what's for dinner wednesday :: penne and sausage skillet supper

I have a love affair with the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  And with Cook's Illustrated - the magazine put out by the same folks.  I kid you not, every recipe I've made from them is delicious and fairly easy.  They have a whole section on skillet meals - which I love!  They come together quickly, only require one pan and everyone loves them!

I've only made this one a few times and I need to remember to work it into our regular rotation.  A lot of the ingredients are things I usually have on hand, or are easily kept in the pantry or freezer.  

I hope you try it!

Penne and Sausage Skillet Supper

                                           ~ATK Family Cookbook
servings:Serve 4-6
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes
total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion , chopped fine
table salt
3 cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press
1 pound hot or sweet Italian turkey sausage
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes , rinsed and chopped fine
1/2 pound penne pasta (2 1/2 cups)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
6 ounces baby spinach
ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sausage, and tomatoes and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

2. Sprinkle the penne evenly over the sausage. Pour the broth and milk over the pasta. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time, and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

what's for dinner wednesday :: lemon filled cupcakes

It's not a secret that I love to cook. I think it stems mostly from the fact that I like to eat good food! I also like the fact that it's somewhat of a creative process so even if I'm not getting any sewing/crafting/decorating in, I can always be creative in the kitchen! 

I also like the idea of themed posts - so by no means am I turning into a food-blogger but I am going to start posting food posts on Wednesdays! A bunch of us on instagram have been tagging our dinner prep posts #itswhatsfordinner and it's a fun and inspiring hashtag to follow when looking for dinner ideas! I won't always share dinner recipes on what's for dinner wednesdays - but any kind of recipe! I just like the alliteration effect - hahaha! So first up will be these delicious cupcakes that I made the other day! 

I had leftover lemon curd from the wedding cake I made for my sister-in-law's wedding and needed some birthday treats for a girl in my class at church. You can find my lemon curd recipe in this post - it's delicious and good on so many things! (think crepes, crumpets, english muffins, toast, a spoon - and there's an idea for little tartes in that post too.) 

So here's how I filled them! I cut out a little cone shaped hole in the middle of each cupcake and set the middles aside (lining them up so I could match them back up with their corresponding cup). I also cut the pointy part off so there was just a thin, flat top for covering the filling. 

I then used my little cookie scoop (think mini ice cream scoop) and dropped a dollop of lemon curd in the hole - not quite reaching the top. 

Next, I put the tops back on trying to line them back up so they sat flush and not leaking out any filling.

  

And of course frosting on top! I started in the middle of the cake to kind of secure the edges of the top. They were delicious and I neglected to take any photos of them being eaten. Think hostess filled cupcakes 1,000,000 times better!

You can use any kind of cake mix and frosting. However, I do recommend a white or vanilla cake to pair with lemon filling - lemon cake mixes overshadow the awesomeness of the filling!

Here's what I used:
Duncan Hines white cake (substitue milk for water - makes for a bit denser moister cake)
Canned cream cheese frosting (I know! the horror! I could have made my own but I didn't have time)
1 recipe Lemon Curd

I hope you make these - or at least try the lemon curd - it's so easy and delicious!!

What are you cooking or baking today?

New Year's News - it is that time of year, right?

Well hello there friends! Remember me?  I used to blog more regularly around here.  Like 2 years ago! And I used to sew quite a bit. And generally do a lot more things that have gone to the wayside with the demands of family, military, and school life!  I actually have been doing some things, just not sitting down to blog about them.  Mostly I annoy everyone over on instagram (@amylouwhosews) with the minutia of my daily life.

But you know what? I miss blogging! I miss connecting on blogs. I miss being motivated by readers comments!  I'm not even sure if people really comment that much on blogs anymore. Do they? I know I haven't.  The quick ease of a comment on a photo on IG has spoiled me rotten! Typing on my phone or iPad is just too much! (Oh brother - #firstworldproblems) (and see that hashtag?! Totally evidence of my IG addiction.)

Anyway, we did move. I love my new house! I wish I could just get it organized! And then keep it that way! And clean!  My life since Thanksgiving was absolutely crazy!  We ended this fun spell last week with the wedding of my darling sister-in-law (whose bouquet was absolutely AMAZING!)

(Looks like flickr has changed a bit too in my absence)

I just want to tell you I have a list a mile long of things I'd like to show you.  Quilts I've finished, clothing I've made, and generally just start sharing here again.  I'd love it if you'd join me! and the conversation! Comments are motivation as lame as that sounds - but then at least I know I'm not just talking to myself!  

See you soon!  What are you working on this year?