Food Trip!

Sausage-Stuffed Pasta

Photographed by: Lea Lei www.hennypepper.blogspot.com

     I have always like to experiment in my kitchen.  I believe that cooking is a science and that because it is, means I am free to explore it and create something that could make the people, I share the food with, happy.




     My inspiration for this dish are the bounty that my tomato plants (roma) offered me last summer.  Because I had so many tomatoes and didn't know how we could possibly consume them before they go bad, I decided to can roasted tomatoes.  On separate post I will share my secret in making roasted tomatoes.  I made tomato sauce with some of my harvest.  Homemade tomato sauce are a hundred times better than store-bought sauces.  By that, I don't mean you should use homemade.  If you don't have time, by all means buy the ones in jars from the store.  Classico tomato sauce is one of the brands I trust.


Vitamin A 20% Vitamin C 40%

Calcium 1% Iron 2%

Nutritional information source: www.produceoasis.com
Photographed by: Lea Lei www.hennypepper.blogspot.com



  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I and my family did.  This is best served with french bread.






These romas were planted in big pots and harvested in summer of 2012.
Photographed by: Lea Lei www.hennypepper.blogspot.com



  

Sausage-Stuffed Pasta

Ingredients:

Manicotti (pasta)

chicken sausage (or any kinds of sausage of your choice)

roasted tomatoes/ fresh romas

homemade tomato sauce (from roma tomatoes)

 

Procedures:

1. Pre heat the oven at 375ºF.

2. Boil water in a deep pan.  When water starts boiling, drop about 6 to 8 manicotti until they are half-cooked.

3. Drain the water and set the pasta aside and let cool.  In the meantime, slice about 7 medium size roma tomatoes or a cup of roasted tomatoes into fourths.

4. Remove sausage casing.

5. Stuff each manicotti with sausage.  Set aside.

6. Spread some tomato sauce in a shallow wide pan.

7. Place the stuffed manicotti in the pan and top with more tomato sauce and the sliced romas/roasted tomatoes.  At this point, you could also sprinkle some cheese (of your choice)or herbs like oregano.  loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil.

8.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  Check the sausage if done. 

Note:  The cooking time may take longer depending on the oven you're using.