Rigatoni with Creamy Sausage Sauce

I found this Weight Watchers recipe and the picture was irresistable to me. I called Nick from work and had him run to the store to buy the necessary ingredients so we could eat it for dinner that night. I was not disappointed. Nick was really excited for the leftovers but Caleb stopped by and finished it off.

Ingredients
8 oz uncooked rigatoni
1/8 tsp table salt
8 oz raw turkey sausage, Italian-style, removed from casings
8 oz cremini mushrooms, or Baby Bella mushrooms, trimmed, quartered - Nick couldn't find cremini so he got a mixed variety
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
1 cup(s) frozen green peas, petite-variety - I used regular
1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 cup(s) roasted red peppers, water-packed, sliced
1/2 cup(s) scallion(s), sliced
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage stirring and breaking into chunks with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 3 minutes; remove to a bowl. Add mushrooms to skillet and sauté until browned and tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

3. In a measuring cup, whisk together flour and milk until smooth; stir into skillet along with peas, salt and black pepper. Bring sauce to a boil; simmer until thickened and peas are tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in sausage, roasted peppers and scallions; remove from heat.
Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sausage sauce and cheese; toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl.

2 cups = 9 Weight Watcher points

More Kitchen Updates

The kitchen is alllllmost finished. We are waiting on one more cabinet (don't get me started on why it wasn't ordered with all the others!) and then it will be finished. I will post final pictures in 3-4 weeks (at least that's what they said at Lowe's). Which reminds me, I have to tell a story on why I HATE HATE HATE Home Depot! I will post the pictures too, I promise.

So Nick and I ordered new doors for all of our cabinets because we found that refacing is considerably less expensive than brand new cabinets. We go to Home Depot in Brighton to place our special order. The first guy that helps us takes our order and we sit there while he begins to type it into the system. We sat there for an hour and a half before another lady came in. Well I guess this guy doesn't normally work in the cabinet department because this lady started typing in our order. We find out that in the hour and a half that we were sitting there he order 2 (yes that's 2) doors! Plus, he ordered them incorrectly. Whatever, she fixes it and places our order. She tells us that the doors will be in within 3-4 weeks. They could be in earlier but she doesn't want to over promise. Sounds good. We leave.

Now begins the drama....

4 weeks later....

I call Home Depot to find out if the doors have arrived. The lady on the phone tells me that, no they aren't here but the system tells her they will be in tomorrow. Okay, great. I call "tomorrow" and find out that they were just shipped today so, no they aren't here but they will be in tomorrow. A little annoyed but whatever. I call again the next day. Nope, not here....they are coming from Texas and it takes a couple days to get to Detroit. They will be here...you guessed it....tomorrow. At this point, I am really irritated and I let her know. She apologizes and says they will be here tomorrow. I call tomorrow and she says that they never made it on the truck in Detroit and that they are still in the warehouse downtown but they will be here TOMORROW! At this point I am fuming. I call the next day and she says they aren't here yet but they are on the manifest which means they will be here tonight around 5pm. They then have to unload the truck and I can pick them up, uh huh...tomorrow. I ask to speak to the supervisor and explain my extreme displeasure with the experience. My point - If they need to be on the manifest in order for them to be delivered to the store then why have your employees been telling me for a week that they will be here tomorrow, when there is no way that could happen. Whatever. She calls me later that night and tells me that the doors are in and I can pick them up but the veneer and trim was damaged and is on reorder.

So Nick and I head into Home Depot a full week after the "tomorrows" started to pick up the doors. We haggle with the supervisor and she allows us to return any pieces we don't need without the restocking fee. I ask how long it will take for the reorder. It is Thursday now and she says she will call the company today and call me back but that the order is not custom so it just has to be pulled off the shelf and should be here Monday.

My phone is quiet all weekend - no call. Monday - no call. Nick calls on Wednesday to ask what is going on. He is told that the order hasn't even shipped yet and that our reorder should arrive in 2 weeks. PIZZZED!!

Sunday evening I call Home Depot just to see if by chance they arrived. I speak to Biatch supervisor and she goes to look. Meanwhile we are "disconnected" even though I am still listening to hold music and she calls Nick on his cell phone. She says our stuff has been there since Friday. Nick says, "I need to speak with the store manager"

Store manager gets on the phone and says that she is really sorry no one called but they were "really busy" this weekend. We can come get our stuff now. WTF! Nick rants and raves and she agrees to credit us the cost of the reorder. She says that is 92.70. Nick says fine. They hang up and we look at our invoice. 92.70 is the cost of 1 piece...the whole reorder was over 200.00. Nick calls back immediately to confirm we are being credited the whole reorder, not just 92.70. The store manager says you agreed to 92.70 and I already entered it in the system. There's nothing I can do about it so too bad. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

So we call Home Depot credit card to dispute the charge and Home Depot corporate to dispute the charge.

