Orecchiette with Sausage and Roasted Peppers

I always plan out the meals for the week.  In part, so I don't have to run to the grocery store many times a week, but MOSTLY because when Pat and I started living together, I was annoyed by the frequency in which he asked what was for dinner.  I started making a menu board that way he doesn't have to harass me about meals.

Unsure about dinner ideas for this week, Pat pulled a cookbook off of the shelf and we decided to choose several new recipes from there.  This week we are making 6 new recipes that all come from Everyday Food:  Great Food Fast from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living.  The recipe can be found online here.  I do recommend getting this cookbook because we haven't been disappointed in any of the recipes we've tried.  Here's a link to the book, on Amazon of course!

(Let's be honest, you get frequent packages from Amazon too! I know I am not alone with the addiction of Amazon Prime.)

The cookbook states it takes 40 minutes total to make this meal.  Usually, I found that in reality, it takes longer than the recipe states, especially if it's a new recipe.   To my surprise, this recipe took less than 40 minutes to make!

We began by boiling the water because pasta is always the slowest part.  Meanwhile, slice peppers into four parts and broil.  This is where we saved some time, the peppers were pretty charred after about 10 minutes, when the recipe says 18-20 minutes.    Once they're out of the oven, steam them for about 4 minutes in a plastic wrap, covered bowl.  Then remove the peels.  I had such an easy time getting the peels off of the red peppers- the yellow peppers were a different story...Finally, slice the  peppers in skinny strips.

While the peppers are charring, we began to brown the sausage.  We halved the recipe since two people shouldn't eat a pound of pasta.  Please note;  I said shouldn't, it was not a matter of whether or not we could eat a pound of pasta.  Since being pregnant, I am following Brewer's diet.  Part of this is that I am to get 80-100 grams of protein a day!  That being said, we stuck with the pound of sausage that the recipe calls for (essentially doubling the sausage).

You do not drain the fat because it becomes part of the sauce.  Once the sausage is browned, you add in the pasta, 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water, butter, peppers, Parmesan, and a dash of salt and pepper.

My thoughts?  This recipe was simple, quick, and full of flavor!  I thought that there was a good amount of sausage.  The only change I would  make would be to dice the peppers.  With the orecchiette and the sausage being small, having long strips of pepper was a little weird.  Even halving the recipe, we each ate a bowl for dinner, my mom got a small bowl to try, and we had two more servings for lunch.  A win in my book!

Other meals we are trying from Everyday Food:  Great Food Fast from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living this week are:

-Beef and Orange Stir Fry
-Shredded Beet and Carrot Salad
-Lemon-Parsley Pork Chops
-Garlic-Marinated Chicken Cutlets with Grilled Potatoes
-Steak and Onion Sandwiches