Skillet Toasted Pasta with Chicken Sausage

I think I really should have some Italian in me ... somewhere?!  I love pasta...and potatoes (at least I can blame that on the Irish).  Anyway, I found this recipe and was simply intrigued at how it could possibly turn out by making pasta the way you make risotto.
I followed the recipe for the most part but didn't have an onion on hand so I just threw in a little onion powder.  I'm sure the real onion would be great!  I also used probably 4 cups of chicken stock (reduced sodium) and 2 cups of water.  I didn't end up using it all.  I also added more than 1 cup of the stock at a time to create a little "boil" - you can see (hopefully) in the pictures below.  I think that helped the pasta cook.
All in all, this was so flavorful - a little smokey and creamy - which is crazy since there is no cream, milk or butter in the whole meal!  An easy weeknight meal that is so tasty!

I cooked the chicken sausage whole for a few minutes, then chopped it and finished cooking it so it had a little crispy edge

Here's the pasta after it was "toasted" and as I started adding the liquid

I added more than 1 cup of liquid to enable a small simmer / boil for the pasta

 The finished product - AMAZING!

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

Olive oil

12 oz. penne pasta

1 small sweet onion, chopped

¾ pound spicy Italian chicken sausage

2 Tbls fresh lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 Tbls Parmesan cheese

Italian Seasoning

Instructions:

In a pot heat chicken stock & water to a simmer, do not boil.

In a large skillet, swirl a little olive oil. Heat over medium high heat. Add sausage and onion. Break up sausage, and cook until browned and cooked through. Remove from pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Swirl about a tablespoon of olive oil in skillet. Add penne tossing to coat in the olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly toasted.

Add about a cup (or more) of chicken stock to the pan. Stirring freqently, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add another cup of stock. Keep doing this until the pasta is cooked through.

Add sausage back to the pan. Add Parmesan cheese, squeeze lemon juice over pasta, and season with salt and pepper. Stir and heat until sausage is warm.

Serve with additional cheese, and Italian Seasoning if desired.

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I saw these on this site and was waiting for an opportunity to try them. I had a few neighbors over on Sunday evening and thought I'd give these a try.  These have a ton of potential but need a few changes.  They were very soft (mushy) but the flavor was really good.  These would also be good as a meal all on their own (although I served them as an appetizer).

The next time I try them, I won't put them in the boiling water and I would probably add a little Italian bread crumbs to the mixture to avoid the mushy consistency. 

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats (original recipe below...not including my proposed changes)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups quick marinara sauce
4 (31 oz total) medium zucchini
1 tsp oil
1/2 small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (I replaced this with baby bella mushrooms)
14 oz lean Italian chicken sausage, removed from casing (Al Fresco)
1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella (Polly-O)
8 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4" thick. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside.

Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute.Remove from water. (I would omit this step next time)

Place 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 12" baking dish, and place zucchini halves cut side up.

In a large saute pan, brown sausage, breaking up as it cooks into smaller pieces until browned; set aside. Heat oil and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook about 2-3 minutes. Combine with sausage and cook a few more minutes.

Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup cooked sausage, pressing firmly. Top each with 2 tablespoons each of sauce, 1 tablespoon each of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon each of parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.

Angel Hair Pasta with Sauteed Veggies & Cream Sauce

I did a "throw together" dinner last night that turned out pretty yummy!  We had our neighbors over and even they liked it!!  The measurements below are estimates because I didn't measure anything...but, hopefully if you try it, it'll turn out just as good!  Next time, I'll try to thin the sauce out just a tad.  One of our neighbors wanted red pasta sauce on theirs (instead of the cream) and I added some of that to my cream sauce but it still needs something else to make it a little thinner.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Cayenne pepper (a few dashes)
1 small head of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1 package of sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 medium zuchinni, cut into bit size pieces
1 package chicken sausage
Angel hair pasta
1 Tbsp butter
8 oz 1/3 fat cream cheese
1/4 cup skim milk

Directions
- Cook sausage according to package (I simmered mine for about 10 minutes then drained the water and browned, turning frequently).  When they are done, cut into bite size pieces & put them on a plate.  Keep warm
- Using the same pan, add a little olive oil and saute the veggies, turning frequently to avoid burning them (add extra olive oil as needed)
- Cook pasta according to package instructions
- In a small sauce pan, add butter, cream cheese and milk.  Stir frequently to "melt" the cream cheese.  Add the dashes of cayenne and taste to ensure it's not too spicy.  (Here's where I added the red pasta sauce to mine)
- When pasta is done, mix all ingredients together and serve with sauce drizzled over top.