Creamy Spinach and Sausage Pasta

Any dinner that pasta is the main dish is a winner for me, so when I found this recipe I was in heaven. I just needed to make sure it included some kind of meat ;) SCORE!

Creamy Spinach and Sausage Pasta (www.budgetbytes.com) $5.91

Ingredients

• 6 oz. smoked sausage
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/chiles
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 8 oz. pasta
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded monterrey jack
• 1 whole green onion 

Thinly slice the smoked sausage and add it to a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the sausage over medium heat until it is nicely browned (about 5-7 minutes). Drain off the excess fat.

 

Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Continue to saute until the onion has softened (about 5 minutes). 

Add the can of diced tomatoes with chiles and the chicken broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.

Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the mixture to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.

Stir in the fresh spinach, one cup at a time, until wilted. If you add it all at once, the skillet will be too full to stir. Keep the heat on while adding the spinach, so the liquid will continue to simmer and thicken.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Slice the green onions and sprinkle them over top. Serve hot!

 

Dan rated this meal a 4.5 out of 5 stars. He was pleasantly surprised that he liked this so much! He was even excited to eat it as leftovers the next day. I too thought it was pretty dang good! YUM! I would definitely make it again, plus the clean up was super easy since you basically just use one pan.

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Sorrel Quiche

Its CSA season again.  That means its spring (yay no more snow!)  And it also means weekly confrontations with vegetables you have never seen before.  Sorrel? Ramps? Nettles? Say what?  I find it extremely exciting to hunt down recipes for these new vegetables, its like a treasure hunt than ends in a great meal.

This year the fella and I werent able to go for a CSA since well very likely be moving out of state in the next couple of months and didnt want to abandon our box of veggies halfway through the season.  Instead the fella has been enjoying going to the farmers market each Saturday and playing a little game called "stump Emily with wacky produce."  The star of the first episode of this little adventure was sorrel.  Its in a lot of French recipes but what do you do with it when you have a grocery bagful?  Thats a very good question to which I answer; quiche!

But if youre on my site youre either on a low carb diet or just enjoy my typo ridden recipes and Im gluten free so how do you make a tasty crustless quiche?  In this case covering the bottom of the pie plate with goat cheese worked out nicely as a crust substitute.  In fact this recipe was just all around fabulous and easy.  If you dont have sorrel go for spinach.  And if youre avoiding cow milk cheeses here is a fun tip: ground raw cashews taste very similar to Parmesan so its a great thing to sprinkle on quiche or pasta without the unpleasant lactosey side effects.

Sorrel and Goat Cheese Quiche

5 ounces chevre

3 cups sorrel, coarsely chopped

1 handful scallions, chopped

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups soy milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 handful ground cashews (or Parmesan cheese)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread goat cheese (or any strong flavored cheese) in the bottom of a well greased pie plate.  Cover with chopped sorrel and scallions. Beat eggs, salt and milk together. Pour over greens. Sprinkle with ground cashews. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Modified from this recipe right over here.

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