Pasta, Tuscan Style!

Ahhh... tis good to be back in the blogosphere, and it's VERY good to have my computer back! I actually made this dish a few weeks ago, and the photos were stuck on my camera until tonight! I rarely make pasta at home, but for some reason, I was crrrraaving it! But, I did try to make it healthi-ER than regular pasta, so I used whole-wheat penne in lieu of plain old pasta. The only not-quite-healthy part is the turkey sausage, but hey, a little dark meat ain't gonna kill you!


I started with one Italian turkey sausage and took the meat out of the casing, and crumbled it up into a pan, along with several minced cloves of garlic.


I added some chopped fresh kale (superfood!)...


...and let it cook down. I am always surprised how much kale cooks down! It always looks like it's going to be too much, but boy, it wilts like crazy.


I added about 1 cup of chopped San Marzano tomatoes...


...as well as about 1 cup of canned cannellini beans.


In the meantime, I cooked up about 6 dry ounces of whole-wheat penne pasta, and added it to the pan when it was cooked and drained. Of course, I had to shower the pasta in freshly grated parm-reg cheese (MY FAAVE), and let it melt all over the pasta.

Oooh it was so simple, yet so tasty! The sausage added just the right amount of fat (i.e. flavaaah!), the white beans added lovely texture (and extra protein/fiber), and the kale provided a nutritional component and color. A perfect weeknight meal that takes just moments to come together!



Tuscan-style Pasta

Ingredients:
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 fresh Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
1/2 to 3/4 bunch kale, trimmed and chopped
1 cup canned San Marzano diced tomatoes
1 cup canned cannellini beans
S&P
6oz whole-wheat penne pasta, cooked and drained
freshly grated parm-reg cheese

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a pan, and add the garlic. Cook until the garlic becomes aromatic.
2. Add the de-cased sausage, break into pieces with wooden spoon, and cook until cooked through.
3. Add the kale, let it cook down.
4. Add tomatoes and beans, stir stir stir.
5. Add cooked pasta, season with S&P, stir stir stir.
6. Grate fresh cheese on top, stir stir stir, ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!