Weeknight dinner and The Office.

Since Matt and I moved in together 4 years ago, we have been trying to get into some sort of grocery shopping/ cooking pattern.  In our first apartment, I think we went out to eat quite a bit and otherwise ate spaghetti and tacos.  I actually love to cook and (I think) I'm pretty good at it, but I just wasn't quite sure of the whole planning what's for dinner and shopping accordingly thing.  In our second apartment, we made a lot of progress.  We began getting our meat from a farm share that we split with some friends.  I started planning our weekly dinner menu on the weekends and we went shopping together.  (A little aside--Matt loves the grocery store.  Okay, I do, too.  We actually went on our first technical date to the grocery store.  A sign of things to come.)  We are now in our third apartment together (we moved progressively closer to where we had both dreamed of living, and now we're here!), and most weeks we have a great system in place.  This weekend, however, the grocery shopping just didn't happen.  So, last night we had to do grocery shopping after work.

Fortunately, I did plan out the meals for the week, so I had my list ready to go and we left as soon as I got home.  Our grocery store of choice is River Valley Market, a co-op with lots of local produce, an incredible bulk foods and spices area, local dairy/ eggs, and one of the best delis I've ever seen.  I can't say enough how much we enjoy shopping here.  If you are used to big name markets, it will seem very small to you.  I've realized that it's small because they cut out all of the aisles of over-processed junk, which we shouldn't eat, anyway, so hooray for RVM!

The original plan for last night's dinner was Grilled Cajun Swordfish (I am new to eating fish and I absolutely fell in love with this style of swordfish when we were in Maine this summer) with Salt and Vinegar Potatoes, and Grilled Asparagus.  Our plans were slightly derailed when they didn't have fresh swordfish available.  No problem, we would just have the sausage and pasta dish instead.  I mentioned before that RVM has one of the best delis I've ever seen.  They source a lot of the meat locally from farms that responsibly raise their animals.  Last night, there were at least 10 different varieties of in-house-made sausage, ranging from apple cranberry chicken sausage to lamb and mint sausage to turkey breakfast sausage and chipotle pork sausage.  We picked up some Italian hot chicken sausage and were on our way.

This recipe is adapted from one in the August 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine.  It boasts that the recipe costs less than $2 per serving.  And it is SO good.


Bucatini (or Spaghetti) with Turkey (or Chicken) Sausage and Zucchini (or Summer Squash)
12 ounces bucatini or spaghetti (Bucatini is like hollow spaghetti, it has a great texture, but I can never find it in my co-op, so we used whole wheat spaghetti.)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound Italian style sausage, casings removed (the recipe calls for turkey, but I used Hot Italian Chicken Sausage, and imagine you could use pork sausage, as well.)
1 pound zucchini or summer squash, cut into discs or half moons (I used all summer squash.)
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic (I just realized I never added garlic, but it was still delicious!)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (I actually used Romano)
1/4 cup fresh oregano

1.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Reserve 1/2-3/4 cup of the cooking water and drain.
2.  Brown the sausage in 1 teaspoon of oil, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.  Once fully cooked, transfer to a plate.
3.  In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of oil.  Add the squash, onion, and garlic.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are browned and tender.  We used a non-stick pan and it took quite a long time to brown, so if you want quicker browning, I'd go with a non-non-stick pan.  Double negative!
4.  In the pasta pot, toss the pasta with the sausage, vegetables, Parmesan, oregano, and the reserved cooking water (add more if the pasta seems dry.  I used about 3/4 cup).  Top with more cheese, of course!

Cooked sausage.  Drain away most of the grease, but leave a little to keep the pasta moist and flavorful.

Chef Matty!

Lots of summer squash, yum!

I must confess, I actually staged this shot.  Not very well, but whatever.  That is not  my red wine.  Red wine gives me headaches.

We were finally ready to eat dinner at about 7:45, which is kind of late for us.  We decided to catch up on Season 7 of The Office while we ate.  For dessert, we ate the remaining Apricot Chocolate Chip Espresso cookies I mentioned the other day.  I even remembered to take a picture...

Nothing like cookies and a pint glass of milk.

All in all, it was a successful evening, despite our weeknight grocery store trip and swapping of dinner plans.