We are constantly playing around with meals that come down to whatever we have on hand. One of our favorite weeknight meals came from Scott throwing together some odds and ends. We call it Going Going Pasta (rhyming with “boing”, like what a spring does) because when he originally made it, he used spiral pasta and the girls were playing with the noodles. They “bounced” them on the counter while making sound effects, and the name stuck, regardless of what pasta we use.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb small pasta (penne, bowties, rigatoni, etc.)
- 1 large onion, halved lengthways and sliced
- 4-6 chicken and apple (or similar gourmet) sausages, halved lengthways and sliced to 1/4 inch
- 2-4 tbsp olive oil
- oregano or italian seasoning
Heat a saucepan of water for the pasta. Slice your onions and sausage while the water heats. When the water is almost boiling, add 2 tbsp of oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook pasta according to package directions.
When the pasta goes in, add your onions and sausage to the saute pan and stir occasionally for 5-8 minutes. Add the few pinches of oregano and plenty of black pepper halfway through. You want to get a bit of char on the onions and sausage if you can. Kill the heat when the mixture looks ready.
Drain the pasta, but do it lazily and reserve a little of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the saute pan and mix together. Add the other 2 tbsp of oil to loosen everything up.
For those so inclined, some crushed red pepper is an excellent addition.
We always have the ingredients for Going Goings on hand, and it’s always a favorite. It’s super easy and the girls always have seconds. It’s great as comfort food on a dreary evening, too!
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