Quick and easy weeknight dinners

With a busy week ahead and not too much time to spend in the kitchen, a quick & easy weeknight dinner is a must.

I love orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage. Below is a healthy and easy take on the classic favorite.

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken sausage (I like Bilinski's but you can use whatever you prefer)

1 pound orecchiette pasta

1 bag fresh spinach

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup shaved Parmesan Cheese

Bilinski's makes a great organic chicken sausage. 

I really like the Spinach & Feta flavor, especially for this dish.

It's also super low in fat.

 Usually broccoli rabe is used for this recipe but that takes a little more time to prepare. Buy a bag of fresh spinach. It's already washed so all you have to do is add it to the pan. Couldn't be easier.

 Mince 3 cloves of garlic and saute in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Make sure not to burn the garlic as it cooks fast. 

To keep it from burning saute on a low flame.

 Once garlic is cooked through, about 5 minutes, add the fresh spinach. Use the whole bag. I know it seems like a lot but it cooks down to almost nothing. Add in the chicken broth and let reduce to about half.

In a separate saute pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil and cook the sausage. Get a nice browning on the outside. When done to your liking take off heat, slice and add to spinach mixture. 

In a separate pot boil water for the orecchiette with a pinch of salt. Boil to just about done and add pasta to the spinach and sausage mixture. Reserve 1/4 cup of the water the pasta was boiled in and add that to the spinach mixture as well. Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.

Toss all together and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes, so it thickens up.

Sprinkle shaved Parmesan cheese on top and serve immediately. 

Enjoy!