Sausage & Kale Pasta

New Recipe Wednesday

It's been awhile for a new recipe. Maybe I was waiting for just the right one? I think that would be accurate. It's winter in February all we really want is some comfort food. I have just the thing. Thanks Alyssa for making this for the family. It really hit the spot. And the added bonus of healthy items in it was super. We loved it. I hope you will too.

Sausage & Kale Pasta
serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• ½ box whole wheat or whole grain penne pasta
• 2 links lean turkey or chicken sausage
• 1½ cups baby portobella mushrooms
• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (tip: buy the ones that come in the zipper bag, not the kind in a jar soaking in oil...I found these in the produce section)
• 1½  cups kale
• 1½ cups spinach leaves
• ½ cup shredded parmesan
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup skim milk

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions (Important: right before draining the noodles, save a ladel-full of hot, starchy cooking water-you will need that later for the sauce!)
2. In a skillet, saute all vegetables. Season with pepper, garlic and onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Once tender, remove from pan, and cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Remove the sausage from its casings and brown the meat in the skillet. Once cooked, remove from pan and drain any excess grease from the meat
4. In the same skillet, add the flour to the pan drippings and whisk to form a roux. Note: you may need to add a teaspoon or so of EVOO depending on how much pan drippings you have
5. Gradually stir in milk and followed by the reserved starchy cooking water
6. Reduce heat, stirring slowly, and allow sauce to thicken.
7. Stir in shredded cheese using a figure-8 motion until the cheese dissolves into the sauce
8. Adjust sauce seasonings to taste, adding in garlic and onion powder and pepper to taste. Also, if the sauce gets too thick and pasty, add more milk or cooking water- you want this to have an nice creamy consistency
9. Add the noodles, sausage, and vegetables to the sauce and stir to coat evenly.

Note: If you’re not a fan of sausage, try this with diced chicken breast or even lean ground turkey (seasoned with garlic and onion powder, Italian seasoning, and a little red pepper flake)

My son's girlfriend made this dish for us last weekend. I'm not even sure what EVOO is. But I will find out. Also, she did remove the sausage from the casings (or she had my son do it, it's good for him) but honestly I would have left the casings on, cut up the sausage and browned them as is. The spices aren't specific but I would be generous. I love garlic and onion so add them right to it. I would even goes as far to say that I'd cut up a half of an onion and brown it with the sausage and while you're at it throw in some minced garlic instead of using the powdered. 

HA! I just looked up EVOO boy do I feel silly. Stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

This recipe came from a fellow blogger. You can find it here. All credit goes to Melissa at Honeybee Homemaker. I did add most of the notes.

Good eats! Thanks for checking in on me.

Linda