Pasta Dinner

A while ago, while on Pinterest, I was looking for different meal ideas and I came across this recipe that looked and sounded so good! I didn't have all of the stuff to make it, so I just used the recipe for a good idea of what to do and did my own thing. Here is the original recipe: http://www.bosssanders.com/2012/03/03/spicyromanochicke/

And here is what I made:

Not the best looking picture, but that's what I get for asking my husband to take it. :)

For the sauce:
Heavy whipping cream
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese (I used string cheese I melted in the microwave before adding it to the sauce)

I have no idea what measurements I used. I just used what I had left in the fridge, which was probably 3/4 pint of cream or less. And I just took a chunk of butter and melted it in the pan. I put in a few sprinkles of salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese, and used 2 string cheese sticks.

For the pasta:
Rotini pasta (boiled till it's soft)
Sausage
Canned mushrooms
Fresh tomatoes
Cayenne pepper
Red pepper flakes
Garlic powder
Salt
Lemon juice (freshly squeezed is best)

While the pasta was boiling, I browned the sausage, added in a few canned mushrooms I had left over in the fridge (fresh would have been better). Diced the tomatoes and added them, a few shakes of cayenne pepper, very few red pepper flakes, and some salt. Then I added the drained pasta, the sauce, some garlic powder, and fresh squeezed lemon juice (half a lemon). Mixed the whole thing together till it looked yummy and served!

Notes: Since I used fresh tomatoes, the skins separated from the rest of the tomato and floated around on their own. That wasn't very appetizing, so I suggest peeling the tomatoes first, using canned tomatoes, or the original recipe used sun-dried tomatoes. Also, my sauce was a little thin so I think I could have done the measurements better. Using the original recipe would probably turn out thicker. I didn't really follow it too well, I just did my own thing. Last of all, I didn't use all of the sauce I made. It all depends on the quantities of pasta, meat, veggies, and sauce you have. And also, the thickness of the sauce. I just do it all according to taste and looks, then save left overs to use in something else!

This recipe was really yummy and there are so many different variations you could do! Use different types of meat, add in artichokes like the original recipe, use different spices, juices, and vegetables, or whatever you like! The sauce can be made spicy, or used just as the cream, butter, salt, and pepper, in order to create different types of pasta depending of what you put in it (spicy, a little sweeter, meaty, salty, etc).

I will definitely be using this recipe again! Although, I doubt I'll make it exactly the same every time. :)