Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli  
Olive Garden Copycat
http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/olive-garden-pasta-e-fagioli-recipe.html

1 lb. ground beef (I used Italian sausages to keep things interesting)
1 c. onion, diced
1 c. carrot, julienned
1 c. celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans (I used black beans I had cooked and frozen previously)
1 can white beans (I cooked these from dry as well, soaking them with a sprig of rosemary to add flavor, a tip I read in a Williams-Sonoma version of Pasta e fagioli)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
12 oz. tomato juice (I used low sodium)
1 TBLS white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 lb. ditali pasta (I used macaroni since I had a huge bag of it on hand)

Instructions:

1.  Brown the meat in a large pot over medium heat.  Drain off most of the fat.

2.  Add onion, celery, carrot & garlic and saute for 10 min.

3.  Add everything else except the pasta and simmer for 1 hour.  (Throughout the process I added homemade chicken stock as was needed.  The recipe as is makes a VERY thick stew.  I think I added about 2 cups or more per batch.)

4.  About 50 min. into the simmering, cook the pasta to al dente, and then add it to the big pot for the last five minutes!

Rigatoni with Sausage, Squash, and Tomato

Feb 3

Rigatoni with Sausage, Pumpkin, and Tomato Sauce (Rachael Ray)

Serves 6

salt and pepper
1 lb. rigatoni
1 cup chicken stock
generous pinch of saffron (20-24 threads)
2 tbls. EVOO
1 lb. sweet or hot sausage (I used sweet since I'm not a fan of spicy foods)
1 lb. pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into small dice (I used half butternut, half squash for variety but  won't do that again because the pumpkin cooked faster than the butternut so it's a bit mushy - sorry about that!)
1 onion chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I used minced)
1 fresno chile pepper, thinly sliced, or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper (I used 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper instead, because I didn't want it to be spicy - I figured people who like spice could always add spice, but you can't take spice out!)
1 can (28-32 oz) san marzano tomatoes (I only used half a can per recipe, because it seemed like a lot of tomatoes!)

grated pecorino-romano, served at the table

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
• While the pasta is working, in a small saucepan, heat the stock and saffron.  Keep warm.
• In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat.  Crumble in the sausage and cook until browned.  Add the pumpkin (or squash), onion, garlic, and chile;  season with salt and pepper.  Partially cover and cook for 7 minutes.  Stir in the saffron stock and tomatoes.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced, 15 minutes.
• Add the pasta and reserved cooking water to the sauce and toss.  Serve in bowls and top with the cheese.

For the freezer meals:  I have never frozen this before, but a website I looked at had a very similar meal listed as a successful freezer meal, so I'm hoping it works!  I tried to cook the noodles a bit less than it called for because I've heard they can get a bit soggy - so I am hoping the noodles hold up!  Everything is cooked, so the meal will only need to be reheated.  You can either pop it in the oven and bake it, or drop it in a pan on the stove.  Enjoy! 

Freezer Meal Recipes: Homemade Lasagna

http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/freezer-meal-recipes-homemade-lasagna/

Ingredients

• 24 pieces lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 pound sausage
• 2 jars (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce (I like Prego)
• 32 ounces ricotta cheese
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese Cheese Coupons
• 1 Cup Water
• 4 eggs
• 4 teaspoons oregano
• 4 teaspoons basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

This recipes is for two 13x9 pans of Lasagna.

Heat oven to 350°F.

Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat.

Mix 2-1/2 cups mozzarella, ricotta cheese, spices and egg until well blended; set aside.

Drain meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add 1 cup water to empty sauce jar; cover with lid and shake well. Add to meat mixture; stir until well blended. Spread 1 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup meat sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and cheeses. Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 1 lasagna right away for 1 hour or until heated through, removing foil after 45 min. Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve. Serve that night.

Cover the second lasagna with plastic wrap and then foil and put in your freezer. To prepare after freezing let thaw and cook for 1 hour or cook from frozen for 1.5 - 2 hours.

TIP: We added extra water to the sauce so we would not have to cook the noodles and the extra water would allow them to cook while baking. My picture shows pre-coooked noodles because I forgot about this tip the day I made these.

I made some substitutions.  I used turkey Italian sausage as well as beef, but not a full 3 lbs for a single recipe (I tripled).  Instead, I probably had about 1 part beef to 1 part turkey sausage to 1 part random veggies that I had in my fridge...what did I put in there?  I don't remember...chard, leeks, maybe some zuchinni?  I can't remember.  Pregnant brain.   I also did half mozzarella and half parmesan. Enjoy!!