Summer Sausage & Pasta

Guess what?!


I actually cooked a meal!


I know. Shut the front door. I don't really feel like I can say I did much "cooking" on the South Beach Diet, since it was mostly grilling, microwaving steamers veggies and putting bagged salad on a plate. I had a few creative moments in there, but for the most part, it was rather plain and simple.

Tonight almost ended up being a simple meal too, but I was really craving pasta and I was ready to do whatever it took to get it, which is saying a lot considering we didn't have any spaghetti sauce on hand. The following is a made up recipe based loosely off of what I saw on the back of our spaghetti box :)

Start with cooking your pasta.



While that is boiling, heat up about 3 tbs of olive oil {evoo if you want to be fancy.} After it starts to pop a little, freak out, then throw in about 2 spoonfuls of pesto to try and calm it down.



When that doesn't seem to be the solution, pour in about a cup and a half of frozen bell pepper that you thawed in the microwave.



Add a little butter to help create a sauce.

Once those have sauteed a bit, add in some turkey sausage, cut length wise and into bite size pieces.



Season liberally with garlic powder and italian seasoning. Add crushed red pepper to your taste. Let simmer until warm. While simmering, drain your noodles, then add to the pan.

Ta-da! A super simple but delicious summer meal!



Cody and I give it a big thumbs up! {Seriously... this one will be on the rotation now!}

Summer Sausage & Pasta
{you can adjust the amount to your liking. I had about 1/4 of a package of pasta left so this only made 2 servings for us.}

Pasta, cooked according to directions
Olive Oil
Pesto
Butter
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasonings
Crushed Red Pepper
Turkey Sausage (ours came two to a pack.. I used half of the package)
Bell Peppers (I used roughly 1 1/2 C)

While your pasta is cooking, heat about 3 tbs of olive oil up. Once warm, add 2 spoonfuls of pesto until starts to bubble. Add bell pepper and saute, then add sausage and simmer. Season liberally with garlic powder and italian seasoning. Add desired amount of crushed red pepper. Add drained pasta to dish and stir to coat. Enjoy!