So, I love reading magazines about food. I enjoy reading new recipes. If a recipe sounds good or intrigues me, I pull it out of the magazine and put it into a binder that I have with my recipe books. This binder has clear page protectors in it and I put the recipes in the page protectors by category. So I have a protector for main dishes, side dishes, appetizers, etc. About once a month, sometimes more, I go to that binder and pull out recipes to try. I think of it as getting out of our “normal” rut and trying something different. As we eat dinner, then I ask my husband and son to rate the recipe. They get to help me decide if it is a keeper or not. Even if I don’t think it is that great, if both of them like it, then I keep it. This last week was my week of new recipe trials for January. I tried 4 new recipes, 4 nights in a row. One of the recipes was just for a different topping for baked potatoes. Out of the 4 recipes, 3 were keepers. I thought I would share one on my little blog today and will share another one in a couple days. So here is the first new recipe:
Penne and Smoked Sausage
Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked penne or medium tube pasta
1 pound smoked sausage or fully cooked kielbasa, cut into ¼ inch slices
1 ½ cups milk
1 can (10 ¾ oz) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 ½ cups cheddar French-fried onions, divided
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup frozen peas
Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown sausage over medium heat for 5 minutes; drain. In a large bowl, combine milk and soup. Stir in ½ cup onion, ½ cup cheese, peas and sausage. Drain pasta; stir into sausage mixture.
Transfer to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Cover and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining onions and cheese. Bake, uncovered, 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
6 servings
This would be an easy dinner to make and put into 2 square casserole dishes. Then you could either probably freeze one, or maybe give it to a friend or neighbor as a surprise dinner.
I served this dish with some glazed carrots and fruit. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Jodi