The next day the store manager calls Nick to explain to him that he should be satisfied with 92.70 because that is what he agreed to. He explains that he agreed to the whole reorder, not 92.70 and he is extremely dissatisfied. She won't let him hang up until he says he is happy with the credit she gave him and finally he says he has to go and hangs up.

To date we don't know what has happened with either complaint but I will keep you all posted.

Moral of the story - Home Depot sucks! I highly recommend staying AWAY!

Now onto some pictures -

The wall of cabinets with new doors and Nick's fancy backsplash

Caleb and Nick moving the microwave again...I think this is the third time

Good view of the counter (take 2 - 1st one broke) and the backsplash in process

New fireplace door that Nick got for 15.00 plus spray paint! Jen and Japan would be proud!

This isn't in the kitchen but I couldn't resist. I was in the office, updating the blog while Nick and Caleb were installing the new vanity in the pink bathroom (see the pink floor tile). All of a sudden I hear Nick yell "Shite! Go turn the water off!!" and Caleb yells back "I don't know where it is!" and Nick takes off running. I use this opportunity to snap a pic!

Cookie Dessert

I first had this at my cousin's wedding a whole lotta years ago and my grandma has been making it ever since. Super light and tasty! I recommend putting the cookies in just before serving so they stay crunchy.

Ingredients

1. buttermilk

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 container cool whip

1 can crushed pineapple

1 pkg. fudge striped cookies

Instructions

1. Combine buttermilk, pudding, cool whip in large bowl.

2. Drain pineapple and add to cool whip mixture.

3. Crush cookies and stir into mixture.

Mexicali Salad

Ntina and I made this when she stayed with me. Huge portion sizes and it is pretty easy to tweak into whatever you want it to be. We had some leftover grilled veggies from the night before that we added. Mmmmm yummy!

Ingredients

3/4 c. salsa
1/4 c. fat free ranch
8 c. chopped romaine lettuce
1 large tomato - diced
1 small jicama - peeled and shredded
1 c. reduced fat shredded cheese
1 c. canned black beans - rinsed and drained
2 c. diced cooked chicken breast
12 baked tortilla chips - broken up

Instructions
1. Stir together the salsa and ranch dressing in a serving bowl. Add the lettuce, tomato, jicama, cheese and beans. Toss to coat.

2. Divide the salad evenly among 4 plates. Top the salads evenly with the chicken and sprinkle with the chips.

Serving size - 3 c. salad, 1/2 c. chicken, 3 chips - 8 points

Ham and Cheese Biscuits

I also made this on Easter morning. They were really simple and pretty good. I ended up serving them with a side of honey mustard to dip.

Ingredients

6oz smoked ham - chopped

3/4 c. shredded cheese

12 oz can buttermilk biscuits

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350. Mix the ham and cheese in a large bowl.

2. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Add to ham mixture and mix lightly. Spoon into 8 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

3. Bake 20 min or until puffed and golden brown. Cool 10 min before removing from pan.

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

I got this recipe from my future mother in law. Delicious but sinful. I made it Easter morning. It is super easy to make but the picture doesn't quite do it justice. Enjoy

Ingredients

3/4 c. sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

2 cans of refrigerator buttermilk biscuits (7.5 oz cans)

1/2 c. butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cut dough into quarters.

2. Mix cinnamon and sugar. Roll dough in mixture to coat.

3. Place half of the dough in a greased fluted tube pan. Drizzle with 1/4 c. of melted butter. Top with remaining dough and melted butter.

4. Top with remaining cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake 40-45 mintues until golden. Let stand 5 minutes then invert onto a plate.

A Few Pictures - I Couldn't Help Myself

Just a few pictures I had to share!

Salem and Ziggy playing WWF in the kitchen!

This is where the Crabby Patty discussion took place. See Crab Cake post.

I think all the playing with Ziggy is confusing Salem. He now prefers to sleep in the kennel.

So Ziggy has a swollen lip. At first we thought he bit it and it would get back to normal. We are a few weeks in now and it's as swollen as ever. I think it adds character.