I feel very blessed that I love to cook. It’s a necessity in life; no way around it so enjoying it just makes life more pleasurable for me. Apparently being experimental with food is hardwired in me because I venture beyond the mundane entrees that rotated routinely on our dinner table when I was a child. I was determined to fix something different than the usual fare; thus my love of cooking as born.
Being a frugal sort dictated the ongoing search for ways to feed my family ‘food for all the senses’ on a budget. Anyone can put together an elaborate dinner when money is no object, it takes skill and creativity to do the same for us regular folks that stretch our food budget till it’s thin enough to read through. Today’s recipe is one for our bunch. It is versatile, an inexpensive dish that is colorful, quick to prepare and leans toward the healthy side of the road (depending on your choices). It makes a complete meal in one pan. What more can you ask of one dish?
Originally, I made this dish with vermicelli, you know those yellow boxes in the pasta isle that are about as cheap as it gets. I have moved on to whole wheat angel hair pasta that I break up into small pieces. Both are tasty, both quick...your choice. I made this dish for my sister-in-love, Ann, and her husband, Bob. Ann warned me Bob would not eat it so not to be offended. Bob not only ate it, he had seconds! So, when I think of making this now, in my head I call it Pasta Bob…which is a nickname for Pasta Bob Will Actually Eat!
Pasta Bob with Sausage
2 boxes Vermicelli OR 1/2 box (16 oz) whole wheat Angel Hair pasta broken into 2” pieces
1 pkg of turkey link sausage OR link sausage of your choice sliced diagonally in ¼-1/2” pieces
1 can Ro-tel or generic tomatoes with chilies – heat level of preference
½ onion sliced
¼ lb (appx) of asparagus cut into 1 in pieces or broccoli flowerets
1 small can sliced black olives (optional)
2 tbl Olive oil only if using turkey sausage, none if using regular sausage
Bring water to boil for pasta. Meanwhile, sauté onions & sausage in skillet. Drop pasta into water when rolling boil. Only takes a few minutes, do not leave the room! When pasta is almost done, drain. Add asparagus (or broccoli) to onion & sausage mixture at end of cooking time; do not want veggies mushy! Add pasta, can of Ro-tel and black olives (if using). Mix together over heat for only a couple of minutes.
Our choices determine the healthiness of our food even more than our budget. Right now fresh asparagus is on sale for $1.50 at Wal-Mart. Using ¼ of it for this dish leaves me with the rest for other dishes. I use 2 stalks for a morning omelet, so I get veggies to start my day. Two carrots can go far. One large bell pepper stuffed with brown rice & veggies can feed two people…even my people! You can pack a lot of nutrition into quick meals with just a little planning and some judicious shopping; repeat after me: color, texture, nutrition, budget!
