Tomato Basil Rigatoni

This is so yummy, it is a must have! Just something my mom used to make!

1/2 Cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes (about a handful)
1 Box rigatoni pasta
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup tomato-basil flavored cream cheese (such as Philadelphia, it doesn't have to be flavored but its yummy)
4 ounces (4-6 slices) Provolone cheese, chopped
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 Tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp water
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves cut into strips
Ground pepper
pinch of salt
Shredded Parmesan cheese

~heat a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling, carefully scoop out 1 cup and pour over sun dried tomatoes in a small heatproof bowl.let stand 5 minutes
~Meanwhile, cook Rigatoni as per package directions 14 minutes and drain
~While pasta is cooking, heat milk over med. heat until bubbly, Remove from heat and whisk in cream cheese, provolone and mozzarella until melted ( it will be a little stringy) Stir in cornstarch water and return pan to heat. Bring to a simmer and stir until smooth.
~Drain and finely chopped sun dried Tomatoes stir into pasta along with cheese sauce and basil. Top with a little ground pepper, a pinch of salt and Parmesan.

This is a delightful version of a mac ans cheese but for grown ups. I love it.

Sausage Skillet

This is one of my favorites and the best part is you can totally play around with it. I don't measure much so measurements are not exact but estimated. ENJOY!
This recipes makes just enough for 4 adults

1 Kielbasa sausage ring cooked (any kind of sausage works this is just my favorite)
1 Yellow Squash
1 Zuchini
1 Red bell pepper (any color fine I just like the color variation)
1 white or yellow onion chopped
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped
2 Medium sized  tomatoes Diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut up sausage into bite size pieces and throw into a sauté pan and brown, Dice up all the veggies, throw in the pan all the veggies and the onions and garlic and sauté away! Add pepper and salt to tast you wont need much as the sausage and veggies give it lots of flavor. Let it continue to saute for about 5 minutes and then add the tomatoes and heat through. The colors that are in this dish are such so awesome it is just so beautiful! :-)

Viola!  Serve over rice!

Hope you enjoy this recipe
The first time I made it I was very suprised as to how good it came out
I just put in a pan a bunch of stuff I had in my veggie drawer, to this day this is one of our favorite dinners, Hope you like it as well!
Have a great day and Don't forget to have fun in the Kitchen!

What I'm about

Do you ever feel like you just dont have time to make a homecooked dinner, because you have a busy job, or you have kids or you are just too tired to be in the kitchen for an hour after you come home, or you just don't know what to do to make a good dinner with the stuff you have? Well that was me for nearly half of my marriage about 4.5 years. I was not a great cook when I first got married, mostly because I didn't know what I was doing, my mom never taught me, but I loved to cook ! Ha imagine that someone who loved to cook but couldn't really, what an oxy moron huh?
Well the more the years went by with time after time having to order in because my meal turned bad, I actually started getting the hang of it. I started not having fear about what I was doing but just having fun! I got comfortable with food and you know what? My cooking got better and better, my husband raves to all our friends about how awesome my meals are and the funny thing they are all mostly created by me.
So my blog is here to encourage anyone who has ever felt the way I have. If anyone is reading this I hope and pray that you get something from it. I will share my recipes and hope they work for you too. I make homemade meals almost every night and it usually doesn't take longer than 35 minutes!
So lets get cooking! And remember to have some fun with the food you are working with!