Recipe Box, Creative Pizza and Pasta
There is a constant movie playing when I sit on the porch at the beach
I watch the birds, dolphins and boats
A favorite pastime for boaters is to pull up on the sandy shore of an island,
and picnic, swim, visit and play
Taken with my iPhone from our porch,
the photos aren’t good, but you get the idea…
Two weekends ago we were shocked at the lack of social distancing…
We even saw a tiki bar float by!
Last weekend we noticed that the boaters are practicing much better social distancing
The boys have been enjoying taking our little boat out exploring in the afternoons
And HHjr is having a ball being creative in the kitchen
A few nights ago he made a flatbread topped with roasted Brussels sprouts and Carrots
It was amazing!!
Perfect for Spring and Easter~
If you’ve never had carrots on a flatbread,
their natural sweetness is brought out when paired with savory Parmesan
and other vegetables…
If you’re not a Brussels Sprouts lover, sub broccoli or asparagus
Our resident blue heron, Freddy
stopped by for a drink while I was painting on the porch
Watching nature always brings a sense of calm
and make things seem they are right in the world…
Pasta is another way we can enjoy some comfort
And there are infinite ways to make and serve it
Toss in everything but the kitchen sink!
This one is penne pasta mixed with Italian sausage, red peppers,
mushrooms and Brussels sprouts
Tossed with just enough Alfredo sauce to make it creamy
Make some garlic bread sticks out of twisted pizza or bread dough
and you have an irresistible meal
I hope you’re having creative fun in your kitchen!
EASTER FLATBREAD
Ingredients
- 1 can Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough
- 2 large carrots peeled and cut into thin horizontal slices
- 12-16 Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese plus additional for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Place vegetables on a parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until Brussels sprouts begin to char.
- Melt butter in an 8 inch skillet over medium high heat and add cream. Lower heat to simmer and cook and stir until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Add cheese and stir. Set aside.
- Unroll dough onto a sheet pan, forming a large rectangle. Poke all over with tines of a fork. Bake at 400 degrees 5-6 minutes until it just starts to turn golden. Top with vegetables. Pour cream sauce over all. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes until dough is golden and cheese has melted. Garnish with more Parmesan if desired. Cut into large squares for main and side dish, or smaller squares for appetizers.
EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK PASTA
Ingredients
- 1 box 16 oz. Penne pasta
- 1 1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
- 1 large red pepper cut into strips
- 1 onion diced
- 8 oz. mushrooms sliced
- 2-3 cups Brussels sprouts
- salt & pepper
- Alfredo sauce
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm.
- Saute sausage in large skillet until browned and crumbly. Drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2 Tablespoons of sausage grease in skillet.
- Cook Brussels sprouts and mushrooms over medium high heat until mushrooms turn golden and sprouts begin to brown, stirring frequently. Add onion and peppers, season with salt & pepper, and continue to cook until softened.
- Return sausage to pan and add pasta. Stir. Once everything is combined add Alfredo sauce to taste.* Heat through and serve with Parmesan cheese.
- *If you want to make this ahead of time, transfer ingredients to a casserole dish, and use enough sauce to keep it moist. Top with Parmesan cheese, refrigerate and bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly.
Notes
Enjoy!
for another printable version of Easter flatbread click here
for another printable version of Everything but the Kitchen Sink Pasta, click here
🎨 🎨 🎨
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Meal Plan Monday Love Your Creativity What’s for Dinner?
Between Naps on the Porch, Make it Pretty Monday
Turn About Tuesday Celebrate Your Story, You’re the Star
All About Home/ Common Ground Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Tasty Tuesday Oh My Heartsie Girl Full Plate Thursday
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Sign me up for a big ole bowl of pasta comfort food Jenna! Enjoy the shore house:@)
thanks Lynn, it’s the perfect place to be isolated at home…I hope you are enjoying lots of creative time!
Always love reading your recipes, and even more so now! I could eat anything you & HHJr come up with, but I have to turn it into picky kid version for you know who! Happy Easter, Jenna & Co!
Ha, I know it’s frustrating dealing with your “Picky kid” sometimes! One of my grandsons is super picky and the other one will eat anything, the other night he ate an entire artichoke, heart and all!
Yum, Jenna!! We are on the same wavelength, I made a big dish of lasagna last night. Must do flatbread pizzas next.
It’s funny how much I am appreciating just being able to have good food in my refrigerator and pantry these days!
Jenna, pasta and flatbread sound perfect for any night. I made pasta Monday night and we really enjoyed. Aaahh
Sorry Jenna, I hit reply before I finished. Beach life is ideal at this unusual time we are experiencing. Enjoy every minute!
Thank you Pam, I am enjoying every second 🙂
Both these dishes look so good. I love pasta’s of most any kind and that flat bread looks amazing. Just printed out both recipes. Thank you Jenna and happy Easter. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
Oh good, thanks Cindy!
Sounds dreamy being at the beach. One of my favorite pastimes is sitting on the balcony or porch enjoying the sounds of the beach and of course the fresh air, nothing better than that! The Easter Flat Bread sounds and looks scrumptious and the penne pasta is always enjoyed here. Such a good recipe Jenna. Happy Easter………..
Thanks Emily, it is dreamy being here…easy to forget what’s going on…
Everything looks delicious. And fun. I’d love to be at the beach although too many people around for me. It has hit Rick’s family, although his BIL is recovering. But it’s hard. This will be a long one, at least here. Stay safe and savor those wonderful dinners and time together.
thank you Jeanie, I hope Rick’s BIL is better soon…I am planning to stay here for a while, I feel safe here and I can sit on the porch and watch the world go by so it’s not lonely. Even during the height of tourist season we stay pretty much at our house or on the boat, and never go to the beach, we prefer to stay by the pool!
Using what I have on hand has resulted in some pretty interesting meals. I have Brussels sprouts and carrots, now all I need is a flatbread crust. Maybe finding one is a good excuse to wander out.
You are a creative and good cook Linda, I know you are coming up with wonderful food!
I think if all the kids had was pizza to eat, they would remain happy kids!
True!
Love your MKC Courtly Blue artistic rendering Jenna! How fun you have a resident chef and entertainment to watch on the water. They have been ticketing folks here on the lake who aren’t social distancing. I’m still amazed at the people who don’t get it. Happy Eats ♥
I agree, I haven’t seen any tickets given, but we did see a huge difference last weekend. I painted the kitchen scene from their new catalogue, drawing and painting their cute things satisfies my urge to buy 🙂