The entire country had a lockdown this last weekend and I decided there was no better time to tackle the things I really don’t like doing but always said I didn’t have the time for. I decided to clean my refrigerator. Taxing work but I love the feeling at the end when you look at your handiwork and see how clean, clear and empty it is.
I prefer to start from scratch after I clean the fridge so only the useful essentials go back. There is just something therapeutic about a cool empty fridge. It gives me an option to imagine all the possibilities. Mentally I start picturing how I want my fridge to be stocked. I imagine fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurts and spreads, eggs and milk, even a pitcher of lemonade. My end result rarely lives up to my imagination but a girl sure can dream.
As I mentioned, I prefer to start from scratch after I clean. Cleaning allows me to identify foods or items that have been either forgotten or just not used because I didn’t have a real plan for it. I can either throw these items away or try to make something with them. Times are way to hard to be wasting money so I challenge myself to use whatever ingredients I find to make a meal. This is the closest I’ll probably come to an episode of ‘Chopped’ on Food Network.
Now this challenge has been quite the hit or miss and sometimes in between. I am often of the thought that food and flavours should be bold and live out loud so naturally I worried that I had only a few ingredients to add flavour. I was however pleasantly surprised that a subtle flavour can be uniquely wonderful.
I had 6 key ingredients. Button mushrooms that thankfully did not go bad, 2 Bad Dawg jerk sausage links that I am sure I would have gotten around to because I love sausage. Frozen mix vegetables, a small box of heavy cream that I cant remember why I had originally purchased (definitely from the forgotten list). A box of Fusilli Pasta that I had bought as a two for one at the grocery store some time ago. Last but not least, seasonings. I had a few cloves of garlic and one onion. Wow, in hindsight it probably wasn’t the best idea to go into a lockdown with no groceries but I am glad it worked out the way it did.
So lets get cooking.
6 Ingredient Simple Sausage & Mushroom Pasta.
Course: EntréeDifficulty: Easy4
servings29
minutes20
minutesIngredients
3 cups Fusilli Pasta
2 Bad Dawg jerk sausage links, stripped and diced
200ml Heavy cream
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (Pantry Item)
1 1/4 cup sliced button mushroom
4 cloves garlic, sliced (Pantry Item)
1 medium onion chopped (Pantry Item)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil (Pantry Item)
Directions
- Cook Pasta according to package instructions or until al dente.
- While pasta cooks heat oil on medium heat in a large pan. Add onions and garlic and sauté for two minutes.
- Add sausage and cook for two minutes then add mushroom and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another five minutes.
- Add heavy cream, mix and cook on low for an additional 5 minutes while it thickens.
- Taste test, add additional salt if necessary, then toss in pasta
- Mix well and serve hot. Enjoy
Notes
- Remove casing from the sausage before cutting.
- Use a damp paper towel to clean the mushrooms of any dirt.
- You can add cheese, red pepper flakes or substitute the vegetables. What’s great about this recipe is that its simple enough to work with what you have.
Price Range: $1,700-$1,800 JMD.(Price range based on type of supermarket, brand and season. Does not include Pantry Items and tax)
Eating in can be easy on the pocket yet just as fun and tasty as dining out. Enjoy!
Brawta: Pasta, Sausage, mixed vegetables. (Non pantry ingredients that are leftovers for future use.)