Southwestern Baked Pasta

Well, I did largely what I wrote yesterday. First, I did my chopping...I minced 4 cloves of garlic, 2 onions, 2 red peppers, and 2 jalapenos. I grabbed my trusty La Crueset dutch oven, and heated about 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat until it was shimmering. I put in the garlic and sauteed that until it was fragrant, and then put in the rest of the vegetables. I sauteed those until they were nice and caramelized, about 20 minutes, with a nice fond on the bottom of the pan. Then I started rummaging around the spice cabinet. I grabbed a small pyrex dish and put in 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1 tablespoon of ancho chile powder, 1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder (both from Penzey's), and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. I mixed those in the pyrex dish, pushed the vegetables aside, and dumped them into the pot. I fried the spices for a few minutes, and then added 1 lb burger and 2 chorizo sausages (with the skins removed). I broke up the meat with a wooden utensil, and once it was browned, I added 2 14-oz cans of diced tomatoes and one can of tomato sauce. Once that was in, I gave it a good stir, added 2 teaspoons of oregano, and turned the heat down to medium-low.

I let that simmer for a good hour, in order to let the sauce thicken a bit. In the interim, I cooked a box of farfalle pasta. Once that was done, I drained it and then put the pasta into my lasagna pan. I dumped the pot of sauce into the pan, and then stirred to combine. I minced a bunch of fresh cilantro, and sprinkled that over the top, and then spread two 8-oz packages of shredded colby-jack cheese over the top. I slide the pan into a pre-heated 400 degree oven, and baked for about 45 minutes (I pulled it out just as it appeared the cheese was starting to brown in spots, and the whole thing was bubbling).

I served it with a generous dollop of sour cream...it was really good. If I had to do it over again, I would probably just do one jalapeno...it was fairly hot. Not terribly so, but there was some definite heat. I might also be tempted to kick up the smoky flavor a bit by using a can of chipotles in adobo sauce rather than just rely on the spice. But all in all, it turned out pretty well. Hopefully, tonight's excursion with pork chops will be as good!