Spaghetti with Spicy Bell Pepper Sauce

This is a really simple recipe that you can make in 30 minutes at home. I made this last night for dinner with ingredients I had at home, and I thought it was good enough to share with everyone. The recipe serves two people.

Ingredients

Spaghetti with Spicy Bell Pepper Sauce

• 2 Italian sausages- mild or hot
• 2 servings of spaghetti
• 1 package of frozen three pepper and onion blend
• 2 tbsps of tomato paste
• 2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of red chili flakes
• 2 tsps of Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp to spaghetti water and salt to taste to sauce

Preparation

First cook two servings of spaghetti in a large pot of water with 1 tbsp of salt. Once done, set to the side and keep the water. Slice up sausages. Cook the sausages in a large pan on the stove for two minutes with a little olive oil on a medium heat to brown the sausage. 

Cooking sausage in a pan and browning the sides of all the pieces

Then, add the frozen three pepper and onion veggie blend. Reduce the temperature to a medium heat and cook covered for five minutes. 

The package of frown veggies I used.

Add tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, red chili flakes, and Italian seasoning. Then, stir the ingredients with three full ladles of spaghetti water. Cover again to cook for five minutes on a medium heat. 

Cooking the sauce

Then, add the cooked spaghetti and, allow it to cook for another two minutes uncovered. 

Adding the spaghetti. Turn off and allow to cool to get sauce a little thicker. 

Serve warm and sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese over the pasta. This is a perfect dish to make after a long day when you want something comforting to eat. Enjoy! :0)   

Conch with White Sauce and Spaghetti

When I was a little girl, my grannie had a sea shell in her window like the one in the picture. I was always fascinated by sea shells as a little kid because of all the colors and shapes. I loved this particular shell because it was large and so pretty. I would always hold it up to my ear believing I would hear the sound of the ocean.

When I was older, I realized that marine gastropod molluscs was the name of the species that lived in this shell in my freshmen biology class. But, I did not realize the common term was "conch" until years later.  My mom returned from a trip from Florida and told me she tried conch. I looked it up and read about the popularity of eating conch as fritters.


Other day at Super H-mart, an Asian grocery store, and, I found conch for sale. A lady was cooking it on site and providing samples. I just thought it was fantastic. I decided to buy it and try making conch at home. I am not sure where else you can find conch. I am sure it is a harder to find for purchase in certain areas. If you are in the Dallas area, H-mart is probably the best place to go. Otherwise, you would have to ask someone in a seafood department where you can purchase it if you are wanting to create this recipe. 


The texture of conch is a little chewy and is similar to octopus. I think it is a required taste but, I love it. I did some research on how to cook the conch. Due to the chewy texture, you either have to cook the conch quickly or cook it a really long time. I chose to cook it a long time. The recipe is totally my creation. For something I created with an unfamiliar ingredient, I think it turned out really well. 


My recipe for conch


Conch with Pepper White Sauce and Spaghetti


The recipe is very simple. Though, it takes about 1 to 2 hours to prepare. Great recipe to make on a weekend to have something special and show off a bit. This recipe will create three servings.


Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of conch
• 1 tbsp of black pepper seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp of ground pepper
• 3 tbsps of unsalted butter
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 2 tbsp of flour
• 1/4 tsp of salt for cooking conch and salt to taste inn sauce 
• 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 2 cups of water
• three servings of spaghetti

Preparation

First, prepare the conch by rinsing the conch with water. Then, use a meat tenderizer to tenderize the conch a by hitting it on a cutting board. In a separate pan, add chicken broth, water, 1 tsp of pepper, and 1/4 tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Add conch to the boiling broth/water mixture. Then, reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook the conch for a hour. 

Once the conch is done, remove it from the broth/water mixture and chop up. Keep the broth from the conch.  Begin cooking three servings of spaghetti. Then, make a white sauce by first melting butter in a warm pan. Then, add the milk, bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat to a medium temperature. Add the flour and whisk to blend. Add the black pepper seeds, 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt to taste.  Cook for five minutes to thicken the sauce. Add a ladle full of the broth from the conch and the cooked spaghetti. Allow everything to cook together for 5 minutes on a simmer. Add the chopped conch and heat everything up for a minute on a medium heat. 



Serve warm with Parmesan cheese and your favorite glass of white wine. Also, I recommend eating a salad along the side. I ate my with my strawberry, feta cheese, and spinach salad. The recipe is on my blog. Enjoy!