Savory Pork and Pasta

So Ott, A has me cooking out of my comfort zone again ... canned tomatoes.  The truth is I have never cooked with canned tomatoes.  In fact, I didn't even like tomatoes until about 8 years ago.  I grew up a ketchup and tomato soup fan, but beyond that tomatoes and I were not friends. 

Any way since canned tomatoes are the secret ingredient for Ott, A's March Iron Chef Challenge, I decided now was the time I needed to conquer canned tomatoes.

So thanks to the super cool package of tomato goodies I received from Red Gold (Thank You Red Gold), I had a brand new cookbook of canned tomato recipes to choose from or should I say for The Farmer to choose from for this challenge. 

That's right, I let The Farmer choose the recipe I would use for this challenge.  Needless to say, he found a recipe that included pork and was a winner for this pig pen.

Savory Pork and Pasta
1 1/2 cups fusilli, penne, or other small pasta
1 pound ground pork
1 onion, chopped
1 t. basil
1t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can of Stewed Tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can of Tomato Sauce
1 zucchini or yellow squash, chopped

Cook the pasta using package direction; drain.  Cover to keep warm. 

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the ground pork and onion. 

Cook until the ground pork is brown and crumbly, stirring frequently; drain.

Stir in the basil, salt, and pepper.  Add the undrained stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce and mix well.  (Unfortunately, I could not find Red Gold product for my recipe so I had to use competitor products.)

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add the pasta and zucchini and mix well.  Cook for 2 to 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. 

And dinner is ready...

And thankfully that goodie package from Red Gold kept Little Sissy busy while I cooked.