Mixed Pepper Pasta, by Darci Hannah #recipe

Darci Hannah: As the weather gets nicer here in Michigan, I start looking for quicker, lighter meals to make for dinner. Our family loves sweet, colorful peppers and I seem to always have a pack in the fridge. This fun recipe for Mixed Pepper Pasta can be made in one pot, and that’s always a win for me. The original recipe for this dish was a vegetarian one, and it included some ingredients I knew the men in my life (my husband and our 3 very tall sons) wouldn’t care for, namely lentils and no meat. Since the original recipe called for water, I swapped it out for chicken broth to add more flavor, and used Great Northern beans instead of lentils, because the lads seem to love them in navy bean soup. Oh, and I used a whole pound of pasta instead of the 8 ounces the original recipe called for, because I really have no use for half a box of pasta. Of course, with more pasta came more chicken broth because you want the pasta to cook until tender. And since I was expanding the recipe I added more garlic, spices, and Italian sausage… because without it, my guys would think this was a side dish! 

Honestly, about the only thing that remained true to the original recipe after I was done with it were the peppers and the pasta! As I’ve learned, sometimes while working off a new recipe it’s okay to tweak it to suit your tastes and your needs. I’m just happy it still fits in one pot! 

Feel free to modify the recipe below! I’m sure it would make a delicious vegetarian dish too, but I shall never know.

Mixed Pepper Pasta

Cook time: 25 minutes. Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 pound package Italian sausage

1 pound rigatoni pasta or similar

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoon olive oil, divided

3 large, sweet peppers, diced in small pieces. I try to use red, yellow, and orange.

1 yellow onion, diced.

Kosher salt

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 can Great Northern or navy beans

2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for serving.

Directions:

Using a Dutch oven dish on the stove, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the diced peppers and onion. Season with salt and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In the same Dutch oven, cook Italian sausage (I’m using links here) until done. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool. (If using links, slice into bite-sized pieces once cooled.)

Add remaining olive oil to the pan. Cook garlic and fennel seeds for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 more minute. Add pasta and beans to the pan. Cover with 4 cups of chicken broth and ½ teaspoon of salt. Simmer, stirring often until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Note: You may need to add more water ½ cup at a time, if the pasta soaks up all the liquid before it is cooked. 

Next, add 2 ounces of grated parmesan cheese to the pot and stir until a thick sauce is created. 

Next fold in the pepper mixture and the sausage. 

Heat until warm and serve immediately, garnishing with more parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Get copy of the recipe here!

Have you ever tweaked a recipe, or do you prefer to follow a recipe to the letter? Please answer in the comments below!

Darci Hannah is the bestselling author of the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, the Food & Spirits Mystery Series, the Very Cherry Mystery Series, and two works of historical fiction, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, and The Angel of Blythe Hall. Darci grew up in the Midwest and currently lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband and two dogs. Darci is a lifelong lover of the Great Lakes, a natural wonder that inspires many of her stories. Passionate about family, dogs, food, baking, history, books, lighthouses, laughter, good conversations, coffee, and the paranormal, Darci feels especially blessed to have found a way to combine her interests in the stories she writes. It brings her great joy to be able to share them with you. 

Connect with Darci at www.darcihannah.com

Instagram: @authordarcihannah

Facebook: @Author Darci Hannah

 Just Released!

A Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle

By Darci Hannah

Book #2 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series 

Purchase link

When chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride got a role on the reality show Food & Spirits, she thought “spirits” meant cocktails. Instead, she’s cooking up dinners meant to tempt the departed to appear. And to her surprise, she’s discovered abilities to connect with the beyond—and crack murder cases . . .

Now that Bunny’s entrées come with a side of the Other Side, it comes in handy to have a grandma who’s friendly with the elderly owners of a haunted Scottish castle. During Bunny’s childhood she heard all about Dundoon’s bloody history and the “ghostly piper” who roamed the grounds—and soon she’ll be visiting the ancient place with her ghost hunter and psychic co-stars. The annual bagpipe competition in the late piper’s honor will make for some good footage as well. 

After Bunny serves a feast fit for a 17th century king, including lamb chops with plenty of fresh herbs, she heads outdoors for the ghost hunt. But in the dark, dense fog, someone fatally plunges from the clifftop over the loch. The sound that follows is a mournful, otherworldly bagpipe . . . and once the body of another perished piper is retrieved, Bunny is determined to solve this Highlands homicide—and prevent a killer from getting off scot-free . . .

Trade Paperback Release!

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor

By Darci Hannah

Book #1 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

Purchase Link

While filming at a haunted English manor, chef Bunny MacBride’s big break on her first reality TV show may be cut short by an unscripted murder in Darci Hannah’s new Food & Spirits cozy mystery series . . .

