Chicken Sausage and Pepper Pasta

Hope you all had a great weekend!!! No stories or nostalgia to share with today's post...  Just a quick pasta recipe. For those of you reading regularly, you know I am a bit of a carbo-loader, so it should come as no surprise that I make pasta on a pretty regular basis.  This particular bowl came about when I had some chicken Italian sausage that I wasn't quite sure what to do with.  Its now in my regular weeknight dinner rotation.  Hope you enjoy as much as my family!


Ingredients:
8 ounces of bow tie or penne pasta
3-4 tbls of olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced                                           
1 medium onion sliced thinly and cut in half
1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped or sliced
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes cut in half
package of precooked chicken Italian sausage (like Amy's or Trader Joe's), cut into small pieces
1/4- 1/2 cup of pasta's starch water
1 cup of parmigiano reggiano ( I probably use more  :) )
red pepper flakes




Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook 10-12 minutes. Drain the pasta and reserve 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of the starchy water to use in making the sauce. Meanwhile, in a deep skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and garlic.  Add sausage and cook until pieces begin to brown.  Add vegetables and continue cooking until they are tender and golden and sausage is browned evenly.  Pour in pasta and cheese and slowly stir in water till you have the desired consistency of sauce.  For extra heat, stir in some red peeper flakes.  Sprinkle shaved parmigiano reggiano over top and serve.

I also suggest pouring yourself a nice glass of Cabernet!