Penne with Sausage and Spinach

I’ve been making this for Mike for the past 2 years. I was tweaking it every time, but now I think I finally have it. Mike asks for it at least once a month in the fall and winter. It's also a pretty cheap meal! It comes from my favorite magazine that was discontinued which was made into a book, Fast Fix, family foods by Better Homes and Gardens.

Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 pound cooked smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into ½ inch thick slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped (or 2 teaspoons of jarred garlic)
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 32oz. of reduced-sodium chicken broth or stock
1 cup of water
1 pound of penne
1 6-9oz. package of fresh pre-washed baby spinach
¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup whipping cream

Directions

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook sausage, onion, and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat until onion is tender and sausage is lightly browned.
2. Add broth and the water; bring to a boil.
3. Add pasta; cook until tender, stirring frequently.
4. Add spinach and pepper; cook about 1 minute or until spinach is wilted.
5. Stir in cream and serve.

Note: When you’re cooking the pasta, it may look like there isn’t enough liquid; there is, but if you need to, you can add water at ½ cup increments. You want a thick (not soupy) finished product.

P.S. The leftovers are delicious!

Yum-EE!!!

Dinner was absolutely fabulous and easy too! Thanks Barbara.

Some minor changes:

• canned beans (white, not red - it's what was on hand)
• green peppers instead of celery
• simmered all ingredients (minus rice) on the stove top over low for about 2 hours
• and I sorta halved the recipe - except I used all of the garlic
• came out soupier than expected so we used a slotted spoon to serve

I took some gambles and it turned out great! I can't wait to make it again.

Oh and Laura was over for dinner; and she liked it, too. We decided smoked sausage is some of our very favorite meat!

Easy Peasy

I just got home from my uncle's 60th birthday party bash. It was a lovely party with great food. There was lots of raving about the delicious bacon wrapped appetizers. I enjoyed them too. And they even fit the diet guidelines. So what did I do when I got home after I put the baby to sleep? Googled the recipe of course!

Best of all they look completely simple to make!! Highly recommending these, even though I haven't made them myself yet; they're delicious!!

Dad's Specialty

I planned our meals for the next week as I'll be returning to work and need to be prepared if we're going to eat well. I look forward to letting you know about the success and failure of the new recipes that I try. Monday's meal, however, is a tried and true classic in my parents' home, and it's easy which makes it perfect for my first day back to work. There's really not much of a recipe. But I'll post it anyway:

Dad's Specialty
1 package skinless smoked saugsage, sliced
1 bottle of your favorite Bar-B-Q sauce

Place sausage in crockpot. Pour BBQ sause over sausage. Fill BBQ bottle 3/4 full with water, shake and pour into crockpot. Cook covered on low setting for 6-8 hours, or until sausage is tender.

We always serve this with mashed potatoes and some sort of green vegetable. Quick, easy, and yummy! I love crockpot recipes!