Most of the recipes I make come from Pinterest or blogs I find online. I like to read what others say about the recipe, how they made it better and what they would change next time. I haven’t been cooking for long, so I need all the help I can get.
I didn’t start cooking until last year. Sure, I had made the occasional pasta dish here and there or a dip for a Steelers party, but I hated being in the kitchen. I still remember the first time I cooked for Dave. I made spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs tasted like balls of clay. He ate them, which was so incredibly sweet. To say I was a bit traumatized by the whole thing is an understatement. I have yet to attempt making meatballs again.
I am known among my friends for hosting Fauxgiving, an annual Thanksgiving dinner that has become my favorite holiday with friends. Sounds like a lot of work, right? Not if you get your husband to make the turkey and stick everyone else with the sides. Not many people can get away with hosting a dinner party and not actually cooking.
Tonight’s dinner was something new. I was at the grocery store the other day and forgot to pull a list together, so I decided to pick a recipe on the side of a pasta box. I went with Mezze Penne, which basically looked like smaller penne noodles. I love Brussels sprouts and lighter pasta dishes with oil-based sauce. The recipe was simple. As you can see, you cook the sprouts and pasta. Once the sprouts are thoroughly cooked, you brown them in a skillet with sage. I didn’t have sage, but after a quick search online, I found you could substitute poultry seasoning. Oh, the joys of the Internet! After the sprouts are brown, you add in the tomatoes until tender and then mix everything together.
This dish calls for parmesan cheese on top, but when the meal was close to being done, I decided that was not enough cheese. You will learn that I eat A LOT of cheese. I found ricotta in the fridge and stirred in about a cup. The result was perfect. I also added meatballs (frozen, of course) because a meal without meat is basically a sin to Dave. I served it with garlic bread and VOILA! a simple 30-minute meal.
