New Ingredient

We stepped out of our comfort zone this week and embraced a new ingredient: chicken sausage. I bought some when it was on sale a while back and put it in the freezer. (I'll share my OCD sale shopping thoughts one day) Ever since, I've been looking for a recipe that I couldn't pass up to use this ingredient. I ended up settling for a pasta recipe I found and it turned out to be a "don't pass up" one. Below is the recipe with our modifications.

Pasta with Escarole, White Beans and Chicken Sausage
Eating Healthy in 2009. Copyright 2007 Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved.

Prep Time:10 min Cook Time:15 min
Level:Easy
Serves:4 servings (serving size 2 cups)

Ingredients
3/4 pound whole-wheat bowtie (or other shape) pasta (we used whole wheat rotini)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces lowfat Italian-style chicken sausage, casings removed, crumbled (used smoked chicken sausage, cut off "casing," and sliced in halves instead of crumbling)
1 medium head escarole, rinsed, drained and chopped, about 8 cups (used baby spinach and an 8 oz bag provided more than 8 cups)
1(14-ounce) can low-sodium cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (used 2 cups of chickpeas)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (only needed 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves (used 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried thyme)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce grated Parmesan

Directions
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large, deep saute pan or 8-quart stockpot. Saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Stir in the sausage and cook until heated through and browned, about 4 minutes. (Sausage never browned and I sautéed for almost 10 minutes) Add the escarole (or spinach) and cook until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the beans, 1 cup of chicken stock, sage (thyme) and red pepper flakes and simmer until the mixture is heated through and liquid is slightly reduced. Add the sausage-bean mixture to pasta and toss well, loosening with the additional 1/2 cup chicken stock if necessary. (The additional half cup was not needed) Season with freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste.

Divide among 4 pasta bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

Around here we rate our dishes after the first time we try them. Once we've consumed our meal, I ask Wes "whadaya (this translates to "what do you" for you non-southerners) give it," and he responds with a 1-5. The ratings are for everyday meals, not "company/fancy" meals. A 5 means delicious, never tasted anything like it, fairly easily, would like to have on a regular basis meal. We rarely give out 5s and consider it a keeper if it is 3.5 or up. This one was between a 4 and 4.5. That's a keeper! There is only one meal I can think of in the past two years that received less than a 3 and was thrown out immediately. Actually, we ended up having grilled cheese sandwiches and McDonald's hot fudge sundaes for dinner after tasting that meal. In general, if the meal was time consuming to prepare and does not receive a 4, I toss it (the recipe) because there are just too many good ones out there for something that is just "okay" to be taking up space in the recipe binder.

Back to the pasta mentioned above, the dish had a little kick to it with the red pepper and it is great to be able to use whatever green, bean, and pasta you have on hand. We think the leftovers will be even better.

Enjoy!
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