In honor of Mother’s Day tomorrow I wanted to share with you one of my mom’s favorite dinners. My mom passed away in 2009 (at age 54) from cancer just before my daughter’s 2nd birthday, so Mother’s Day has and I think always will be a bittersweet holiday since she’s no longer here to celebrate with me.
My mom loved Buca Di Beppo, and her favorite dish was their Macaroni Rosa. When I was still living at home, I can remember her asking for me to make it over and over again to the point where I couldn’t even look at it anymore. My version is changed up a bit from the Buca Di Beppo version, but it’s still super delicious and hearty. One smallish serving is plenty for me since it’s filled with veggies, meat, and pasta in a creamy, cheesy tomato sauce, and I know if she was still here, she’d be asking for it tomorrow. 🙂
Here’s what you’ll need…{serves 4-6 comfortably}
- 1 pound of pasta (corkscrews, rotini, rigatoni…whatever you prefer)
- 1/2 lb. ground italian sausage (out of it’s casing)
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (cubed small into bite size pieces)
- 1 cup of quartered button mushrooms
- 1 cup of broccoli florets
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1/2 red onion (sliced thin)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes seasoned with italian herbs
- 1 15oz. jar of Bertolli brand “Four Cheese Rosa” sauce
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried italian herbs
- olive oil
Here’s how you make it…
- Cook your pasta as per directions just short of the “al dente” stage and set aside. The pasta will continue to cook in the Rosa sauce.
- Drizzle olive oil into your large sauté pan and add your thinly sliced red onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper, let it cook on med-high until it begins to soften.
- Add in your ground sausage and chicken (cubed), mixing frequently to break up the sausage as it cooks. Add in your chopped garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Once meats are completely cooked, add in your mushrooms and broccoli, add 1 teaspoon italian herbs and stir together, let cook for 3 minutes
- Now add your jar of sauce, and canned tomatoes with juice (don’t strain) go ahead and throw in your frozen peas too
- Stir everything together, lower heat to medium and cover your pan for 5 minutes.
- Add in your pasta to the sauce, and chopped fresh parsley and toss together, continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until pasta is al dente then serve hot.
I hope you all have a wonderful and very Happy Mother’s Day– whether your mom is here or in spirit like mine, I hope you’ll find a way to celebrate her in some way. 🙂 This super easy one pot Pasta Rosa makes me smile every time I make it. It reminds me so much of my mom, and how happy she was when I made it. I hope you love it just as much as she did 🙂
Talk to you soon friends, take care!
XO
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