Sausage & Pepper Pasta

I have a confession, I am a meal planner. Some weeks more than others, but I can not get through a week not knowing what we will eat on any given night during the school week. Because we are busy.

When I have events or commitments I ensure husband knows exactly what’s for dinner so it’s easy to pull it together. A little bit of pre-planning really goes a long way when you have evening commitments!

What does a planned meal look like?! Here’s a sample of one week in our house.

• Monday nights my son going from swimming lessons to Boy Scouts – sandwiches, fresh fruit and veggies.
• Tuesday nights my daughter has swim lessons so we eat after her lessons. This dinner will be a quick and easy like chili, something in the slow-cooker, stir fry or grilled sausage, potatoes, peppers and onions.
• Wednesday Night my daughter volunteers and then has Pathfinders. My son has swimming. This leaves us a 45 minute window to eat together. Leftover sausage, pepper and onion becomes Sausage and Pepper Pasta, another quick meal.
• Thursdays it’s volleyball games after school so a later dinner again and here we will use any leftovers up from the week or pick up a roast chicken from the store.
• Friday rolls around and sometimes there are plans, other times not, so we tend to order in or make pizza.

This kind of creative thinking helps ensure I get some good eats into the family while life is busy.

If you’ve checked out some of my other recipes you will see we are Spolumbo’s sausage fans. They are a local company making sausages that are preservative free, with no fillers, additives and are gluten-free. They have several varieties to choose from and are simply delicious – that’s why they go into almost everything I make!

Sausage Pasta

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Servings: 6

Author: Wanda Baker

Ingredients

• 1 box 340 - 500g pasta
• 1 lb Italian Sausage grilled and sliced
• 1 red onion peeled and sliced into wedges
• 2 bell peppers cored and sliced into wedges
• 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 1 cup fresh basil torn into smaller pieces
• Spray cooking oil
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Preheat your grill to medium high. Spray a grill pan with cooking oil. Set aside.
• In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta al dente.
• Add onions and peppers to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Add vegetables to grill pan set over medium high heat on the BBQ and grill for about 5 minutes. Add sliced sausage to pan with veggies and grill another 2-3 minutes to warm through.
• Drain pasta and pour into serving dish, adding 1 cup of the cooking water and 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Toss to combine.
• Pour sausage mixture on top of pasta, fresh basil and last of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

When life gets busy at your house, how do you get through the week and meal time?!