Nugget Noodles

The topic of this post actually dates back to the days when my boys were in their early elementary school years. As a young family, we didn't often have the time and energy for more elaborate cooking. There were certainly days when we were even known to rely on Hamburger Helper or LaChoy bi-packs for a quick dinner. It was during this time of our family's life, that this dish came into existence. If I remember right, I originally used fettuccini or linguini. Over time, we switched to radiatore, and it took on the name of "Nugget Noodles." To this day, my now young adult children will, on occasion, ask to have nugget noodles with kielbasa for dinner. Given that our youngest child is now on the brink of graduating from high school, I thought I might as well share this recipe from our family's earlier years with you.
As I mentioned above, we now most commonly use radiatore pasta. The most recent time we prepared this dinner, however, we also had some rotini on hand so we used a combination.
Rotini are a type of corkscrew pasta. I haven't been able to identify when this pasta type was invented, however, the name originates from a 17th century Italian word for "small wheels." Rotini supposedly originated in southern Italy with the goal of developing a pasta that would retain sauce better. 

Radiatore are said to resemble radiators and were allegedly developed between the First and Second World Wars. As with rotini, they were developed to better hold sauces. Finding radiatore can sometimes be hit or miss in our local grocery stores. If we do see some, we tend to buy a box or two to keep the pantry stocked.

So now, let's put this dinner together, here is a quick picture of what you will need:

Ingredients:
16 ounce box of pasta - preferably a type like radiatore or rotini that will hold sauce well.
16 ounce bag of frozen California style vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots). Feel free to substitute another preferred vegetable type.
16 ounce jar of prepared Alfredo sauce. Pick whatever style you like. We've used a traditional Alfredo, roasted garlic, mushroom, … you get the idea.

Directions:

• Prepare the pasta according to directions and drain
• Prepare the frozen vegetables so that they are warmed through and drain.
• Toss the pasta and vegetables together and stir in the sauce.
• Cook over low heat until warmed throughout.
• Grill a Kielbasa sausage and serve it with the pasta/vegetable mixture.
• Enjoy a dinner of nugget noodles