Who doesn't love a man in the kitchen?

So I confess Tyler actually made this meal 2 weeks ago but I've been dragging my feet about posting it. I'm not really busy...just trying to keep my mind off of food as much as I can, lol. I'm still eating and cooking though, just nothing terribly exciting. We are making 2 kinds of chili tonight, I'll share those recipes later!

We were at the City Market over Labor Day weekend and bought some fresh produce and some unique pasta at a booth that sold Pappardelle's Pasta. It took us FOREVER to decide which pasta to buy but we eventually settled on Tunisian Harissa Fettucine and Tyler was kind enough to offer to make the meal (with each pasta there is a recommended recipe that they give you). It took him 3 hours. Yeah. 3 hours. He is a bit meticulous in the kitchen, so I don't really think that's the average cooking time for this dish. Roasting the peppers was a lengthy process and since it was his first time he had to stop and look at the directions a lot. After 3 hours of cooking we ate dinner around 9 P.M.

It's a different kind of dish for me because I'm used to pasta with some kind of sauce on it. This has no sauce because the pasta itself is flavored and the meat and peppers provide the rest of the flavor. Very tasty, and perhaps a healthy-ish meal (if you use low fat sausage). Not a Core recipe though, but could be made into one with whole wheat pasta and some lean meat. We may try roasting peppers again now that we know what we're doing! We'd also be interested in buying more pasta from Pappardelle's. They had so many delicious looking flavored pastas, and I think they would make great gifts! You can even order online, something to think about as the holidays slowly creep closer.




Tunisian Harissa Pasta with Sausage, Peppers & Tomatoes

1 lb. Pappardelle’s Tunisian Harissa Pasta
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
10 oz. sweet Italian sausage, skinned/crumbled
1 each: roasted red, green and yellow peppers, peeled and cut into long strips (we followed the Food network directions found here)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until lightly golden, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, season to taste with salt and pepper, cover skillet with lid slightly ajar, reduce heat to low and simmer until the liquid evaporates, about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Another popular recipe

I know everyone and their mom has made this orzo recipe by now (at least in my small food blogging circle) but I always come in late in the game :) Tyler offered to make dinner tonight but we ended up cooking together so we could eat sooner. We make a pretty good team most of the time! He prepared the chicken (parmesan dijon chicken, one of our faves) and I whipped up the orzo and the green beans. Both of which I oversalted, whoops. Still yummy though, just needed a big glass of water to wash it down!



Orzo with Parmesan and Basil (original recipe from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter\
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.
2. Stir in chicken stock and bring to boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15 - 20 minutes.
3. Mix in Parmesan cheese and basil. Season with salt (go easy, especially if you didn't use low sodium chicken broth) and pepper. Transfer to shallow bowl. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Update #2

I'm gonna keep going with the updates today! Here is my second ode to Amber and her delicious recipes! I know this has been getting raves from many food bloggers. It is absolutely rave worthy! Check out the original recipe here, I'm posting it with my changes.



Spicy Garlic Lime Pasta (Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth
1.5 tbls lime juice
1 tbls corn starch
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried parsley
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1 tbls butter
Few drizzles of olive oil
8 oz pasta (I used Barilla Plus penne)
1-2 cups broccoli florets (I used frozen broccoli florets, thawed them before cooking them)
Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:
1) Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. During the last 5 minutes of pasta cook time add the broccoli into the boiling water. Drain.
2) Mix together all the sauce ingredients (chicken broth through parsley) and set aside.
3) Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add bite size chicken pieces into heated pan. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Pour the sauce ingredients into the pan with the chicken and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.
4) Toss cooked broccoli and pasta with the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.