I’m sorry (but not really) to have to show you this first thing on Monday morning. I know it’ll make you hungry all day. I’m doing this for your own good! You’ll have an idea for tonight that is not only delicious, but contains vegetables, meat, dairy, and grains. Super nutritious, filling, and if you follow the recipe, you’ll have enough for four lunches. Score!
Is it weird to get excited about meat purchases? My lovely roommate and I browsed around a small market called Dutchie’s Fresh Market in Waterloo and found an incredible deal on sausages…not just any sausages, stuffed sausages. 10 for $10! I’m excited. We opted to use the feta and spinach sausages for this particular culinary experience. Yeah, I’d say we picked correctly. We also bought, “Hot Italian” and “Sun-dried tomato” sausages to be frozen for another exciting day.
After a long day at work and school, both of us needed the sustenance. We used up all the vegetables in our fridge, and crafted the best meal either of us had eaten in a while! It was hot, aromatic, and had all the elements of Italian food that we both love- fresh garlic, chunky tomato sauce, Parmesan, and oregano!
Let’s get closer!
My expert prep chef (yes, I am referring to my roommate) chopped and prepped all ingredients leaving me to do my favourite thing in the world; cook without having to clean it up. Is there anything better than that? We happily subsisted off of the leftovers for 2 days.
- 350 grams of rotini pasta (adjust according to your preferences)
- 2½ cups of chunky tomato sauce (pasta sauce)
- ¼ white onion, chopped
- ½ red pepper, diced
- 3 large feta and spinach sausages (can be any sausage you choose)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chili pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced (add less or more if you'd like!)
- splash of chicken broth (optional)
- crumbled goat cheese or Parmesan to garnish
- In a pan, heat olive oil with minced garlic until garlic starts to brown, on a different burner, cook pasta completely in a pot of boiling water
- Add sausages to pan with garlic and olive oil and cook until casing starts to split, set sausages aside on separate plate
- Add onions to the hot pan and cook until translucent. Add red peppers
- Set aside pasta when it is finished cooking
- Chop sausages into ½ inch medallions and add to pan with onions and peppers
- Add chunky tomato sauce and pepper, paprika, chili pepper flakes,and oregano. If using, add chicken broth now
- Let sauce simmer until little bubbles start to appear
- Add in cooked pasta and stir to coat pasta and cook for 2 more minutes
- Top with cracked pepper and crumbled goat cheese or parmesan
