It occurred to me during my trip to get my hair cut this weekend that the whole process of going to the hair salon is guilt inducing to me. Let me explain. The moment I step into the hair salon, I feel guilty for being underdressed in my jeans and t-shirt while everyone else is wearing mini-skirts and high heels. Once I’m in the chair, I feel guilty when I reveal it’s been 6 months since my last hair cut. I can’t even look my stylist in the eye. When she asks how I usually style my hair, I feel bad when I tell her I either put it in a pony tail or leave it straight. Oh, and I don’t use any products. Shame on me.
As I’m laying back getting my hair washed, I can almost relax and enjoy the scalp massage until I realize my hair stylist is probably noticing how badly I need my eyebrows waxed. Guilt, guilt, guilt. Finally, I feel terrible as I sit there and act interested while she talks for five minutes about the products she’s using and how amazing they will make my hair feel. There’s no way I’m spending $30 for “root lifter” and I feel bad that I acted like I had the slightest intention of doing so. After that stressful hair cut, I needed something that I wouldn’t feel guilty about.
So, I headed home with my hot new haircut (that will never look as good as it did on that day since I didn’t buy the products) with some chicken sausage on my mind. That’s normal, right? Normal or not, I had been sent some of Gold’n Plump’s new line of chicken sausage products to try and was ready to get cooking.
First up, I wanted to try the Parmesan Italian chicken sausage and happened to be craving pasta. When I’ve added sausage to pasta dishes in the past I’ve always gone with super cheesy dishes, and I wanted to lighten it up a bit. Since Gold’n Plump’s chicken sausages have 50% less fat than pork sausage, I was already on the right track. Then I added tons of spring vegetables like leeks, asparagus, and peas to make it even healthier. Tossed with a handful of Parmesan cheese at the end, this ended up being a really delicious, simple, and healthy meal.
While this pasta dish is simple (I couldn’t believe how few ingredients there were when I went to write the recipe!), it is really flavorful. I loved the flavor of the leeks and the chicken sausage was great – it made me think I was eating an indulgent meal when I really wasn’t. Guilt. Free.
Spring Veggie Pasta with Chicken Sausage
5-6 servings
12 oz whole wheat penne pasta
5 links Gold’n Plump Parmesan Italian chicken sausage
2 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts sliced and rinsed
1 1/2 cups asparagus, chopped into 1″ pieces
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Bring large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package.
Meanwhile, while water is heating, remove chicken sausage from casings and cook in large skillet over medium high heat. Once cooked through, remove from skillet and set aside on a plate.
In same skillet, heat olive oil (there will also be a little grease from the sausage) over medium heat. Add leeks, season with salt and pepper, and saute for 5 minutes, until they start to soften.
Add asparagus and cook another 3-5 minutes, until the asparagus starts to soften.
Finally, add frozen peas and cook until heated through, about 3 more minutes.
Return sausage to skillet, then add pasta and toss to combine. Finally, add Parmesan cheese and toss until everything is evenly incorporated.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!
greensnchocolate
greensnchocolate
greensnchocolate
I think we would love this dish!