1 pound fettuccine or other favorite pasta

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1 28 ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes, crushed with hands

½ cup good vodka

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 pound turkey sausage, casings removed

Salt to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add sausage. Rotate the sausage frequently to make sure all sides are brown. Cook for about 8 minutes total, or until sausage is brown on all sides. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Meanwhile, cook pasta according package directions {I used fresh pasta so the cooking time was only about 3-4 minutes}. Reserve about ½ cup pasta water in case you need to loosen the sauce at the end. Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for about 2 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Remove skillet from heat and add crushed tomatoes, vodka and salt to taste. Stir to combine and place back on heat. Cook for about 8-9 minutes to allow the vodka to burn off. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the sauce becomes thick. Add the sausage and stir in the pasta. If the sauce is too thick, you can add some of the reserve pasta water. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Happy Friday! Today I am sharing one of my favorite pasta sauces: vodka sauce. You can get some pretty good canned vodka sauces at the grocery store, but if you have the time {not much is needed!} it’s always good to make it from scratch. This is my go-to vodka sauce recipe and depending on the season and my mood, I like to incorporate other vegetables or meats for some variety. You may remember this sauce from a previous post when I added prosciutto and peas {click here}. This is such a great base sauce — I love the chunky tomatoes and the small amount of heat that comes from the red pepper flakes 🙂 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

2 pie pumpkins

1 rotisserie chicken {I only used the white meat}, diced

1 onion, chopped

8 ounces mushrooms {I used a mix of crimini, shiitake & oyster mushrooms}

16 ounce bag frozen peas and carrots

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken broth {I used no salt added}

1 cup heavy cream

1 puff pastry sheet, divided

 1 egg, beaten

1/2 tablespoon thyme

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and cut off top of each pumpkin. Scoop all the seeds out and discard {or roast!}. Pour about 1 tablespoon olive oil in each pumpkin and season with salt and pepper; rub the oil and salt and pepper around to completely cover the inside of the pumpkin. Place on baking sheet and cook for 40 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, begin to make the filling. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and the mushrooms. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the frozen peas and carrots and diced chicken. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables and stir for a couple of minutes. Pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Once the flour and broth combine to form a gravy, pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine. Decrease the heat to low and allow the mixture to cook for 3-5 minutes. Add thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Once the pumpkins have cooked, spoon the chicken mixture into the pumpkins, filling almost to the top. Divide the thawed puff pastry into two sections. Be sure the thickness is about 1 inch. Place over each pumpkin, try pulling the puff pastry in the center to form a stem {mine was not too successful 🙁 you have to work quick with the puff pastry and mine was drying out!} Brush puff pastry with beaten egg. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown. Makes 2 pot pies.

A few more pictures 🙂

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, I teased about this recipe last Saturday and said to stay tuned 🙂 Well, here is the finished product! This is by far my favorite fall recipe to make. My mom has been making these chicken pot pies in a pumpkin for years now and it’s something I have always looked forward to each year. In my mind, this is the perfect fall dinner — stuffing a pumpkin with a comfort food…how can you go wrong?! I use the little pumpkins that are used to make pumpkin pies. They can be found at most grocery stores for a reasonable price {I paid $1.99 each for mine!}. As for the filling, you can really use any vegetables you would like, celery is also a popular ingredient in a pot pie, but I liked the flavor of the mushrooms. This is such a warm and cozy dish, it’s a must try for a cool and crisp fall weekend. 

Thanks for stopping by!

14 ounces extra-firm tofu {1 block}

2 cups panko

1/2 cup milk {I used low fat}

1/2 – 1 cup cayenne pepper sauce {I used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce}

Tomatoes, sliced

Red onion, sliced

Ranch dressing {I used low fat}

Rolls

Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain and press the tofu dry with a paper towel. Slice the tofu into four square pieces. Place the milk in a shallow bowl and the panko on a plate. Carefully soak the tofu in the milk and transfer to the panko, pressing the panko into the tofu on each side. {I tried to use tongs for this step and the tofu started to break apart, so I would just use your hands!} Place each piece of tofu on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cook for 15 minutes, flip the tofu and cook for another 15 minutes. After the 30 minutes of cooking at 350 degrees, increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Cook for 3-5 minutes and flip the tofu again, cooking for another 3-5 minutes, until each side is crispy. Meanwhile, place the cayenne pepper sauce in a microwave-safe bowl and cook for 15 seconds, or just until warm. Brush each side of the cooked tofu with the pepper sauce. To assemble the sandwiches: toast the bun, cut side up for 2-3 minutes in the 450 degree oven, or until just golden brown. Place the buffalo tofu on the bottom half and top with tomatoes, red onions and ranch dressing. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches. One of my favorite “not-so-healthy” foods. I was really craving this delicious sandwich, but I just couldn’t justify the calories in the fried chicken soaked in buffalo sauce and ranch. I thought, there must be a way to make this a little healthier, without losing that famous crispiness. A few month ago, I made a tofu “chicken” parmesan sandwich {here}. It was unreal. But, I still used an egg to make the breading — which isn’t the best of ingredients. This time, I tried soaking the tofu in milk {low fat!} and then panko {you do have to press the panko into the tofu to make it stick}. I think this substitution worked perfectly!

Overall, this much healthier version of the buffalo chicken sandwich was amazing! You honestly cannot tell that you are eating anything but chicken, especially tofu! This was the perfect dish to satisfy a craving for an unhealthy meal — and to be honest, now I’m craving this tofu version 🙂 

Thanks for reading!