Birthday Weekend part 1

The birthday weekend started on Thursday..but I'm going to start with Saturday instead. Bear with me.

Saturday after spending the later part of the morning and afternoon doing some damage on my credit card with Al, I was shipped up to my room until further notice and couldn't come out. It seems worse than it was, really. Since I was on my deathbed it was nice to have an excuse to snuggle in bed and get waited on :) When I got to come out of captivity, the girls had the apartment all decorated and we got to open presents and then dinner was served. Orecchiette happen to be my favoritest type of pasta ever and Mariah being the best roommate ever exchanged the penne for that. 

 

This was so tasty. Yum. Even after having pasta the two days before and this being the third day in a row, I'm still not sick of pasta. Then again, how could anyone ever get sick of pasta? 

Orecchiette with Turkey Sausage, Peppers and Escarole 

adapted from Gina's Skinny Taste

Ingredients:

12 oz Orecchiette

1 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb turkey sausage, removed from casing

1 medium head escarole, rinsed and torn into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse escarole and tear into bite sized pieces.

2. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water. Reserve 1 cup water before draining.

3. While pasta water boils, heat a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add olive oil; when hot add onions, peppers, garlic, salt and pepper.  

4. Cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes.  

5. Add sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon and cook until golden, about 6 to 8 minutes.

6. Add escarole, cover and cook 2 minutes; remove the cover, stir and cook about 3 more minutes or until wilted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

7. Add cooked pasta, red pepper flakes, reserved water and Parmigiano Reggiano, toss well and transfer to a large serving bowl. Serve immediately.

just WAIT until tomorrow's post. the cake they made me literally is to.die.for.