New Meal Monday: Sausage with Peppers and Pasta

It has been my hope for awhile now to try at least one new recipe every week.  When I plan our meals for the following week (usually the previous Friday or Saturday), I try to use up what we might have in the pantry or fridge and integrate that into the meals as best I can.  Wasting food has been a particular point of issue for me - I absolutely despise throwing away large quantities of any food because it has gone to waste.  This was a huge issue for us last year, as we were learning to be married and to cook for two, but we have slowly but surely learned to use what we have at our disposal and be creative in order to avoid food going to waste!  No doubt it has been one of the most intriguing lessons we've learned in managing our finances since getting married.  

Enter this week's new meal: Sausage with Peppers and Pasta from the Kraft website.  We had about half a pound of kielbasa sausage just sitting in the fridge, waiting to be eaten (and likely to be tossed once it was too old to use).  We also had a few halves of red and green peppers to be used, so this recipe was perfect and allowed us to clear out a bit of our fridge.  The prep for this meal was exceedingly fast and super easy - and I'm happy to report that it has made our permanent dinner rotation because of its quickness!  

Without further ado, behold the finished product:  

Sausage with peppers and pasta
(Original recipe from Kraft foods, with a couple of additions by me)

What you'll need:

.5 pound of kielbasa sausage (or Italian sausage), cut into medallions
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 green pepper, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups rigatoni pasta
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
Crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside into a bowl or pot.  Drizzle with oil (I use grapeseed) to keep them from sticking. 
2. Cook the kielbasa in a large frying pan with a drizzle of oil until slightly browned.  Add the peppers, onion, and garlic and stir until slightly tender, about 5-6 minutes.  

3. Add the can of diced tomatoes and heat thoroughly, about 2 minutes. 
4. Add to the drained pasta; then add the mozzarella cheese and stir.  Season with crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings to taste. 

Enjoy!  It would be great with garlic bread, or a salad, or both. 

Yield: about 4-6 servings
Prep time: ~10 minutes
Total time: ~25-30 minutes
Estimated price per serving (4): $1.83

And thus starts a (hopeful) new trend for this blog: New Meal Monday! 
(I'll document new meals mostly for my own benefit, but hopefully for the benefit of some of those anonymous readers out there!)

a presto :)