There is a wonderful little place to eat in Indianapolis called Piada. It is Italian street food. Not the Italian food that is heavily laden with that awful red sauce which every dish on the menu is immersed in. This is healthy stuff. Delicious to the eyes and the palate. And every time I am in the area I go out of my way to eat there. I was in Indy over the weekend with a few friends and I literally begged all the way hoping that my friends would try it. They gave in and we enjoyed a wonderful meal, especially me.
It would be expensive to drive nearly two hours for a pasta fix on a frequent basis. So, I decided to try and make my own version of what I ate. Trust me, this is very simple and why I didn't do this a long time ago is beyond me.
Ingredients:
1 lb angel hair pasta, cooked according to the directions on the box
2-3 chopped tomatoes, I used Roma or use sun dried tomatoes
1-2 tsp Italian blend seasoning or to taste. Mrs. Dash Italian Medley is my favorite
1/4 to 1/2 cup of spinach leaves or greens of your choice. You can use a salad mix also (which is what I did)
Pancetta, (Italian bacon) Optional
1 jar of Alfredo sauce or a sauce that you like on pasta
1 package of meat balls or 1 lb of cooked chicken or a meat of your choice or no meat at all
Prepare the meat of your choice and set aside. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Heat the Alfredo sauce until it is nice and hot. Place the pasta in a bowl, toss with the sauce, tomatoes, meat, and greens. Serve immediately.
- You can toss the pasta in olive oil with salt\pepper to taste if you want to save calories.
- Look around the pasta isle at the store and experiment. There are hot sauces called Diavolo (devil) if you like a bit of a kick.
- add corn, cucumber, olives, cheese, garbanzo beans, etc.
Have you ever wanted something filling, hearty and quick to eat? I do all of the time. When one works a lot a hours, there is very little time to cook lavish meals during the week. I like to cook meals in one or two pots so that there is very little clean up at the end.
I like Italian sausage and you can use it in more things than on top of a pizza. It goes very well with pasta. I used rotini in this dish, but you can use any pasta that you like. Then I added zucchini, yellow squash, and chopped tomatoes. It was delicious.
Ingredients:
1 lb of Italian sausage, or ground beef, lamb, turkey, or chicken
1 lb rotini, or your choice of pasta, cooked according to package directions
1 onion, sliced thinly
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small tomatoes, skinned and chopped fine
2 small zucchini, sliced thinly
2 small yellow squash, sliced thinly
2 TBS vegetable oil
2-3 TBS butter or ghee
1 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
salt/pepper to taste
1 bouillon cube, optional
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of Italian cheese, I use the Italian cheese mix in a bag from the grocer
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Place a non stick pan on med-high heat. Cook sausage until the meat is brown. Remove from the skillet and place in a bowl, then set aside. Next, add oil, butter, sliced onions, spices, bouillon cube, tomatoes, and saute until golden. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two. Thirdly, add the sliced Zucchini and yellow squash. Cook until tender. I like to brown my vegetables a bit on both sides. Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking add the sausage to the pot, then add the Parmesan & Italian cheese. In a large pot mix the pasta and vegetables together. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Cooks Note: You can use canned tomatoes in place of fresh tomatoes if you want the dish to have more sauce.
I am a big fan of butternut squash and Italian sausage. When I saw Nick Stellino make this recipe one night on tv, I decided that I needed to try this. I am so glad that I did. I did substitute hot Italian sausage for the mild. Yes, I am a wuss. Here is my adaptation of it.
Ingredients:
3 TBS olive oil
1 pound of Italian sausage, hot or mild
1 onion chopped
5 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
1 TBS chopped basil
1 TBS chopped fresh sage
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or red chili powder
1 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups of butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 1/2 cups of chicken stock, or 2 bouillon cubs with 2 1/2 cups of water
salt to taste
1 pound of sea shell pasta, penne rigate, or rigatoni, cooked according to the package directions
6 TBS Parmesan cheese
2 TBS butter, softened
In a large skillet, add 1 tbs of the olive oil, when it is hot add the sausage and cook over medium heat until brown. Break the sausage up into small pieces. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
Next, add 2 tbs of olive oil, when the pan is hot, add the onion, garlic, basil and sage. Cook until the onion and garlic begins to brown. If you are adding the red pepper flakes, this is when you add it.
