Penne with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes
Posted by Aggies Kitchen on March 30th, 2009. Filed under: Aggie's Kitchen Original, Healthy Meals, Italian, Main Dishes - Ground Turkey, Main Dishes - Pork, South Beach Friendly.
These days I don’t eat pasta as often, but I do try to enjoy it at least once a week or so. This pasta dish can be easily made on a week night…it’s that easy. And even better…it’s healthy and delicious. Its full of good stuff for you…tomatoes and spinach, and lightened up turkey sausage.
It’s hard to believe, but I’m entering into my 9th week of training for my triathlon. The race is fast approaching and I’m really getting excited about it. I have joined a team of amazing women at my YMCA and am so enjoying sharing this training experience with them. We have been training 6 days a week (I’m really happy if I get in 5!) and have started completing “bricks” on Saturday mornings…bricks are when two legs of the training are combined, for example this past Saturday we rode 13 miles on our bikes then ran for 25 minutes. These next few weeks we are adding in open water swims as well as more intense workouts. If you’ve ever thought of trying a sprint triathlon I encourage you to find a training group, it’s really motivating to have others along for the ride with you and makes for an unforgettable experience!
Enjoy your pasta!
Penne with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes
Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen
Serves 3-4
1/2 lb whole wheat penne pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 links Italian Turkey Sausage, casings removed
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 small can of Italian diced tomatoes
1/2 bag of fresh spinach
Parmesan cheese, for serving
Red pepper flakes, for serving
Bring pot of salted water to a boil to cook pasta. Cook pasta according to directions on box, slightly under cook because you will be adding pasta to sauce while still on heat.
In a large saute pan, drizzle a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and start to cook onion and garlic. Once onions start to soften, add sausage and begin to crumble and cook in pan. Cook sausage completely, approximately 8-10 minutes. Add cans of crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes to pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook together for about 5-8 minutes so sauce flavors combine. Add fresh spinach leaves to sauce and combine. Add cooked pasta to sauce and toss.
Serve with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
(for a printable version of this recipe click here)
March 30th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
We enjoy pastas 2-3 times a week. Good luck with the triathlon.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I love pasta, it is a staple at our house. I am so proud of you for doing a triathlon. Good for you. Josh has done them before and wants to do one with me sometime. We started swimming and I run a lot. I just never bike, he is the biker, he has 5 bikes, who needs that many? Boys and their toys:) Good luck, you will do awesome!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Yum! Pasta is always an easy meal and this looks delicious!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Oooo, that looks amazing! Good luck on your triathlon, that’s some serious stuff there.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
This looks so good an healthy…yum….I will probably sneak in Italian sausage, the old fashioned pork way.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Aggie, this looks so good! I love pasta in all it’s guises. Unfortunately pasta loves my hips so our affair is chaperoned. This is a really nice recipe.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Another one of your recipes that I need to star in google reader. I made your Lemon Chicken with Veggies again tonight. This time I used onion, zucchini and mushrooms. What a great weekday meal!
March 30th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Looks filling and delicious! That is so exciting that your tri is coming up! Good luck with the training- sounds like you are doing awesome
March 30th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Looks so good. I love that you lightened it up a bit
March 30th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
this looks AMAZING! Pasta is totally my comfort food too
yay with the training!!!
March 31st, 2009 at 12:03 am
Good luck with the triathalon! That’s so awesome! Love the pasta! Lately we have had a lot of pasta, but it’s just so good!
March 31st, 2009 at 12:36 am
I actually make something very similar… when I don’t feel like doing too much cooking and I have the ingredients around. All I use is penne, sausage (crumbled), spinach, and a can of diced tomatoes. Sometimes I’ll add a little parmesan cheese too. Pasta is definitely a perfect comfort food, and you feel better about eating it when there’s healthy things like tomatoes and spinach in it!
March 31st, 2009 at 1:39 am
Wow, Aggie!! I’m so psyched for you about the triathlon! That’s some seriously big news. Can’t wait to read all about that. The pasta looks delicious, and I’ve starred it so I can try it very soon!
March 31st, 2009 at 2:09 am
Love your pasta dish!
I did a sprint triathlon in 2006 – my goal was to finish in 2 hours and I finished in 2:01!
I may have to do another one to try to break my goal!
March 31st, 2009 at 11:18 am
I try to make a pasta dish at least once a week if not more. I love pasta….
March 31st, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Looks wonderful.
I saw the post on Petite Chef – Yay for CEimB!
March 31st, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Penne with sauce is TOTAL comfort food! Good luck with the triathlon!
March 31st, 2009 at 2:47 pm
This sounds great with turkey sausage, and I love pasta dishes like this. I’m in awe of triathletes. I’d love to try training for one, but I’m a terrible swimmer!
March 31st, 2009 at 3:11 pm
This looks delicious Aggie, and I know that you FULLY understand how important quick weeknight meals are!! You are amazing for doing this triathalon. I hope you keep us posted about your progress. Go you!
March 31st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
This sounds like a great, relatively-quick dinner! Italian turkey sausage is the best, especially paired with pasta and a red sauce. I will be making this recipe for sure – it’s my kind of comfort food too!
Best of luck to you with training for the triathlon. It sounds like a lot of work and commitment but will be worth all of the effort in the end
March 31st, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I always love your pasta dishes Aggie, I could just sit with a big bowl blissfully scooping it up to eat!
March 31st, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Looks simple, hearty, and delicious – yum!
April 1st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
I’ve never heard of that sauce- but will def be looking for it! Couldn’t find the ingredient list on the website- is it just chiles and garlic?
April 1st, 2009 at 5:27 pm
sausage + spinach + pasta = come to mama
You’re an inspiration with the triathlon. I bet it’s really fun to have a group doing it instead of being on your own. Cheers to continued successful training!
April 1st, 2009 at 6:52 pm
My husband LOVES sausage pasta so I will have to give this one a try. Best wishes for your triathlon.
April 1st, 2009 at 7:20 pm
This is my kind of comfort food – it looks and sounds wonderful Aggie.
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Good for you Aggie for going for the triathlon! I wish you the best of luck!
This is a great pasta recipe, I like the spinach and that you used turkey sausage.
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Go, Aggie, Go! I’m so excited for you! Your training sounds really intense; glad you have a group to work out with. Your penne looks great! I’ll have to give Italian turkey sausage a try!
April 7th, 2009 at 1:44 am
This looks so delicious! I’m sure it will give you all the energy you need for your tri! You are so amazing!
April 7th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
This is just the kind of pasta dish I love. So impressed you’re doing a triathlon – wow!