Quick and tasty sausage penne

This is so simple- other than the sausages it used things in my store cupboard or that needed using up : )

This feeds four

I used:
400g Penne (any shaped pasta would be good)
6 normal sized sausages
2 onions
grated cheese
Fresh tomatos and/ or tinned tomatos (one or two tins)
pinch of sage
pinch of pimenton
1/4 chicken stock cube
two cloves garlic, crushed
Good handful of spinach or rocket
Glass of red wine.

To make:
Dice and saute the onion. Add the sage and pimenton. Chop the sausage into bite sized pieces (this meal should be able to be eaten with a fork) and brown with the onions.

Boil the water for the pasta.

When the sausage is browned, add any fresh, chopped tomatoes, the tinned tomatoes, garlic, red wine (I had a half bottle left over from another evening) and the stock cube. Obviously, you can use all fresh or all tinned tomatoes, the wine and stock cube are optional extras. If you are not using the stock cube, add some salt. If you don't have any wine, just add a glass of water. Stir in the spinach/ rocket.

Simmer until your sauce until nicely thickened and whilst your pasta is cooking (about ten minutes). Drain the pasta, mix into your sauce and serve immediately. Sprinkle cheese to taste!

Hum Hum Bean Soup

I needed to make space in the freezer the other day- I had made a much larger batch of fruit compote (rhubarb, pear and apple) than I had intended which needed freezing so that it didn't go off, so I took out the load of cooked beans that I had put in there before for similar reasons.

I had about a kilo of large white beans, boiled, once I had soaked them overnight out of their dry state (by far the cheapest way to buy beans is dried- you're not carting loads of water around) if I remember, with pepper, onions and dried red pepper flakes. Probably a sprinkling of chili flakes went in, maybe some herbs and a couple of bay leaves.

Also found in the freezer- delicious home made chicken stock (don't bin anything until all the goodness has been taken from it!). I had cooked this up with some herbs, bayleaf and some wine that noone was going to drink.

Combining the beans and the stock in a pot with some water, some more unloved red wine, another onion and some of the canned tomatoes that I always have on hand, it came together into a lovely bean stew, which I blitzed to turn into a nourishing and delicious soup. I even gave some to my veg- detesting colleague (he had dated a vegan) and he was surprised to find himself enjoying it.

Now I need a way to use up 2l of fruit puree! Ideas, anyone?