Monday, March 23, 2009

Penne with Broccoli and Sausage



This dish is delicious -- great combination of flavors, and it went together very quickly. It's going on our menu again :)

This pasta uses a bean sauce rather than a cream-based one. My hubby, who's not a huge bean fan, even enjoyed this one. I love that we were able to get some more beans in our diet without really even noticing it. Thanks for the tip on making a bean-sauce, Katie!

Penne with Broccoli and Sausage - Adapted from Katie


1 head broccoli, cut into small florets (or 1 bag, frozen broccoli florets)
3 Italian sausages
1 lb whole wheat pasta
1 red pepper, diced (or 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes)
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
1/2 C pureed, cooked vegetables, optional (I used white beans)
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Add the broccoli florets to the pasta water with 5-6 minutes left before the pasta is done.

Drain pasta (*If you're not adding pureed beans, keep ½ cup pasta water before draining) and return to the pan.


While the pasta is cooking, remove casing from sausages and crumble into large skillet.


Add 1/4 cup water and cook over medium-high heat until water is evaporated and sausage is no longer pink (about 10-12 minutes). Drain excess fat from the sausage.


Add red pepper (or sun dried tomatoes) to the sausage, and saute for an additional 5 minutes or so, until peppers are tender.



In the pasta pot, combine broccoli pasta mix with the sausage mixture.

Make pureed bean sauce -- we used 1/2 C cooked/canned white northern beans, pureed in our blender with about 2 T milk. Add 1 T of milk at a time to reach the right consistency.

Add in the pureed beans and stir to combine. If you don't use pureed veggies, add 1/2 C reserved pasta water.


Add Parmesan cheese and stir to combine.


Enjoy!


This recipe is linked to Tammy's In-Season Swap: Broccoli and to Super Foods: Beans!

8 comments:

  1. That looks really good and I bet my son would love it. He loves all of those things!

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  2. Yum. That looks delish. I also wanted to let you know I love how you've reorganized your recipes on the sidebar. I'm not sure how long they've been like that but I came looking for your French Bread recipe (I'm making French toast tomorrow) and I noticed how easy it was to find.

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  3. This looks great! My bunch loves sausage and I often run out of ideas to make. This one is a keeper.

    You asked about the pineapple smoothie on my blog, fresh or frozen would also work well.
    Have a great day!

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  4. Thanks sooo much!! I made this last night and it was amazing! The only thing I did different was used rotini, opted out on the cooked veggies and i used hot italians! So simple and so Yuuummmy!

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  5. Thank you friend. I knew I could count on you for a delicious dinner idea!

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  6. looks good - came over from Katie's-Kitchen Stewardship - am going to put on the menu for next week :-) My husband LOVES pasta and veggie dishes and I have been trying to get away from commercial pasta sauces and making my own while keeping him happy with it!

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  7. Yummy! Adding this to my to try list@

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  8. I found this through Kitchen Stewardship. I made it last night for my husband, and he loved it! I couldn't wait to tell him what the sauce was made out of. He said he felt tricked into health food, but still had a smile on his face while he ate.

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Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you; especially how you're finding JOY in your kitchen.

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