Pad Thai Spaghetti with Sweet Sausage

So, I know that this isn't a food blog, but I wanted to share one of my newest creations with you all.

While baking is an art form and a science, that I partake of often, I feel that cooking is more of an adventure.  I cook by instinct in most cases (aside from checking cooking temps and timing for meats).  I fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to dinner. 

It all started before I was even married.  We'd have beef, pork chops, chicken, or salmon for my ex: these proteins need sauces and marinades!  So, I would just open the fridge and make it up. 

Now, I rarely look at recipes except for inspiration.  Last night I was feeling in the mood for italian, more specifically spaghetti and meatballs, but that seemed redundant.

So, I whipped open the cabinets and the fridge and created something slightly different.  First a package of pad thai brown rice noodles was boiled to al dente.  Then I took out the trusty wok, because I clearly wanted to mix genres in this meal.  I threw in a pound of sweet italian sausage, crumbled and browned it up, then added all of the following:   a splash of worcestshire sauce, the last of a bottle of moscato I had in the fridge, about a tablespoon of organic extra virgin olive oil, half a jar of button mushrooms, the last half of a red/green pepper frozen bag and a 1/4 cup of organic brown sugar (you'd be surprised at the significant taste difference of organic).  So, I let that saute for a few minutes, until it was sizzling nicely at which time I hit it with a can of tomato puree.  Lastly I tossed in garlic powder, onion powder, and dried basil.   Fresh garlic and onion probably would have been better, but I was out.

Now for the secret ingredient.  I may have mentioned before that I love my juicer, I try to juice regularly although I have on/off phases, and I ALWAYS have trouble getting my veggies in.  So, I juiced three very large kale leaves and a 1/4 of a head of broccoli.  Then I dumped that bright green juice right into the tomato sauce I had just made.  Lastly, I tossed in the noodles and there you have it: a twisted, mixed genre spaghetti and meatballs (aka, pad thai and sausage crumbles.)  The green juice turned the sauce a velvety brown color, almost resembling a thick beef gravy but of course it still tasted tomato-like although with a green veggie edge.

It was yum.  I encourage you all to cook by the seat of your pants too.  It's worth it.