Dinner time made easy with Sausage and Penne

I don’t know about you, but there is nothing worse than coming home after a long day at work and having to start a whole new job at figuring out what to make for dinner.  I would much rather be spending my time with my son and hearing how his day was than over a hot stove.  He tends to be a picky eater too and that doesn’t help either.

I love it when I can throw together a meal that is not only quick and easy but tastes great too.  I am sure all you other Mom’s (and Dad’s) can agree with me on this one.    I am forever scouring Pinterest and my fellow bloggers sites for new and exciting dinner ideas.    My recipe for Sausage and Penne is more of a kitchen sink kind of meal than an actual “recipe”.  It can vary from each time I make it depending on what I have in the fridge at the time.

This recipe actually came about at me from a suggestion of a friend.  That particular evening I was planning to cook sausages and made a comment about how my son didn’t like them barbecued.  She made a comment about crumbling the sausage and adding it to pasta and voila, this recipe has become a staple in our home.

I usually take 4 sausage links and remove the skin from them.  (I tend to use 2 regular Italian and 2 hot Italian so it’s not too spicy.)  I break it up in a frying pan and cooked it thoroughly.

At the same time, I start boiling water for the pasta.  My preference is penne but you can use whatever you have handy in the cupboard.  Like I said, it’s a kitchen sink version.  Never the same twice.    I used about 2 1/2 cups of uncooked pasta.  This usually does enough for both of us to eat and leftovers for my lunch for a day or two.

After the pasta is cooked and drained, I add the cooked (and well drained) sausage into the pot with the pasta.  Now this is where you can get creative with the recipe.  I then add about  2/3 of a jar of pasta sauce and combine everything really well.

My son and I like cheese with our pasta so depending on what I have on hand, I add it in.  This time I added a large handful of shredded mozzarella and about a 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese.

I put the pot back on low-medium heat and stir everything together for about 5 minutes until the cheese is gooey and melted and everything is hot.

Top it off with a little of the grated mozzarella and a little Parmesan and serve with some veggies and dip on the side or a nice roll and voila, dinner is served!  It’s a easy dinner that we both enjoy.  Most often seconds are requested.

Sure this isn’t a rocket science recipe and has been done a million different ways before, but if you are like me and not the most creative in the kitchen after a long day at work, ideas like this are very much appreciated in my world.