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Creamy Rigatoni Pasta

March 29, 2020 by hipfoodiemom 12 Comments

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Creamy Rigatoni Pasta! The Easiest Pasta You’ll Ever Make. Using all pantry staples, plus an onion, garlic and heavy whipping cream or milk.

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta! The Easiest Pasta You'll Ever Make. Using all pantry staples, plus an onion, garlic and heavy whipping cream or milk. We are all in this together.

This is a long post about how I’m feeling these days and thoughts I wanted to share so feel free to jump down to the recipe.

I usually wake up before my alarm goes off. 5am, 6am and I’m up and out of bed by 6:15am. Ready and excited to start the day. First, I wake up Phoebe because her bus comes first and she needs to be up, fed, ready and out the door to catch her bus at 7am. Next comes Madeline, who gets to sleep in every morning until 7:30am because her bus arrives at 8:20am.

Then, I’m off to my exercise class and I get my day going. Running errands, cleaning, cooking, writing recipes, writing blog posts, conference calls, you name it.

That was only three weeks ago.

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta! The Easiest Pasta You'll Ever Make. Using all pantry staples, plus an onion, garlic and heavy whipping cream or milk. We are all in this together.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING

As we all know, on March 16th, the White House announced a program called “15 Days to Slow the Spread,” and our lives have been drastically different from that point on. It’s amazing what can happen and change in the course of just two weeks.

This is all very serious. I’m not going to recap anything you don’t already know. I just wanted to share what I have been doing, how we have been coping (a lot of you have kindly asked) and what’s in my head right now.

I’ve honestly never read the news as much as I have within the past two weeks. I’m angry. I’m sad. I’m disappointed. I’m hopeful. It’s gotten a little bit better but at the beginning of this week, there was little to no motivation to get out of bed. No excitement. No drive. Nothing. It’s like we are living in a movie. But we are not. This is life right now.

As you all may know, we are renting an apartment in Malvern, PA. I slowly feel myself going crazy. I am used to going out every day. Every single day. I’m vacuuming the floors every day. My husband and I are fighting. We’re just irritating each other. We are human. Thank God we changed our minds at the last minute and rented a three bedroom apartment, as opposed to a two bedroom. Obviously, he’s working from home now and has set up his office in Madeline’s room. Who knows how long life will be like this so I am thankful that there can be some sort of work/life separation just to keep us all sane.

We’re all going a little stir crazy but what are we going to do? Make this Creamy Rigatoni Pasta!

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta! The Easiest Pasta You'll Ever Make. Using all pantry staples, plus an onion, garlic and heavy whipping cream or milk. We are all in this together.

DIFFERENT OUTLOOK

I realized a few days ago that my kids are looking to me for stability, for comfort. Of course I already know this but I was reminded of this again. Online school starts on Monday, tomorrow. We’ve been getting outside and taking walks and doing jumping jacks in the vacant parking lot next to our apartment building.

I’ve been cooking a lot. We’ve been baking. Madeline is making cakes, and pancakes and cinnamon covered apple slices and frozen grapes. I ordered sewing kits, fabric and books for the kids that should arrive (my fingers are crossed Amazon) on Tuesday. I signed up for ButcherBox. I signed up for Daily Harvest so we can have smoothies every morning and not worry about not having or not being able to find certain ingredients at the grocery store.

I am truly thankful for everything we have.

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta! The Easiest Pasta You'll Ever Make. Using all pantry staples, plus an onion, garlic and heavy whipping cream or milk. We are all in this together.

We are all healthy. We have food. We hope you try this Creamy Rigatoni Pasta. We have beds to sleep on. We have FaceTime so we can talk to our families in Texas, CA and MN. No one knows how long this is going to last and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want the world to go back to normal. I do hope that everything can begin to re-open again on or very shortly after Easter Sunday. Will that really happen? No one knows.

WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

Just take it one day at a time. We’re watching a lot of movies together. We’ll keep up with the daily walks and getting fresh air; and I am so thankful that we can still do this. That statement is crazy. I am so thankful that we can even leave our apartment to go outside and get fresh air. Who would have thought that this would be our lives in March 2020?

I will focus on the positive. I will keep my eyes looking forward and see how I can help. Local businesses, restaurants, businesses back in Madison, Wisconsin, etc. Friends, my heart is over there. My heart is breaking for everyone fighting to keep their businesses alive and running.

A friend of mine back in Waunakee, Wisconsin is making masks. Jay has raised over $8,000 and still needs help in reaching his goal of $10,000. Go Fund Me link is here.

If you’ve read this entire post, thank you. I know it may seem jumbled. My direct messages on Instagram: Someone told me to stop rambling on my Instagram stories, another person told me that I need to stop going grocery shopping and do online grocery shopping, another person said that I shouldn’t be taking my kids outside. Another person said that I am not being serious enough.

This is what you face when you put yourself and your family on social media. It is what it is. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. I don’t want to focus on that. I guess the only reason I mention that is because I struggle everyday. With what I want to share here and online. With what I want to do with my little space on the internet. All I know is that what is happening in our world right now is crazy and I wanted to have written something here to remember it. To remember what I was feeling and I just wanted to share a recipe with you all and be myself.

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta! The Easiest Pasta You'll Ever Make. Using all pantry staples, plus an onion, garlic and heavy whipping cream or milk. We are all in this together.

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta! I went to Whole Foods yesterday to grocery shop. I also wanted to see what was left on the shelves. Pasta, pasta sauce and flour is almost wiped out. I could find pretty much everything else I needed. Most stores now, as they should, are limiting the number of canned goods and some pantry staples to one (depending on where you are shopping) to four cans per person as the limit.

