- Picky Palate - https://picky-palate.com -

Dinner on the Fly and a Blonde Moment…

Good Sunday Everyone.Hope the weekend has been nice for everyone.I can’t believe how fast Christmas is coming this year!This will be the weirdest Christmas by far for us.We head out to CA next week to unpack, then come back 5 or 6 days later to celebrate Christmas with our family then go back to our new home in CA after the new year.Are we crazy or what?

Aside from our craziness and my lack of cooking these days, I managed to make another nice and easy dinner that can be prepared in under 30 minutes. Not too many ingredients, but still has lots of veggis that hopefully the kids won’t mind. Try my tactic of chopping up the kid’s pasta with scissors and I bet they’ll eat it right up. If you haven’t tried ground chicken sausage in a while, give it a try, it has great flavor and cooks up fast. I found this particular sausage at Sprouts here in AZ for really cheap. Check it out next time you are at the grocery store, it makes for a great pasta!

 

Chicken Sausage Florentine Rigatoni

An easy pasta bake packed with veggies. It makes a great quick and healthy dinner recipe for busy weeknights!
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Print Pin

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 cups fresh baby spinach coarsely chopped
  • 1 lb ground chicken sausage
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 26 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
  • 15 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
  • 8 leaves fresh basil chopped
  • 1 lb dry rigatoni noodles
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted down. Add chicken sausage and salt; cook until cooked through.
  • Place both cans of tomatoes into a food processor and process until nearly smooth. Add to skillet along with fresh basil. Reduce heat to low and simmer.
  • 3.Cook rigatoni according to packaging directions. Drain and transfer to sauce. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Keywords: baked rigatoni, easy pasta dish, sausage pasta

____________________

Remember THIS Beauty? It happens to be one of my all time favorite recipes to make and to eat. Here is another version that we enjoy just as much. These would be fabulous on any Christmas plate. Enjoy!!

White Chocolate Butterfinger Blondies

Soft-baked blondie bars made with sweet white chocolate and rich butterfingers.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 9 blondies
Print Pin

Ingredients

For the Blondies:

  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¾ cup white chocolate chips
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup white chocolate chips
  • 6 Fun Size Butterfingers crushed up (I pounded them with a rolling pin)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream

For the Topping:

  • 2 Fun Size Butterfingers crushed up
  • 2 tablespoons sanding sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in microwave safe bowl. Stir in ¾ cup white chips until melted and smooth. In a large bowl add the sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, ½ cup white chips and crushed Butterfingers. In a small bowl whisk the eggs and sour cream. Pour into the dry ingredient bowl along with the melted white chip mixture. Mix until just combined.
  • Pour into an 8x8 inch baking dish lined with foil that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean from center. The last 15 minutes, mix the chopped Butterfingers and sanding sugar in a small bowl until combined then sprinkle over top of blondies. Finish baking then let cool completely before digging in!
Keywords: blondies, how to make blondies, white chocolate blondies

Have a Great Week! Best of luck with all of your Christmas Shopping! See you soon!