by Amanda Goetz
My life is usually pretty boring uneventful. I don’t mean uninteresting or unsatisfying, I just mean I’m not leading some sort of jet-set, always looking for the next adventure, “touring with the band” kind of life. Hell, the only places I ever seem to go are the grocery store and the clinic (my kids are walking Petri dishes, ALWAYS sick!).
I’m always running on a 2-3hr sleep deficit. This past month however has had me more sleep deprived than usual. It started off with my daughter’s preschool newsletter, which I design, write, print and distribute for free. Then two out of three of my kids got sick. I wrote a couple of blog posts and a good friend came to visit with her baby for a few days. Next I was headed off to Toronto (soo weird for me) for a meeting (whaaa?). I came home 36 hours later and spent the night feverishly packing for the family vacation we left on 16 hours later. The vacation was… nice, but really, moms are never on “vacation” if their kids are there.
So we get home and right away my middle child, my germ magnet, comes down with the flu. Looking back at my crazy month I should have seen it coming. But I was totally caught off guard by the knock-me-on-my-butt, rip-out-my-insides, fry-an-egg-on-my-head flu that my adorable little germ magnet passed on to me.
I rarely get sick. I’m a mom, I can’t afford to get sick! But sick I was. I slept for 31 hours interrupted only by bouts of vomiting, moaning answers to my beleaguered husband and praying to die. 24 hours later I emerged from our bedroom pale, shaky and still a little queasy. Immediately upon my return to active parenting (still wasn’t well but hubby was desperate for my help) my other two children came down with the flu. No rest for the weary mom. It’s times like this that are the reason I keep a well stocked freezer cause I wasn’t cooking for anybody!
More often than not when I make a dish I make it 1 1/2-2 times bigger than I need so that I can portion it out for lunches or freeze half for a quick and easy dinner on a stressful night. Anything from ribs, to soups, to pasta dishes like my Sausage and Pepper Penne, make great “from the freezer” meals on those nights you’re running to soccer or Saturdays when you’ve been outside doing yard-work all day.
Sausage and Pepper Penne
4 Italian Sausages, Mild or Hot (your call!), sliced thinly
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 med. onion, cut into 1” chunks
1 green pepper, cut into 1” chunks
1 yellow pepper, cut into 1” chunks
1 orange pepper, cut into 1” chunks
1 red pepper, cut into 1” chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. mushrooms, quartered (I forgot to put them in this time, pregnancy brain!)
1/2 c. beef stock
1 26 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 c. crushed tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
2 c. uncooked penne pasta (any pasta will do really)
Instructions:
1. In a large skillet, cook the sausage slices until done.
2. Remove the sausage and set it aside. Drain the fat from the pan.
3. Add the olive oil to the pan. Add the veggies and garlic.
4. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the beef stock, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and salt & pepper.
5. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
6. In the meantime, cook your pasta (according to package instructions) until al denté.
7. Drain your pasta and top with sauce and serve.
Extra sauce can be frozen either with or without noodles.
Enjoy!
Amanda Goetz is a WAHM to 3 kids under the age of 5. Her love of cooking was fostered when she was a preschooler helping her grandma in the kitchen. After a year long stint as a sous chef, she left the industry to continue cooking as a hobby before the stress and politics of a professional kitchen killed her love of cooking. Now she creates delicious dinners and delectable desserts for her family and friends and blogs about it at The Best Mom on the Block.