It isn’t how chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride imagined her own cooking show unfolding. But, if preparing historic meals with a modern flair is what it takes to get her cooking on the air, she can deliver, even if her dinner guest is a ghost. That’s the premise of the new reality TV show Food & Spirits, where Chef Bunny teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady to visit haunted locales around the world and tempt lingering spirits back to the table with a beloved meal. For their first episode, the Food & Spirits team sets off to investigate Bramsford Manor, a historic house turned famously haunted hotel, in picturesque Hampshire, England. The sprawling estate is said to be home to the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died in the 18th century, the victim of a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night.

Bunny leaves the spectral search to the pros and focuses on the feast, creating a traditional English holiday wedding dinner, complete with a gorgeous prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and rustic apple tarts. But Bunny’s task is made more difficult when someone steals a boning knife from her custom kit. Alas, when the blade finally turns up again—in the chest of an all-too-human dinner guest—Bunny’s woes only grow as she is named a lead suspect in the case! Now, with a haunted house full of living residents, staff, and crew, Bunny will need the help of Brett, Giff, and her clairvoyant Grandma Mac, to solve this murder before the manor gains another ghost!

Coming this July!

Murder at the Campfire Cookout

By Darci Hannah

Book #7 in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series

 

Preorder today!

When Lindsey Bakewell leaves behind her lighthouse bakeshop, her boyfriend, Rory, and her Newfoundland dog, Wellington, for a glamping trip with her mother in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the bears leave them alone—but a killer doesn’t. . .

Converting the old Beacon Point lighthouse into a bakery is as adventurous as Lindsey cares to get. Her mother, Ellie, a former 80s fashion model, likes her creature comforts even more—until she sees a business opportunity for her Beacon Harbor fashion boutique when she’s invited by the Mitten Kittens Glamping Club on a woodsy getaway.

Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers. Ellie insists Lindsey come along to win the campfire cookout contest. Campfire cooking has come a long way from bacon and beans. Soon Lindsey is making pizza, berry cobbler, and gooey Carmelita camping bars.

But the festive spirit is soon dampened when a body is found in Ellie’s camper. It seems like an accidental death until everyone’s tires are slashed and it’s clear the glampsite has become a crime scene. With no cell service to call for help, it’s up to Lindsey to smoke out the killer around the campfire . . .

Because no one is out of the woods yet.

Herbed Flatbread -- a food adventure from Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Who loves crispy bread topped with flavorful herbs? Who loves it even more topped with cheese? All hands raised in my house!

I’d been tempted to make this for a while, but when I saw an easy recipe from King Arthur, I moved the plan to the front burner. Or rather, to the very hot oven. Seriously, this recipe calls for an oven so hot it rivals the heat of the self-cleaning cycle, so get your tongs and heaviest oven pads out. But that’s the only thing daunting about this recipe.

The recipe makes 4 rounds, so we were able to try 3 different herb toppings. I used a za’atar and a dukkah, both Middle Eastern blends, from Savory Spice, and a dukah from World Spice. (We also love both their za’atars, but were out.) The WS dukah may have been our favorite, but we loved them all. Try what you have or think you’ll most enjoy. The herb and cheese toppings, as written, are enough for all 4; reduce amounts as needed. The dough keeps several days in the fridge and freezes nicely, but I suggest making the toppings fresh.

We live in Montana’s Flathead Valley, so if I call this flathead instead of flatbread, forgive me. Flathead Flatbread has a nice ring, doesn’t it?

One option, the last one we tried, includes a cheese topping. Mr. Right has been experimenting with ChatGpT for research on a medical treatment he’s curious about (for a patient). One afternoon, I walked into his office and said I wanted to make the last of the flatbreads with dinner, and thought I might try the cheese topping. He looked amused – cheese can do that – and then a posh male British accent replied, from his computer, saying cheese tacos for dinner sounded good.

So I give you Flathead Flatbread, aka Cheese Tacos. 

What food adventures have you enjoyed lately?

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Herbed Flatbread, aka Flathead Flatbread and Cheese Tacos

Adapted from King Arthur Baking Company

For the dough:

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon unbleached bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

3/4 cup warm water 

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the herb topping:

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) za’atar, Dukah, or another spice blend for topping 

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon table salt, optional* (omit if your blend contains salt)

For the cheese topping (optional): 

2 garlic cloves, minced or grated

1 scant tablespoon white or yellow onion, grated

2 cups low-moisture mozzarella, grated

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon dried mint, crushed

For the dough: 

Using the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar with a spoon. Gradually add the water, continuing to mix by hand until a shaggy dough forms. 

Place the bowl on the stand, attach the dough hook, and knead on medium-high until smooth and slightly sticky, about 3 minutes.

Oil the bottom and lower third of a small mixing bowl. Using your hands, shape the dough into a ball. Place the ball in the oiled bowl, flipping it to oil the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a plate. Let dough rise until about doubled, roughly 45 minutes.

Place dough on a clean work surface and divide into four parts. Shape each into a ball. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, another 45 minutes.

Place your baking steel or stone in the lower third of your oven, removing upper racks to make reaching in and out easier and safer. Preheat oven to 550°F. 

Make the herb topping: 

In a small bowl, combine the spices and olive oil, along with the salt if you’re using it.

