Pasta e Fagioli

Soup, there is it! Girls, what's my weakness? SOUP!

It got cold out of nowhere here in DC this weekend and I had purchased a fancy baguette that begged to be dipped into something warm, so we decided to make some soup. Pasta e fagioli (a bean and pasta soup) to be precise.
I used this recipe, with a few tweaks, which turned out quite well. I threw in some collard greens in place of the spinach, used 5 sausage links, and used one 19-ounce can of beans. Also, to give the broth some additional flavor, I dropped an old Parmesan rind I had in the fridge. Finally, I didn't bother with blending the tomatos- I just crushed them in my hand as I put them in the soup.

Delicious and quite easy!

Parmesan Polenta (with sausage and tomatoes)

I tried my hand at making polenta again, this time with delicious results. 4 ingredients, totally simple, but super creamy. I recommend using a whisk, not a fork as recommended by the recipe.
Served with Italian sausage cooked with garlic, dried basil, a can of diced tomatoes, fresh parsley.

Stuffed Zucchini: Part Deux

Another stuffed zucchini recipe... this is Emeril's sausage stuffed version. Pretty tasty!

Tomato and Sausage Risotto

This is a really rich and hearty meal, care of the other Martha, again. Lots of stirring required, but the stirring isn't stressful- actually it's kinda soothing.

I used spicy Italian sausage, Swiss chard (including the stems, which I threw in earlier to soften up), and crushed tomatoes. I also substituted chicken broth in place of half of the water.