avoid lumps here. add enough milk to make a creamy roux that resembles pancake batter.

add your roux to the pot of potatoes. stir and bring back to a simmer. at this point, you will want to add some milk to your soup. add as much or as little as you want, depending on how thick you like your soup.

now, if you own a stick blender and you like your soup creamy, blend your soup to your liking. this also helps if your roux got a bit lumpy, you can smooth it out.

taste your soup. you may need to add salt or extra pepper. take the pot off the heat until it is no longer bubbling. stir in the cheese until incorporated. put back on heat on low to keep warm.

you can serve this soup with whatever toppings you like! bacon bits, green onions, sour cream, croutons, or your favorite bread. i baked up some flaky biscuits to dip in our soup!

so that's it for my first recipe post. next up: oatmeal banana bread!

Welcome!

today is my very first post! this blog will be dedicated to my crazy cooking escapades. these will include successes and failures.

a little about myself. i'm a twenty-something living in atlanta. i live with my boyfriend and my 3 adorable cats. i do most of the cooking in the house, but i learned a lot of it from the bf. his current job prevents him from having any time to do cooking, so by defualt, i have learned to be a pretty good amateur chef!

i absolutely love trying new things and experimenting with food. also, i love taking pictures of food so will definitely have proof of my work posted as well. i would appreciate comments of any kind. i learn by taking in as many different points of view on recipes as i possibly can, so feel free to give suggestions!

thank you for stopping by and i hope to hear from you soon!

casi