Make the cheese topping: 

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, onion, cheese, olive oil, and dried mint. 

Roll the dough:

Lightly flour a cutting board or silicon work surface. Place a ball of dough on the flour and dust the top with flour. Press ball to flatten, then roll into a 9" round. Rotate if needed to create an even round and prevent sticking. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Repeat with other balls, if you are baking them now. 

Spoon one quarter of the herbed oil on the dough and spread or brush almost to the edges, leaving about a 1/4 inch border.

With Savory Spice Za'atar

With Savory Spice Dukah

Use a peel or a thin baking sheet and a wide spatula to transfer the dough to the baking steel or stone. 

Bake 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown; some bubbles and char are fine. If your dough seems sticky, use tongs to rotate for even cooking.

With Savory Spice Za'atar

With Savory Spice Dukah 

If using the cheese topping, bake the bread for 2 minutes, add about half a cup to the bread, spread quickly, and bake 2 minutes more. 

With World Spice Dukah and Cheese Topping

Remove the bread from the oven using tongs or your peel. Place on a cutting board and cool 3-4 minutes. Start the next round, if you’re baking more than one. Cut into wedges and serve. 

Storage:

Unbaked dough balls can be kept in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for several days. Bring to room temperature, then bake as above.

To freeze, tightly wrap dough balls and freeze up to a month. To bake, thaw in refrigerator for several hours, then bring to room temperature and bake as above. 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine. 

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

Sweet and Sour Shrimp: The Perfect Weeknight Takeout Fake-Out Plus a book giveaway By Ang Pompano

Ang Pompano: Sweet and sour shrimp is one of my absolute favorite, easy-to-prepare meals. For some reason, the origins of which are completely lost to time, my family always has this dish on Halloween. But even though it’s only May, it’s way too good for me to wait until October rolls around to make it again. For this batch, I loaded mine up with chunks of pineapple and red and green bell peppers. Then as the sauce simmered, the kitchen filled with the incredible aroma of fried peppers, onions, and ginger.

Cooking it at home means the shrimp stay tender, while the homemade sauce strikes a perfect balance between tangy and sugary without crossing into candy territory. Personally, I think this version easily beats anything you can get from the takeout places.        

Come to think of it, the fact that the dish comes together so fast may be exactly how our Halloween tradition started. Back then, we would both rush home from work and needed something fast and filling before the fun began. It’s also the kind of quick, easy meal that’s perfect for a busy weeknight when you’re short on time. In fact, if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably spend the last five minutes of cooking ‘taste-testing’ a few shrimp straight from the pan while pretending you’re just adjusting the seasoning.

Over to you: What’s your ultimate sweet-and-sour addition? Are you team pineapple, all about the peppers and onions, or are you one of those daring people who tosses in extra chili heat? Let me know in the comments! And don't forget to leave your email address to win a copy of When It's Time for Leaving.

Ingredients:

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Red pepper flakes
Oil for frying or sautéing
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon fresh ginger
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup pineapple chunks

How to Make It:

First, make the sauce. Whisk together the pineapple juice, ketchup, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a bowl. Set it aside, but give it another stir before using it later so the cornstarch doesn’t sink to the bottom.

Season the shrimp lightly with red pepper flakes and set them aside.

Heat a little oil in a large skillet over low heat and cook the onion slices for about four to five minutes until they soften. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook the peppers until they start to brown around the edges. Remove them and set them aside with the onions.

Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for about two to three minutes, just until they turn pink. Don’t overcook them unless you enjoy chewing rubber bands.

Return the onions and peppers to the skillet along with the pineapple chunks. Pour in the sauce and stir everything together well. Let it simmer for five to ten minutes until the sauce thickens and coats everything in that shiny sweet-and-sour glaze that makes you immediately reach for a second helping whether you planned to or not.

Serve over rice. 

Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher, and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency, and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs, Dexter and Alfie.

Just Released!

Diet of Death

by Ang Pompano

The first in the Reluctant Food Columnist series.

Buy Link

Betty Ann Green is a beloved culinary icon…who doesn’t exist. She is the brilliant, beautiful illusion created by two unlikely collaborators. Behind the façade is Quincy Lazzaro, a culinarily challenged writer whose witty, sharp prose is the public face of Betty, while those flawless, genius recipes are all thanks to his octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli.

When the arrogant diet guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, inventor of the Westport Diet, demands a face-to-face interview, Quincy reluctantly steps in as Betty’s frontman, only for Tolzer to drop dead. The police call it natural causes, but Quincy knows better. He sees it as the investigative break he’s been waiting for.

Now, caught between a crime-solving grandma, a no-nonsense detective girlfriend, and a killer who may be one step ahead, Quincy must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again.

When It’s Time for Leaving

by Ang Pompano

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Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.

Blood Ties and Deadly Lies

by Ang Pompano

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Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.

Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025

Edited by

Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler

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Every year the anthology brings welcome surprises and satisfactions, and this year is no different, featuring stories by 21 of New England’s best crime writers.

Includes “Minnie the Air Raid Warden” by Ang Pompano.