Pesto Orecchiette with Sausage

As a busy mom I'm always on the lookout for yummy recipes that are not only (mostly) healthy, but are fast and easy to make. I just don't have the time to make labor intensive meals anymore. When I find recipes that impress me I like to pass them along to others in hopes of spreading the food joy. 

 

I found this recipe for Pesto Orecchiette with Chicken Sausage on pinterest. I freaking LOVE pinterest! When I first heard about it I was like "That's really stupid. What's the point in that?!". Now I'm a pinterest addict and the hubs agrees that pinterest has been very good for our tummies. So back to this recipe. It was a huge hit in my household. Corb.en gobbled it up and he is a stinker about trying new things and won't eat vegetables. My husband said it looked like something from a gourmet restaurant and took all of the leftovers to work. 

A few notes: My grocery stores don't carry orecchiette pasta, so I substituted for farfalle (bowtie) and my husband requested beef sausage instead of italian sausage. 

Ingredients

• 12  ounces  orecchiette
• 1/2  pound  green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1  cup  frozen peas
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 8  ounces  fully cooked Italian-style chicken sausage links, thinly sliced
• 1/3  cup  pesto
• 1/2  cup  grated Parmesan (2 ounces)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the green beans and peas during the last three minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and vegetables and return them to the pot. 

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Add the sausage, pesto, Parmesan, and ½ cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and vegetables and toss to combine (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry).

I really hope you try and enjoy this recipe. It was so good! I'll be posting another super easy recipe that my husband has declared as a new staple in our house.