sausage and peppers penne

another new recipe from this weekend which turned out well! next time I will make 2 separate portions for myself and my husband as he doesn't like onions and although i do not mind picking them out i am sure he prefers it with no onions. but he did like it and i really liked it. 

this isn't the healthiest but just change the sausage to chicken sausage or chicken and its healthy. or omit the sausage all together and maybe add 1 can diced tomatoes or tofu.

i used 4 sweet italian sausages and 2 hot sausages. the right amount of spicy with the sweet. 

ingredients

3/4 pound penne pasta (or your favorite)

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound spicy/sweet italian sausage (4 to 6 sausages)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 yellow peppers, sliced into strips

2 green peppers, sliced into strips

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)
1 handful fresh spinach leaves

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

directions

1. bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. add pasta and cook as directed on package.

2. heat grill to medium heat. while grill reaches temperature slice sausage into pieces. if you freeze the sausage for a bit it's much easier to cut. place sausage pieces in a grill basket and cook till cooked throughout and no longer pink. if you do not have a grill basket just cook entire piece and cut into slices once cooked. or if you do not have a grill cook sausages on the stove in a large skillet. if you use the skillet method you can just follow the remaining steps and put it all in the same skillet.

3. in a large skillet heat olive oil then add peppers. cook until tender. during the last 5 minutes of cooking, add onion and garlic to skillet. then basil if desired. add chopped or whole spinach; cover skillet and simmer on reduced heat until spinach is tender or wilted

4. once pasta is done and drained place in a large bowl. add in sausage slices and vegetable mixture and an extra tablespoon or 2 of olive oil. grate parmesan cheese and gently toss. serve with extra freshly grated cheese on individual portions.