So I joined that little blogging deal, Whip It Up. Totally a great idea, making things a little more interesting in the kitchen at least once a week.

Well the suggested theme for this week was pasta, so I opened the cupboard and blew the dust off “The Pasta Bible” that Philip gave me for Christmas. It has all sorts of mouthwatering recipes, but it’s almost like they expect you to make your own pasta and stuff…and c’mon. Do I look like a homemade pasta sort of girl? It’s like, add fresh lasagna noodles (or dried noodles if you’re one of THOSE people)..okay not really but it’s a little intimidating.

So I found this recipe and it didn’t look so hard, so I tried it out:
Fusilli with Sausage
14 oz. spicy pork sausages
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large yellow pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1-2 tsp chilli sauce
14 oz can Italian plum tomatoes
1 – 1 ¼ cups vegetable stock
2 ¾ cups fresh or dried fusilli
salt and pepper
freshly grated pecorino cheese, to serve

1.grill sausages for 10-12 minutes until browned on all sides. Set aside to drain.
2.Heat oil in large skillet or saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook over a low heat, stirring frequently for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the yellow pepper, paprika, herbs and chili sauce to taste. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.Add canned tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon, then add salt and pepper to taste and stir well. Cook over a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, adding the vegetable stock gradually as the sauce reduces.
4.While the tomato sauce is cooking, cut the grilled sausage diagonally into 1 cm pieces.
5.Add the sausage pieces to the sauce, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
6.Taste the sauce for seasoning. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan of sauce. Toss well, then divide among four warmed bowls. Sprinkle each serving with a little grated cheese and serve immediately, with more cheese handed separately.

Here’s a few pictures from my cooking adventures:

A few notes: I had never heard of fusilli or that Pecorino cheese, so I decided to use rotini noodles and parmesan cheese. Then I realized I only had like 1/4 cup of rotini noodles, so we used butterfly. Also, we couldn’t find spicy pork sausage and so we just used a smoked sausage – it was a little much. Try to find the one it calls for if you try this recipe. I think it would add a great flavor.

This was definitely an easy recipe. It only took me about 30 mins from start to finish and wasn’t complicated.

The dish tasted delicious – especially with the peppers. The only complaint I had was with the sausage (and that was my own fault – well, actually Smiths)

I will definitely make it again, with a few minor tweaks.

Oh, and by the way, I can’t WAIT to get a new/improved/FANCY camera so my pictures aren’t all blurry when I don’t use the flash. And maybe in my next house we’ll actually have some WINDOWS so my pictures are heinously yellow because of the ugly lighting. Thxverymuch – I’m done ranting.