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Zucchini Kielbasa Pasta is one of those recipes that I started out using years ago and which slowly morphed into something that fits my family a bit better. This happens pretty often and usually results in a family favorite.

And though this is a family favorite, I actually forgot about it for a while. A year or so ago I went through and tried to organize all of my recipes. Most of them are just full-sized sheets of printer paper, and I figured the easiest way to reign them in was to put them in all sheet protectors in a binder.

However, a few seemed to have been lost along the way and this was one of them, and I didn’t realize it until Mike was going through our external hard-drive this week and came across some pictures of it that I’d taken for some reason (I had to double check to see if I’ve already posted it and hadn’t, so I don’t know what the pictures were for). I have no idea what happened to the original print-out with all of my notes, but I’d made it often enough that even after so long I remembered the changes I’d made.

Anyway, this is a great dinner for summer. There is no oven involved, and if you end up with an abundance of zucchini it’s a great way to use them up. You can also easily make it vegetarian by leaving out the kielbasa.

Zucchini Kielbasa Pasta

3 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 can (14 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb tube pasta (I used rigatoni, but penne, ziti, etc, works fine)

In a large skillet, saute the zucchini, onion and red bell pepper in the olive oil until zucchini is tender (I usually put a lid on it for a few minutes to let the steam help it cook).

Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook until heated through.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot. Pour the zucchini kielbasa mixture on top and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

Geez, I can’t believe I’ve only got four posts for all of May! I probably mentioned in one of those posts that May is always crazy busy at my house. This year we decided to add to the madness and scheduled a trip to my home state of Utah for Memorial Day weekend.

The entire weekend ended up being cloudy and rainy (which I love and miss), but we managed to get a lot of outdoor activities in, including an amazing hike with the beautiful views you can see in the picture above.

We also got to hit IKEA (can you believe Las Vegas doesn’t have an IKEA?) and we ate at the cafe there. The food was good and I got to try lingonberries for the first time (they were good — I thought they tasted like cranberries!). I also loaded up on some Swedish chocolate because why not?

The next day we also stopped in at Hatch Family Chocolates in Salt Lake. The shop was the setting for a (sadly) short-lived reality show on TLC starring the owners of the shop (whom we got to meet when we last visited two years ago), and while the chocolate is a bit on the pricey side, it’s definitely worth it. In fact, it’s even better than See’s. Yes, I said it.

We worried about the tomatoes while we were gone. Thankfully, the weather took pity on us and stayed pretty mild, so there weren’t any water issues. The tomatoes in the bowl are a few of what we picked before we left, and the tomatoes on the plate were waiting for us when we got back.

As you can see, the sweet 100s are doing well, but the beefsteaks are having issues. We had two that we had to pick prematurely because they had developed blossom end rot. That link says that one of the causes is a calcium deficiency, but we’ve got calcium added to the soil, so we’re keeping a closer eye on maintaining the water supply.

And yesterday, the girls got to shuck their first ears of corn. Corn shucking is something I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember, but my city girls haven’t had many opportunities. Naturally, they got a kick out of it.