Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Pasta Primavera Ala Beverly

This meal is brought to you by the real cook at Almost Heaven South, my adorable wife and soul mate, Bev.  I don't think this dish is really pasta primavera and it's probably more accurate to call it baked pasta topped with vegetables but I like the name.  We had a partial jar of marinara and some leftover vodka sauce from our ravioli meal, and some veggies that she wanted to stir fry and she turned it into a delicious meal. 

1 1/2 jars sauce - mix of the two
1 lb shaped pasta - penne rigate for this meal
1 lb Italian sausage, sliced and fried
1/2 lb Ricotta cheese
1 cup or so of shreaded mozzarella cheese

She cooked the penne pasta at dente, and made a baked dish as follows:

Mix the sauces together and then toss with the pasta and sausage.

Add half the pasta mix to a greased 9"x9" dish, spread the ricotta over the pasta, and add the remaining pasta. 
Cover and bake at 375* for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

Remove foil cover, top with cheese, and bake until cheese is melted.

While it was baking, she sautéed some broccoli, peppers, grape tomatoes, zucchini, and olives in olive oil and when all was done she plated the pasta then topped with the veggies and some grated parmesan.

I thought it was outstanding and would never have thought of adding veggies to a baked pasta dish, but will from now on.  A while back, we began using Dreamfields pasta and really like it - it has less digestable carbs than regular pasta.

I usually don’t have a fire unless the temperature is in the 40’s, but daughter, Wende, came down and it was dreary and wintery looking outside so I built an evening one.  There was a brief period when it was almost the perfect looking fire.  I should have opened the screen, but forgot.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.


Two years ago:  Welcome To Our Pet World

Larry

13 comments:

  1. I love pasta primavera - Bev's sounds DE-licious! If I could eat that sitting next to the fire it would be pretty close to heaven!! :)

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  2. That bowl of pasta and veggies looks fabulous, no matter what you call it. I think I've seen that brand of pasta at the store, I'll have to pay more attention to it. Is it whole wheat?
    Right now I'm buying whole wheat spaghetti at Costco and feeling somewhat better about my pasta problem. :)

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  3. I love baked pastas, and I really don't make them nearly enough.

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  4. The hearth is welcoming and the pasta soul satisfying. It must have been a perfect evening. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  5. Larry, I would have really enjoyed that baked pasta dish with the parmesan but without the other toppings...broccoli and grape tomatoes on the side. I liked the reduced carbs idea and I always like penne pasta as it's easier to handle and I'm less likely to get some sauce on my shirt! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  6. It was definitely a lovely evening. The pasta dish was delicious! And you know I'd have a fire going 24-7-365 if I could. :) I'm glad I got to share the evening with you guys. I won't be doing that for a while, though. While I was gone, I managed to contract something. At first we thought it was the flu because Lorie was tested positive for it Monday before I left. Turns out that my immune system has once again conquered the flu but succumbed to some other nefarious virus. Probably...

    THE COMMON COLD!

    I slept for 18 hours. That seems to have helped. Anyhow, love you! Talk to you later!

    -Wende-

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  7. Hi, Sorry I haven't been around this week. We have bee traveling and taking more photos... Hope you are having a great week.

    Great Pasta... Looks delicious. I'm sure that Wende enjoyed it too.

    Betsy

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  8. If you want the correct name for this dish I think you should use 'Delicious'.

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  9. Pasta and veggies are great combination. Bev did an awesome job.

    Velva

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  10. The tow of you make a wonderful combination in the kitchen ~ just like this recipe :)

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  11. I love Italian dishes and that looks so good! And of course I'm hungry now! lol

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  12. I love vegetables in my pasta dishes too. At this point, pasta without vegetables just plain seems naked to me! Have a great night!

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  13. We really haven't had many fire opportunities this year, have we? I love the smell and sounds of a crackling fire.

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