Chez Kelley

the work-lunch competition:

If your office dynamic is anything like mine, you understand the concept of what I have dubbed the “work-lunch competition”. You, like most other job holders, value the allotted time placed aside for the consumption of our lunchbox contents. As much as we are friends around the office, there is a silent albeit present contest that begins everyday around 12 p.m. This quiet battle is typically initiated with the ever-so-sneaky, “What did you bring?” If you were not previously aware of the WLC, do not be fooled by this tactic. Your co-worker really means, “Is what you brought better than what I brought? Why do I just have a sandwich when you have a perfectly crafted casserole?”… The goal of said contest is to be the center of food envy attention. To achieve this goal, follow the recipe below. This light pasta not only looks aesthetically pleasing but also tastes amazing! It makes a lot of pasta so you can cook it for dinner and take the leftovers to work! Enjoy!

Party Pasta a la Kelley

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic diced

1 container of fresh cherry tomatoes

¾ cup olive oil

1 pound penne pasta

1 tablespoon sugar

1 loose sausage roll

2 small zucchini, sliced (you can add more vegetables depending on preference)

1 can of artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

Recipe:

1)     Wash the cherry tomatoes and put them in a large saucepan or pot with the garlic on low/med heat

2)     Pour ¾ of the olive oil over the tomatoes and cover the pot

3)     Leave this for about 30-40 min or until the tomato skin is coming apart

4)     In a large pot, boil your pasta (usually 9-11 minutes for penne)

5)     Drain the pasta and set it aside

6)     While the sauce is cooking (after you cook your pasta), brown the sausage (this will take about 10 minutes)

7)     Take the sausage out of the pan and set aside

8)     In the same pan, place the zucchini and other optional vegetables

9)     Sauté them until the edges are brown (about 3 minutes)

10) After 3 minutes, add the artichokes

11) Take the vegetables and drain, set aside

12)  When the 30 minutes is over for the tomato mixture, add sugar and crush the remaining tomatoes until the mixture is sauce-like

13)  Pour all of the ingredients into the sauce pan (when I tried this, it would not fit so I went ahead and poured all of my ingredients into my large serving bowl)