Getting creative with cheesy pasta
Sometimes you don't want to bother making something from scratch, especially when it’s just you and one other person eating the meal. That’s okay though all of us have busy lives to lead, and who has time for homemade cheese sauce anyways? I certainly don’t, so one of my favorite easy weeknight meals is Four Cheese Penne courtesy of the brand Annies. I don’t just stop there though, I add my little touch, giving it a homemade taste without the need for measuring. I’ve made this for a few people including my boyfriend and roommate, each of them appears to love it so I’m sure you will too! I have included seasoning measurements if you’re into that, otherwise seasoned to taste is fine.
Ingredients
- 1 Box of Annies Four Cheese Penne
- Butter
- Milk
- A pound of Kielbasa sliced or diced
- 1 Diced tomato (canned is fine just drain first)
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne
- Anything else your heart desires
- ¼ Teaspoon of Slap Your Mama seasoning (optional)
Let’s Get Cooking
If desired, brown the kielbasa in a non-stick skillet, for that extra homemade feel. Follow instructions for pasta and cheese, and set the stovetop to low. Immediately mix in meat, tomato, and seasonings. I like to sprinkle on my seasonings using the eye-ball unit of measurement (my favorite method). I cover the pasta with a layer of paprika, and add just dashes of cayenne and/or Slap Your Mama depending on my boldness level that day. Stir everything together, turn off the stove, enjoy.
Tips and Tricks
- Waiting for noodles to boil can get kinda boring, try listening to music or a comedy podcast to pass the time. Make sure to keep an eye on the pot, though, unwatched pots like to boil over, trust me.
- Don’t be afraid to change the recipe to fit your tastes, if you want to add some shredded cheese or use ground beef instead of kielbasa, go for it, I won’t judge.
- Save enough milk to drink in case you go a little too bold with the seasonings or accidentally use the wrong side of the cap. Not that I’ve ever done that.
I liked the heading, especially the "little effort" part to it. That is what made me click on yours. The bulleted Tips and Tricks was a great addition. You could have easily numbered the directions as a list, it would have been easier to read. Well, I didn't read the directions because it looked like too much. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteGabrielle, I enjoyed your title and how there is little effort into the recipe. Those are my kinds of recipes. I enjoyed your list of ingredients as it was easy to follow. The actual cooking portion of the recipe could've possibly been split up and separated by each instruction instead of just having one paragraph of it. I enjoyed how you placed tips and tricks into the recipe. Your post has some humor in it. Nice work overall.
ReplyDelete