Creamy Tortellini Pasta

I made this pasta while my husband had his Fantasy Football draft last night.  During this two hour process, he yelled, cheered, asked my opinion on who to draft and didn't take anything I said into consideration.  For about 2.5 seconds he took a break and scarfed down this pasta.  I asked him what I should name it and he said "awesome."  Helpful.  

So, take it from the football obsessed (yay, it's that time of year again, right?) Mr. Schwartz, this pasta is "awesome."  

 Start by chopping up a few shallots.  If you aren't super fancy like me (ha right--I had these from the farmer's market at work), just use a 1/2 of a small onion.

 Melt some butter in a large skillet.

 Add in the shallots/onion

 Chop up some garlic, add that too.  Let this cook for about 2 minutes.

 Chop up some prosciutto.

 Add that to the pan.  Let this brown a bit for about 2-3 minutes.

 Get yo pasta out.  I used two different kinds and it was perfection.

 Boil up some water, add pasta.  Cook as directed--mine took 2.5 minutes.

 Browned.

 Add some cream.

 Grated parmesan cheese

 Tomato paste.  Ahhh I love tomato paste in a tube!!!! Ps. It's only $1 at Trader Joe's!

 Black pepper--don't mind my chipped nail.  Yeah, I know it's SHELLAC and didn't last a week. It's tough being a girl.

 Salt

 Tons of frozen peas.  Ah, I love peas.  Mr. Schwartz doesn't--too bad, he was too busy Fantasy Footballing to give his input :)

 Add the pasta back into the pan

 Toss.

 Ta-da!

It really is awesome.

Creamy Tortellini Pasta 

2 tablespoons butter
3 large shallots or 1/2 small onion
3 large cloves of garlic
2/3 cup proscuitto
2 10 oz packages refrigerated tortellini pasta
1 1/2 cups cream (you could sub some half and half instead)
1 generous cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups (give or take, I like a lot of peas) frozen peas

In a large skillet melt the butter on medium heat.  Add the chopped shallots and garlic.  Let this cook for about 2 minutes.  After two minutes add the prosciutto and let this cook for about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the water and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Add the cream, cheese, salt and pepper, tomato paste and peas to the large skillet.  Let this bubble and warm through.  Add the pasta to the large skillet and toss to coat.

Serve in a big bowl and enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Creamy Pasta with Parmesan Italian Chicken Sausage

A little while ago I was contacted my Gold'n Plump and asked if they could send me a few samples of their new chicken sausages.  I said, "nah, that's okay, I hate free stuff."  Umm, just kidding.  I said hells yeah, send it over!  Or something like that.  

Last night I tried the Parmesan Italian Chicken Sausage and I have to say it is pretty stinking amazing.  It has tons of flavor without being overly spicy--kid friendly for those of you with little ones in the house.  My nieces would have loved this pasta or "noooodles" as they call it.  This really is a great weeknight meal since it came together in a matter of minutes as well.  

Be on the lookout as I'm going to be using a few other of their sausages in posts to come.  I'm looking forward to it since the sausage added so much to this dish.  

Here's the goods. I had these in the freezer to keep them fresh then defrosted them slowly in the microwave.  As you can see, they have less fat than traditional sausages and have no added hormones.  I heart Gold'n Plump

Okay, to work on the sausage, you will need to take the casing off.  Simply slice through the casing with a sharp knife and pull out the meat.  I rephrased that about 10 times and that's the only way I could word it.  Laugh all you want.

Pop the sausages into a large skillet.  I added a bit of canola oil because I wasn't sure if they would stick or not.  They didn't need the oil so you can skip that.

Brown the meat like you would ground beef.  Yeah, I know blurry picture, bear with me while I get used to my new camera. : )

Once the sausage is fully cooked, take it out and place it on a paper towel lined plate.

Dice up 1/2 of a red pepper (you will use it later) I actually did this while the meat was cooking--I'm a woman, I multitask. Hear me roar.

Add 1/2 an onion to the pan.

Let it cook up a bit then toss in 4 cloves of garlic.  Cook for about 2 minutes--be sure not to burn the garlic.

Toss in the red pepper and let it cook another minute or so.  I like the taste of fresh red pepper so I didn't cook the heck out of it.

Add some cream.  It is what I had on hand but I'm sure half and half or even fat free half and half would be just fine.

Bring it to a bubble.

Add some grated parmesan cheese.  Yes, I used the stuff in the green can--don't judge.