Once the onion mix is brown, add the sausage back to the pan. Mix the ingredients well. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring well to loosen the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Then add the squash and cook for 2 minutes, stirring well. After that, add the chicken stock, bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat to allow the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes. About 5 minutes before the sauce is done add the butter and the Parmesan or you can add it to the pasta after you pour the sauce over the top.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and put it back into the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss well. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Well, I need lunch for tomorrow. So, therefore, I must cook something. Some days it is harder to cook than others. When one gets off work at 5pm and doesn't get home until six, then it is a race to get something half way decent to eat in your tummy. I have a green pepper that is about ready to turn bad. There is some cream that's about to expire too. So, what can one do with cream and green peppers you ask? Well, add some farfalle pasta and make something that is nearly Mexican with those items. I have a packet of Taco Seasoning in the cubbard, Italian sausage and sweet corn in the freezer, and a can of red beans. Hmm sounds like a meal to me. Let's get started.
Ingredients:
1 lb farfalle box ties cooked according to package directions
1 lb sweet Italian sausage or ground beef, chicken or turkey
1 green peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup sweet corn, I used frozen
1/2 cup of red or black beans
salt/pepper to taste
1-1 oz package of taco seasoning or you can use chili powder
1 tbs oil
2/3 cup of water
Cook the farfalle according to the package directions, leave in the hot water until you are ready to assemble the dish. In a large skillet, place the ground meat on medium to high heat. Crumble the meat into small pieces. Cook through. Pour the meat into a bowl or large plate. In the same skillet add the oil, when hot, add the diced onion and green pepper. Saute until the vegetables are tender. Then add the corn and beans. Add salt\pepper to taste. Saute for about 5 minutes and then add the meat and mix thoroughly. Add the taco seasoning and water, mix well. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the water has been nearly absorbed. Will the meat and vegetable mixture is simmering, prepare the sauce.
For the sauce:
2 tbs butter
2 tbs all purpose flour
1 cup of heavy cream or milk
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 tsp cumin (optional)
In a small sauce pan add the butter and place on medium heat. Once the butter has melted add the flour. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Then add the milk while stirring constantly. Add salt\pepper and cumin. Lastly, add the Parmesan cheese. Stir well.
Drain the pasta and put back into the same pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well. Next, add the meat and vegetable mixture to the pot and mix well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
For Thanksgiving, I made a meatless version of this recipe. I really enjoyed it and thought that I could make a one dish meal by adding some sort of meat. I chose Italian sausage because it is mild and thought that it would go great with the rest of ingredients. This is so good. I am sure that you will want to make it often. I plan to.
Ingredients:
1- 1lb box of farfalle (bowtie pasta)
1 lb sweet or mild Italian sausage (optional)
3 tbs olive oil
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, split in half
1 onion finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves minced
salt/pepper to taste
4 cups of fresh spinach or 2 cups of frozen that has been chopped
1- 6 oz jar of marinated artichokes or 1 cup frozen and chopped
For the Sauce:
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 oz of cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 tbs prepared pesto (optional)
Boil water and cook the farfalle according to the directions on the box. Once done, keep the pasta in the hot water until the rest of the dish is nearly done, but the heat has been turned off.
In a large, deep saute pan on medium to high heat add the sausage. Cook until the meat is cooked through. Break up any large pieces with a spoon. If you decide to use meat, such as sausage, then omit the 3 tbs of olive oil. Push the meat to the outer edges of the pan and put the onion and garlic in the middle. Saute until the onion is translucent. Then add the artichokes and spinach. Continue to cook until the vegetables are tender. Lastly, add the tomatoes and toss.
In a sauce pan on medium heat add the butter. Once the butter has melted add the flour. Stir quickly and then slowly add the milk. Use a whisk, it will help with the lumps. Once all of the milk is in the pan, add the cream cheese and grated Parmesan. Stir frequently to keep from burning. Add salt/pepper to taste.
Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Next add the cream sauce and toss well. Finally, add the meat and vegetables and toss together well. Adjust seasonings. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Cooks Note: I didn't use pesto in this recipe. You can use light cream cheese instead.
