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As Good As It Smells

0 · May 10, 2012 · 15 Comments

I ended up getting not only a living-room yoga session in this afternoon but also a nice (slow) 4-mile run!  It felt so good. 

I need to get used to running in the heat again.

And apple and peanut butter held me over perfectly until dinner.

Which was super colorful thanks to these guys:

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Chad claims he doesn’t like peppers…so I decided to dice them up and throw them into tonight’s dish to see if I could trick him out of it.

I put them in a pan and sauteed them with a little olive oil.  While they cooked he yelled over to me “Smell’s good!”

To which I responded, huge grin on my face, “You know what’s cooking right now, don’t you??”

When he realized, he quickly amended his statement to “I said it smells good, that doesn’t mean it tastes good!”

Ooooh.  My mistake.

In my experience, it’s usually the opposite.  If something smells good, it tastes good.  Even when things smell bad (hard boiled eggs, fish, etc) they can taste good.

Sorry Chad.  I think you’re going to lose this one 🙂

After the peppers sauteed for a bit I added a little fully cooked chorizo chicken sausage to the pan:

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I used Aidells.  It’s one of my go-to brands of chicken sausage.  

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It tastes yummy and has even got a pretty nice backside…

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So into the pan it went!

I also started my pasta (whole wheat bow ties) at this point so that it would finish around the same time the sausage, peppers and sauce would.

About 5-7 minutes after I added the chicken sausage to the mix (right as it started to get nice and brown), I threw in half a jar of Arrabbiata sauce.

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I first discovered Arrabbiata sauce at my sister Courtney’s house last month and I fell instantly in love.  

I actually lifted this entire recipe right from the night I had it there!  They used Trader Joe’s brand, but this Harris Teeter brand actually held up just as well!

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Into the pan with the sausage, olive oil and peppers went the sauce…

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I used about half the container.  Back on the stove top it went until small bubbles formed in the sauce.

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Once that happened I took it off the heat, strained the pasta and voila!

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I also toasted up the last Trader Joe’s 100% whole wheat sourdough slices with a little olive oil and salt to serve along side (aka – sauce mopper-uppers):

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This dinner was delicious.  But by far the BEST part of it all?  

Chad saying “Ooookay maybe you were right.  This dinner is actually really good.  I guess I should just learn to trust you.”

GOLD.  Those words were just gold.  

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DINNER bread, chicken sausage, pasta, peppers

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren says

    May. 10th, 2012 at 9:09 pm

    I’ve tried to “trick” Toly into a few items in our marriage. Some of them have worked, others not so much. 🙂

    Reply
    • Cait says

      May. 10th, 2012 at 9:16 pm

      Haha – I know, I was actually surprised he ended up liking this. I definitely didn’t think it would work! It’s always fun when it does though 🙂

      Reply
  2. Katie says

    May. 10th, 2012 at 9:34 pm

    I wish I was there to smell (but more importantly, eat) that dinner! I’m glad you won him over! We planted peppers in our garden this year, so when you all come out here (to live with us) we’ll have plenty to feed Chad. 😉

    Reply
    • Cait says

      May. 11th, 2012 at 10:10 am

      Hahahhaha – I love it! I’ll be sure to let him know…that will definitely expedite the moving process 🙂

      And I wish I could send this dinner over to you! I’m not sure how it would hold up in the mail so maybe I’ll just have to send myself to make it for you. Love you friend!

      Reply
  3. Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says

    May. 10th, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    Oh peppers! How can you not love peppers??? I have a slight addiction to them lately. Dinner looks perfect!

    Reply
    • Cait says

      May. 11th, 2012 at 10:09 am

      I completely agree!! I’m glad I converted him to the other side 🙂

      Reply
  4. Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says

    May. 10th, 2012 at 10:17 pm

    Oh those words ARE gold! Hold onto them!

    Reply
    • Cait says

      May. 11th, 2012 at 10:05 am

      Hahaha I most definitely will! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles says

    May. 10th, 2012 at 11:00 pm

    It’s my favorite when food has a good ‘back side’! 🙂 …..as in nutrition label. Reading that the sausage has a good backside pretty much made my night! HA!

    Reply
    • Cait says

      May. 11th, 2012 at 10:05 am

      Haha – I’m glad! A woman after my own heart when it comes to sense of humor 🙂

      Reply
  6. Molly @ RDexposed says

    May. 11th, 2012 at 7:56 am

    This is how it goes with me and mushrooms. They can smell good but I’m still reluctant to eat them.

    Reply
    • Cait says

      May. 11th, 2012 at 10:03 am

      Mushrooms took me a good while to get used to. If they’re mixed into things I can do it but not so much on their own…

      Reply
  7. Margarita says

    May. 11th, 2012 at 9:37 am

    Haha! Glad you changed his mind about peppers. Those are the best things ever! I always buy them in season or not.

    Reply
    • Cait says

      May. 11th, 2012 at 10:03 am

      Agreed! They definitely add a ton of flavor to a dish!

      Reply
  8. James says

    May. 16th, 2012 at 11:21 am

    Oh yeah…

    Yum

    DarkJade-

    Reply

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