And Tonight's Dinner As Well!

... ok, so maybe I don't post about my dinner often because F and I go out to eat a lot...

As F is working late (and got dinner without me! Without telling me! (*shock!)), I am eating by myself tonight. Now, as I still need to eat lots o' protein or I'll die (true story), and like to eat up stuff that's been in the freezer for years, my dinner is STILL pretty simple.

... although, as I was telling a good friend M about my "simple" dinner last night, she exclaimed "that's your idea of simple?!" So clearly, I'm a better cook than I thought.

So, items used from the freezer: ancient pork sausage roll, ancient green beans, "Italian Seasoned" bread crumbs (who buys that crap?). Items from the fridge: butter, the last of the ricotta (although it lasts freaking forever, who knew?), and a hefty bit of parmasean. Pantry items: penne pasta.

I'm sure it's not hard to see how this turned into a yummy, gooey, cheesy casserole. It kinda makes me wish that I had a camera, to show this beauty.

But, here's the steps for those who need them, or haven't made this kind of meal before.

Boil water. While water is boiling, chop frozen sausage and put into frying pan (covered) to cook. When water boils, add pasta -- cook until al dente (check it by eating).

Drain pasta, but leave a little bit of water (if you have milk, drain all the water out -- but I didn't have milk).

To pot with pasta, add half a stick of butter (NOM NOM), and start grating cheese over it. Grate as much as you want. Add ricotta (I only had about 1/2 - 1 c. of ricotta left). Mix it all together. Add more cheese as needed. Throw in frozen green beans. When sausage is done frying, throw some crumbles of sausage in with pasta and sauce.

Put the whole shebang into a casserole dish. Top with breadcrumbs and dots of butter (you can also melt the butter, throw breadcrumbs in that, and crumble this butter/crumb mix over the top -- I was being lazy). Stick in oven (I used 350F) until top is browned, crunchy, and sauce is bubbling.

Eat!