A Super Fast Clean Pasta Dish!

    As you know, I am all about finding quick meals that I can prepare in less than 30 minutes; and when my creative juices aren't flowing I turn to either Clean Eating Magazine or Cooking Light Magazine.  Both are great resources to diversify your cooking menu at home.  

    In Cooking Light's January/February 2016 issue I stumbled upon this wonderful pasta recipe, Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pasta, that could be prepared in under 30 minutes, and it looked scrumptious! Needless to say I had to try this recipe for myself to see if tasted as good as it looked in the photograph.  

    This recipe gets 5 golden stars from me! Not only is it made with whole foods, and took little time to prepare, but it only required 5 ingredients and it was an easy meal for me to prepare while company was at my house.  I was entertaining family with appetizers, small plates and this meal was something I was able to cook while everyone was enjoying wine and good conversation.  Some family members even stepped in and helped cook with me since the food prepping was so simple.  It was such a joyous food dish to make and have with others.  

    Feel free to personalize this recipe to suit your taste buds.  Choose any type of sausage, greens or pasta you prefer.   I used a spicy Italian chicken sausage, and brown rice pasta noodles in my version.  If broccoli rabe is difficult for you to find at your local market, use broccoli instead!  Broccoli rabe is a bit more bitter than broccoli, which makes the lemon juice a vital ingredient in this recipe to hid the bitterness.  

   Well until next time, pasta la zista, baby!

              Much love,
                        Jillian 

Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pasta
Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Sausages (cut into thin slices)
• 8 ounces of Whole Grain Penne Pasta 
• 1 pound of Broccoli Rabe (trimmed and coursely chopped)
• 1 lemon (juiced)
• Romano Cheese (grated  1/2 cup) ​

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add pasta; cook until tender. 
2. Drain pasta, making sure to reserve about 2/3 cup of the pasta water. 
3. In a large skillet over medium heat add about 1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to coat the pan.  Add sausage and cook until browned.  
4. Add in the broccoli rabe and cook for about 3 more minutes. 
5. Add the pasta, 2/3 cup of the pasta water, lemon juice, some sea salt and ground pepper for taste and mix altogether.
6. Cook everything together for about 2 more minutes and sprinkle your Romano cheese on top!  Delicious!