Skillet Penne with With Chicken Sausage and Spinach

This is a quick and delicious week night meal!  Everything cooks together just beautifully and the taste is out of this world.  You only need one pan from start to finish...can't beat that!  My kids loved this...spinach included.  Using Chicken Sausage cuts back on the fat, but still delivers that spicy sausage flavor that is so good in pasta dishes.  Give it a try...it might just become one of your go-to recipes.

You will Need:

1 Tab. of olive oil

1 lb. of hot or sweet chicken sausage (turkey sausage would be good too), cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/4 cup of chicken broth

3 1/4 cup of water

8 oz. of penne or rotini (I use whole wheat)

1/2 cup of oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, dried and chopped fine.

1/2 tsp. of salt

3/4 cup-1 cup of heavy cream

6 oz. of baby spinach

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese

Begin by heating the olive oil in a large skillet just until smoking.  Add the sausage and cook until slightly browned.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, until the garlic becomes fragrant.  Add the chicken broth, water, pasta, tomatoes and salt.  Over medium-high heat, cook until the pasta is tender and the liquid had become thicker, about 18 minutes or so...keep an eye on it.  Stir in the heavy cream (begin with 3/4 cup and then add an additional 1/4 cup after you add the spinach if you feel the sauce needs thinning). Start adding the baby spinach one handful at a time and cook until wilted.  Remove from heat and add Parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately with an additional sprinkling of Parmesan.  Enjoy.

~adapted from a recipe originally in Cooks Illustrated, May 2007