Penne Alla Vodka

Who doesn't love Penne Alla Vodka?  It's the best of both worlds.  It's like a tomato based and cream based sauce got married and then had a wild honeymoon with some vodka.  I mean, hello?!?!  So yummy!!  I like to add red pepper flakes to mine, being a spicy Texan and all, but you could most certainly leave those out if you'd like.  It's a pretty straight forward recipe, super easy and pretty fast.  On this one I again used a brown rice penne, for a gluten free meal, but a regular pasta would be great as well.

Penne Alla Vodka:
4-6 servings


1lb penne pasta
1/4c. extra virgin olive oil
2/3c. vodka
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 med., onion, chopped fine
1/4-1tsp red pepper flakes
1c. heavy whipping cream
1c. tomato sauce
3/4c. parmigiano reggiano cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and liberally salt for the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions and reserve 1/2c of the pasta water when done. Meanwhile while the pasta is cooking,  heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the onion and garlic and cook until tender, stirring often for about 5 minutes.  Add in the vodka (stand back and don't breathe in and don't ask how I know that. Lol.) Stir and cook down for about 4 minutes to cook some of the alcohol out.  Stir in your tomato sauce, cream and red pepper flakes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and reduce heat and simmer, stirring often until the pasta is cooked.   You are free to leave it as is or if you prefer a smoother sauce you could use an immersion blender to puree.  I just leave it as is. When the pasta is done cooking add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to combine, add in your parmigiano reggiano cheese and toss again.  Add in a little of the reserved pasta water if pasta is too dry.  Serve in bowls with extra cheese and red pepper flakes if desired.

Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Orange

I got this recipe from the May edition of Bon Appétit.  It sounds like a weird combo doesn't it? Prosciutto and Orange with pasta??  I thought so too!  But I like weird, or as I like to say different.  So I gave it a try back in May and absolutely loved it, and have been making it at least once a month since then!  So I figured I would share it with y'all so you could try it as well.  It is super fast and easy to make.  I will post the recipe the way I did it.  I changed it up a bit.  It calls for fresh tagliatelle or fettuccine, so that could make it really fast if you can find that.  I however chose to use brown rice fettuccine (14oz.) for a gluten free meal.  I also pretty much doubled the rest of the ingredients.  So here is my version.  If you'd like to see the original just go to Epicurious and search tagliatelle with prosciutto and orange.  I hope will give this a try!!

Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Orange:
4 good size portions


12-14oz fettuccine or tagliatelle pasta (fresh if you can find it)
4T butter
3.5oz-4oz prosciutto, cut into bite size pieces
2 oranges, zested and juiced
1c. heavy whipping cream
1/2c. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste(optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season well with salt.  Add in your pasta and cook according to the package directions.  Stop cooking one minute before al dente.  Drain and reserve 1/2c. of the pasta water.

While your pasta cooks, heat a skillet & melt your butter over medium heat and add in your prosciutto.  Stir until the prosciutto is crisp and brown about 3-5 minutes.

Add in the orange juice, cream, half the zest and reserved pasta water.  Bring to a slight boil and then add in your pasta.  Stirring to incorporate and coat the fettuccine just for a minute or so.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes if desired.  Stir in the cheese and remaining zest and serve.

Italian Sausage, Kale and Potato Soup

Well it's December and it has been cloudy and cold.  Shocking, I know.  So what is better on a cold, cloudy day than a bowl of hot, steamy soup?  Yeah, nothing.... Lol.  This is a soup I adapted from a recipe I found online and have been making for a few years now and it is very hearty and actually pretty healthy. You can make it even healthier by substituting chicken or turkey sausage for the Italian sausage.


Italian Sausage, Kale and Potato Soup:
6 Very Large Servings or 8 Normal Ones

1T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1lb Italian Sausage, casings removed and cut into bite size pieces
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped
2 bunches of kale, rinsed, stemmed and torn or cut into bite size pieces
1T paprika
1tsp dried basil
1tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
8c Chicken stock
2 bay leaves
6c potatoes, peeled and cubed ( more or less depending on how chunky you like your soup)
red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper (to taste)

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven, add the chopped onion and cook until soft, about 8-9 minutes.  Add in your garlic and stir for another minute.  Put the red bell pepper and the sausage in and cook, stirring often until the sausage starts to brown, about another 5 minutes.  To the mixture add in the paprika, red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary, stirring for one minute. Add in the chicken stock and potatoes.  Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add in the chopped kale, stirring until it is wilted down.  Bring the pot back to a boil and then reduce to simmer again for 10 minutes just until the kale is tender.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.