Italian Sausage with Butterfly Pasta

This dish is simple to make, so affordable and yes, perfect for the next day. I’ve used more sausage on this recipe because one of my daughters is a big meat eater.

Ingredients:
1 lb dry farfalle pasta (cooked according to the package direction)
2 tbs. vegetable oil
1 lb Italian Sausage sliced into rounds (used sweet in this recipe)
3 tbs. fresh garlic chopped
1/2 large onion chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper diced
8 oz mushrooms sliced
1 bag baby spinach about 4 cups
2 tbs. Extra Virgin olive oil
1 cup pasta water (from cooking the pasta)
1/8 tsp fresh thyme ( a pinch if using dried)
fresh basil torn into small pieces (about 8 big leaves)
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Cook the pasta according to package direction.
2. While pasta is cooking, on a separate pan, heat the vegetable oil
3. Pan fry the sausage about 2-3 mins on each side.
4. Once the sausage pieces are cooked transfer to a plate. Set aside.
5. On the same pan, saute the garlic, onions, bell pepper and mushrooms for about 8 mins or until slightly tender.
6. Put the sausage back on the pan and add the pasta water. Boil.
7. Reduce heat to low and taste. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
8. Add drained pasta and spinach. Mix well.
9. If it’s a little dry, add a little more pasta water.
10. Turn off heat. Drizzle EVOO and sprinkle basil and thyme. Mix.
11. Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle some parmesan cheese.
12. Enjoy

Tips:
* Watch out for meat deals. I bought my sausage as part of a 4 for $19.99 at my local Acme.
* Slightly frozen sausage is easier to cut than completely thawed.
* Since I didn’t rinse the pasta in this recipe, cook it aldente or slightly aldente to avoid being over cooked when reheating.
* You can easily make this into another dish (for those who are watching carb intake) by the taking off the pasta and double the amount of the veggies