One Pot Sausage and Pasta

Well... it could be one pot.  But I was trying to bust it out faster and sometimes having the veggies cook with the turkey sausage takes longer... So tonight this was a two pot meal.

Let's Get Crafty!
Saute together until softened:
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, diced (I used half of an onion because it was so big)
1 yellow pepper, diced (or whatever you have on hand.  I like yellow because I seem to get the kids to noticed them the least and they eat them on accident and like them)
After a few minutes when the moisture had been absorbed - I added about 1/2 cup chicken stock to keep it simmering.  (This is my trick to using less butter and oil.)

Fry on both sides are beautifully browned:
1 tablespoon EVOO
13 oz Turkey Smoked Sausage link (I like Hillshire Farms)  I like to cut the link in half and then slice it.  It looks fancier sliced on the diagonal... depends on my mood.  Tonight I was trying to bust out dinner after football practice and cut it as fast as I could.

Combine the veggies, sausage and the following - bringing to a simmer:
1 1/2 cans low sodium chicken stock (1 full can and the other half of the 1/2 can was added to the veggies)
1 can rotel, mild (drained)

Once simmering add the pasta and cover:
I love the Campanelle pasta.  Pasta feels like it tastes even better to me when it looks fun.  These cook to al dente in 10 minutes.  From a 1 lb package I used about 2/3.

As a general rule with pasta and water when cooking it in the dish... best to have not enough water and add more than too much.  You can always add more stock but if you drain the excess water then you are also taking out all that wonderful caramelized flavors from the meat and veggies.

Let's add that creaminess:
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/8 cup fat free half and half (whatever you like to put in your coffee)
Stir these in once the pasta is done and the pan has been removed from the heat.  This really gives the dish a Wow!

It's the long Thanksgiving weekend and I came across this little gem that I completely forgot to share!  Here this is talking about football practices and we've humped into basketball practices now.    This recipe is an awesome go to on a weeknight when you don't know what to make for dinner and have forgotten to defrost any meat.  I like to buy the turkey sausage when it's on sale a keep one on hand in the fridge to cook up in a pinch.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great Saturday!