I was able to buy one box of rigatoni and canned tomatoes. And I made this. If you do not have any pasta or access to any pasta, please let me know. I use anchovy paste in this recipe as a flavor booster. If you don’t have any, that’s fine but if you can find some, or have some to use, it adds a little umami in my opinion. I also offer subs if you don’t have any heavy cream. The fresh basil is great if you have it, if not, don’t sweat it. The beauty of this recipe is that you can tailor this pasta and use this as a base and foundation to make other pastas. Use what you have and improvise if you need to. We hope you try this Creamy Rigatoni Pasta!

My hope during this time is that we can all be kind to all people of all colors and ethnicities and not judgmental. We are all in this together. Let’s make the most of it and come out of this strong.

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta! Using pantry staples, plus an onion, garlic and heavy whipping cream. Check out the recipe to see my flavor booster!
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta

This recipe can easily be made with ground turkey, sausage or you can leave out the meat completely and make this meat-less! Up to you!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time25 minutes mins
Total Time35 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: italian american
Keyword: creamy pasta, easy, easy pasta, rigatoni, rigatoni pasta
Servings: 6
Author: hipfoodiemom

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced or thinly sliced
  • 1 lb. lean ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
  • 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
  • 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup heavy cream*
  • fresh basil leaves couple handfuls
  • 1 lb. rigatoni pasta cooked to al dente
  • salt and pepper
  • parmesan cheese freshly grated

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. After a minute or two, add in the onions and cook until translucent and tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir together for one minute. Add in the lean ground beef and cook until all the meat is browned and cooked through.
  • Add in the anchovy paste and the red chili pepper flakes if using and stir together. Pour in the crushed and diced tomatoes, mix together and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Pour in the heavy cream* and add in the basil. Stir together for a minute to two and then add in the cooked rigatoni pasta. Stir together and make sure the sauce is coating all of the pasta. Taste, season with salt and pepper if needed and serve. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Notes

*If you don't have heavy cream, whole milk will work, or for an even creamier pasta, 3/4 whole milk + 3 tablespoons unsalted butter. 

 

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Filed Under: Meals, Pasta

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anita

    March 29, 2020 at 6:46 pm

    5 stars
    I made a similar dish sautéed some mushrooms, kept it more brown than red sauce. Forgot the cream though. Have made a few corned beefs in the crock pot. Takes 6 hours. My friend makes hers in the Instapot 80 minutes. My husband has decided to organize my kitchen. You know what I’m sayin’ ?????

    Reply
    • Kristy

      March 30, 2020 at 1:37 pm

      Love this post! I feel for all the mamas right now. I am thankful to enjoy the time and not feel stir crazy but I know I’m the minority. A girlfriend of mine is an amazing mother to a really awesome kid but she’s having a hard time being home 24-7 cooped up with a toddler. Normally she could go run an errand to get a break or go grab a bite but of course, those aren’t options right now. So I thought, everyone is having virtual happy hours, why not have a virtual playdate?! We’re attempting our first 30 min Zoom playdate today. I’m going to show the little one my cats, see if we can color together.. anything to keep her occupied for a few minutes to give mom a break. We are a tribe, even if from a distance. Thinking of everyone!!

      Reply
      • hipfoodiemom

        March 31, 2020 at 7:04 am

        Hi Kristy! Thank you for sharing! I love this idea! Thank you!

        Reply
  2. Cecilia

    March 30, 2020 at 4:48 am

    You are amazing!! It’s a scary time and it’s hard to say what’s too safe but the pressure is on to keep our kids feeing secure and loved and FED. I like that you point out the blessings because it’s all a challenge right now. Not going nuts with the extra noise of the little ones, not being able to leave everyday for the usual errands and being limited to meal options. I used to go to the market three or four times a week, to restock on fresh fruits and veggies, aside from the “oh I forgot to get milk” and haven’t even been making my daily smoothie to avoid running out so quickly. Anyway, I appreciate you and everything you share! Rant away, I say:) thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try!

    Reply
    • hipfoodiemom

      March 30, 2020 at 6:50 am

      Thank you for the kind message, Cecilia!

      Reply
  3. Nicole

    March 30, 2020 at 10:34 am

    This is a beautiful post Alice with everything intertwined how you’re feeling, coping and navigating life through this time of uncertainty. I can only say take one day at a time, continue to do what you’re doing making adjustments where necessary because although we are self isolating, everyday is different still with it’s own challenges. Pray, keep loving your family, hold on to some joy and spread it lots of people need it and just continue to be safe and do the best you can…..its all we can do. Thank you Alice for trying to be as transparent as you possibly can. God bless.(Psalms91) I hope it blesses you

    Reply
    • hipfoodiemom

      March 30, 2020 at 11:54 am

      Thank you, Nicole! I really appreciate this!

      Reply
  4. Kiu travis

    March 30, 2020 at 10:51 am

    Looks delicious!
    Sending Hugs.
    Stay Safe?

    Reply
    • hipfoodiemom

      March 30, 2020 at 11:54 am

      Thank you! you as well!

      Reply
  5. Stacey

    March 30, 2020 at 1:06 pm

    Thank you for your openness and honest opinion! I like following your stories on Instagram. I can also click through if it’s not for me today. Stay positive and keep being authentically you ?

    Reply
    • hipfoodiemom

      March 31, 2020 at 7:04 am

      Thank you so much, Stacey!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Cavatappi with Bacon and Roasted Broccoli • Hip Foodie Mom says:
    April 4, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    […] Skillet Nachos! Use ground beef, chicken or pork, Open Just made this rigatoni pasta using pantry […]

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Meet Alice

Alice Choi from Hip Foodie MomHello! My name is Alice. Here, at Hip Foodie Mom, you will find fresh food recipes using local, seasonal ingredients. From meat dishes to vegetarian to Asian inspired dishes, you are sure to find something you like. Thank you for stopping by!

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