Spicy Sausage Skillet

It has been a long, terrible week for me. Work has been super stressful, and by the time I got home, I have been ready to collapse. I was desperately out of groceries, but there was nooooooo patience leftover for shopping. None.

J. had drill today, so I finally had a day to myself. I got more done on the house today than I have since we moved in. I found the rest of my clothes (over 3/4ths of them!), washed them all (well...it's a work in progress), reorganized my dresser and closets to make room, unpacked more of my kitchen, did the dishes, AND went grocery shopping. After all that productivity, I needed a hot, comforting meal. This definitely did the trick!

Spicy Sausage Skillet

Adapted from Cooking This and That (Good work CTT!)

1 box Penne (I used rice penne but it was a bit too gummy for this dish)

1 roll hot sausage

1 can Cream of chicken soup

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cabernet sauvignon

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dried basil

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan

Boil pot of water. Salt water, then add pasta. Cook until just al dente. Drain and keep warm.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into pan. Cook until browned.

Reduce heat to medium. Add soup, tomatoes, milk, wine, and seasonings. Cook for about 8 minutes. (At this point, you should be putting Brussels sprouts in your other skillet for the salad below.)

Stir in cooked pasta and mozzarella. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Top with Parmesan.

Nutty Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad

Adapted Cooking Light October 2009

1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs (for me this meant panicking over quickly burning garlic while I grabbed the nearest bread end and tore it apart as small as I possibly could because I thought I had a canister of breadcrumbs in my pantry. Apparently I was wrong.)

3/4 pound Brussels sprouts, halved (my store didn't have fresh this time of year, frozen were good, just thaw them out enough to cut)

salt and pepper

1 1/2 Tbsp chopped walnuts, toasted (I did this immediately after I toasted the garlic and crumbs, before I cooked the sprouts)

1/2 oz shaved Asiago cheese

Heat 1 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add breadcrumbs, cook until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Transfer to small bowl. Toast walnuts.

Heat remaining 1/2 tsp oil over medium heat. Add sprouts, cook 8 minutes (again, add these just after you add the spices to your sausage skillet, the timing is perfect), stirring frequently. Remove from heat, toss with breadcrumb mixture, salt and pepper. Top with walnuts and cheese.

I drank: Alice White Cabernet Sauvignon

He drank: Oliver Camelot Mead

Side note...maybe eventually I will remember to take pictures of the food before we eat it.