Friday, August 5, 2011

Pasta with Spinach, Sauce and Sausage



This was an impromptu dish for dinner. I had some Gimme Lean hanging around, so I took about half the tube and seasoned it with red pepper flakes, oregano, and fennel seeds. I shredded some onion and garlic into a pan, sauteed, and added the sausage. Then cooked it until browned up to my liking.

The sauce was another experiment from a few days ago. We have no red sauce in the house, but TONS of tomato paste. So, I figured I would try to make sauce from that. I started by shredding half an onion with a grater, and roughly chopped 4-5 small cloves of garlic. I sauteed these in a pan with some olive oil. Added some oregano and salt. I used 2-3 cups of "not chik'n" broth for more depth and 2 cans of tomato paste (the small 6 oz ones). I just kept simmering and stirring and adding water as needed to smooth everything out. It turned out great! I've been rather impressed with myself for that sauce.

For this specific dish, I made elbow macaroni and spooned over some fresh spinach. I poured the sauce over the noodles and put the sausage bits on top. A super-yummy dinner!