Let it bubble to thicken a bit.

Through the magic of the blog, noodle appear fully cooked.  Add them to the sauce.

Toss in the chicken sausage

Frozen peas.  No, you do not have to cook these before adding them, they cook in the sauce.

Stir it up and that's it!

Perfect weeknight pasta.

Top with additional parmesan cheese and a bit of parsley to fancy it up a bit. You know me + parm + parsley = love.

Come to Momma.

**Please note that Gold'n Plump gave me free samples (thank you) but the opinions are all my own, you can't by my love, baby**

Creamy Pasta with Chicken Sausage


1 package Gold'n Plump Parmesan Italian Chicken Sausages
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 cups cream or half and half
1 1/2 cups (or so) parmesan cheese + additional for garnish
1 lb penne pasta (or variety of your choice)
1 cup frozen peas
Parsley for garnish (optional)

Start by taking the casing off of the sausage, cut a long slit in the casing and pull out the meat.  Add this to a large skillet and cook as you would ground beef.  Once the sausage is fully cooked, remove from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate.

**This is a good time to start boiling water for pasta**

Add the onion to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes.  After 3 minutes, add the garlic.  Cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Add the red pepper to the pan and cook for about a minute.

Add the cream to the skillet and bring to a slight bubble on medium heat.  Don't boil this.  Add the cheese once it comes to a bubble.  Stir and bring back to a slight bubble and let it thicken.

Add the cooked pasta, sausage and peas to the pan.  Toss to coat in the sauce.

To serve, plate the pasta and top with additional parmesan cheese and parsley.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Are you sick of sweets?  Well, I am...well not really.  I know the holidays are packed with running around, tons of sweets and not  a lot of time to do things like--make a decent dinner.  So, I am here to save the day.  This dish is fast, easy and packs a punch.  It comes together in minutes and it breaks up the sweets you have been not to secretly sneaking.  Added plus, it reheats beautifully so not only will you have a great dinner but a great lunch to bring to work. I'm speaking from experience here! 

Now, I must continue before my computer crashes again.  I should be getting our new 'uter in the mail on Tuesday (yay!).  

Enjoy!!! 

Musical Selection:  Play On by Carrie Underwood. Fantastic jam. I have been in one cheesy mood lately--must be this holiday spirit stuff. 

Chop up 1/2 a medium onion and a whole pepper. We had a random yellow pepper on hand so, Mr. Schwartz came with the chopping assist.

Generously dust butterflied chicken breasts and cook until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from the pan when it is finished cooking.

Add the peppers and onions into the pan....cook for about two minutes on medium high.

Then add some minced garlic.

Look at those brown edges. Perfection.

Add some peas if you are into that. I'm tooootaly into that.

Next add some half and half or...heavy cream.

Give it a stir and add a bunch of cajun seasoning.  Seriously, I kept adding, and adding, and adding until it was the correct amount.  Just keep tasting it and remember that the flavor will continue to develop. Season with salt too.

Then add some parmesan cheese.

Toss in the cooked pasta.

Add the chicken to the pasta to heat up again.

Don't forget to add the juices that are left on the plate. They.are.awesome.

Plate it in a big bowl and be sure to add additional parmesan cheese.  It's totally cool to use a "citrus tool" to grate cheese. I'm just sayin'.

There it is. Merry Early Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, you could totally put red peppers in this dish and it could be Christmas pasta.  Wow, that's a good idea.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

3/4 lb pasta (linguine, spaghetti, penne, the pasta world is your oyster)

3 chicken breasts, butterflied and seasoned with cajun chicken seasoning

1/2 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 pepper (any color will do), sliced

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

2 cups half and half or heavy cream

1 1/2 tablespoons cajun seasoning (plus additional if you like it hot)

1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese plus additional for topping

Season chicken with cajun seasoning.  Drizzle olive oil in a medium frying pan, preheat on medium to medium high, add chicken and cook until no longer pink in the middle.  Take out of the pan and set aside.

Start to cook the pasta until el dente. 

Add the sliced onion and pepper.  Turn to medium high and cook for two minutes.  Add minced garlic. Cook for three additional minutes stirring fairly constantly so the garlic doesn't burn.  Add the peas.

Add the half and half/cream, parmesan cheese and pasta.  Remember to add the drippings from the chicken from the plate.  

To serve, plate the pasta, place the chicken on top and sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz