Friday Night Feast VII with a Little Wednesday Night Feast Thrown In

So I'm a little late on posting my Friday Night Feast from last weekend...but it's the last week of school and I'm a tad busy.

I had some Rhubarb Chutney left from my cooking class and decided to thaw some chicken sausage I had in the freezer. I had some peppers and picked up some steak rolls from the store. This was ridiculously easy.

Spicy Chicken Sausages
with Rhubard Chutney and Grilled Peppers
~The spicy sausage pairs well with the sweet chutney~

• 1 package of spicy chicken sausage (I got mine at Giant)
• Rhubarb Chutney (you don't need much...maybe a 1/2 cup?)
  
• 4 steak rolls
• 2 or 3 red, orange, or yellow peppers
  
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add the sausages. Boil them for 30 to 45 minutes. (You can do this ahead of time...I actually did it on Thursday night while dinner was in the oven, then popped them in the fridge for Friday night)
2. While the sausages are boiling, cut the peppers into large pieces and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat the grill to medium high heat (you could use a grill pan, too).
   
3. Place peppers on metal skewers (if using wood skewers, soak them in water ahead of time).
4. Place the sausages and skewers of peppers onto the grill and cook for 5-10 minutes, turning occasionally.
5. Remove the peppers from the skewers and put the sausages into the steak rolls. Top sausages with chutney and enjoy. (Remember, the chutney keeps for weeks in the fridge...so it can be ready when you need it)

At cooking class last week we made a pasta salad. When I read the recipe I thought it sounded kind of weird and gross. And then we made it and I thought it looked kind of weird and gross. Then I ate it and I loved it! It looks kind of heavy, but it really isn't. The Greek yogurt balances out the mayo and then all the mix-ins add great texture and flavor. Don't feel limited to the recipe below...we just kind of made it up with what we had. If you think something in your fridge would be good...add it. If you don't like what we put in it...don't add it.

It makes quite a bit so I thought it was fitting to call it our "Wednesday Night Feast".

Summer Pasta Salad
~This is a great way to use up your produce~

• 1/2 package of bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 box of pasta (I like short pasta, but we used spaghetti in cooking class)
• 4 large heads of broccoli, cut into florets
  
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup light mayonnaise
  
• 2 cups of corn (if using frozen, thaw first)
• 1 cup golden raisins (sounds gross, tastes great in it)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh scallions
• 3 or 4 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• Handful of shredded cheddar cheese (1/2 cup?)
• 1 red pepper, chopped (optional)
• Sunflower seeds or toasted pine nuts (optional)

1. Saute the bacon in a tbsp of oil in a large skillet until it's crispy.
2. Cook pasta according the package directions. During the last 2 or 3 minutes of cooking, throw the broccoli into the pasta water along with the pasta. Boil the pasta and broccoli for a couple minutes until broccoli is crisp tender.
   
3. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander and rinse with cold water. This stops the broccoli from cooking and rinses the starch off of the pasta.
4. Toss the pasta and broccoli with bacon, Greek yogurt, mayo, corn, golden raisins, scallions, chives, cheddar cheese, pepper, sunflower seeds, and toasted pine nuts.
5. Allow to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Can be made ahead of time.

Now if only it would stop raining so that I could really get excited about my summer break....which starts in 3 days!!