Healthy meal of the week: penne pasta with chicken sausage
Healthy Leftover Idea: Whole Wheat Muffin Sandwich
This is an easy meal to prepare that your family will enjoy especially if they love pasta. Better yet, cooking time is around 20 minutes, so revel in the fact that you won’t be spending too much time in front of the stove.
Be sure to try the leftover idea if you want to swap it out for lunch the next day. A treat that is easy to take to work for lunch.
Necessary equipment
– roasting pan
– pot for sauce
– flip flops/fork to turn the sausages
– colander to strain
Time to cook
– 20 minutes
Ingredients:
Approximately 5-6 servings
– 1 box of vegetable penne pasta
– 1 pot of pasta sauce
– 1 small can of sliced olives
– 3 medium portobello mushrooms
– 1 package of chicken chorizo
– 1 bunch of parsley
For the Leftover Whole Wheat Muffin Sandwiches:
– whole wheat english muffins
– grated mozzarella cheese
1. In a skillet over medium heat, add 3/4 cup of water and the sausages from the package. Use strapping or a fork to rotate every few minutes until all sides are done (lightly golden).
2. While the sausages are cooking, bring the pasta water to a boil according to the instructions on the container you purchased. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook uncovered stirring occasionally. The pasta used in this example required 10 to 12 minutes of cooking time.
3. In a small saucepan over low heat add all of the pasta sauce.
4. Dice the three Portobello mushrooms and about 1/4 cup parsley. Also open the can of sliced olives but drain the juice. Add olives, parsley, and mushrooms to the pasta sauce, stirring often.
5. When the sausages look lightly browned on all sides, remove them from the heat. For this meal, the sausages were cut into small pieces and mixed into the pasta, but whether you prefer to keep the sausages whole is up to you.
6. Once the pasta is ready, drain it through a colander and return it to an empty pot without heating it.
7. Add sauce mixture and diced sausage to pasta and stir well. *Note: If you plan to make the leftover sausage buns, be sure to save one or two sausage links along with some of the gravy mixture, about 2 heaping tablespoons per sandwich.
8. Serve a proper portion, garnish with some parsley, and enjoy!
Healthy Leftover Food: Whole Wheat Muffin Sandwiches
If you’ve ever tried Subway’s meatball sandwich, here’s an idea that tastes almost the same but has half the calories. The only additional items you’ll need are whole wheat English muffins and some shredded mozzarella cheese.
First, open up a whole wheat English muffin and add a heaping tablespoon of sauce to the inside of the top and bottom. Next, add some mozzarella cheese to both sides. Finally, cut a sausage in half lengthwise and place on top of the bottom of the English muffin. Top with the top slice and microwave for 30 seconds if you want the cheese to melt and warm the muffin. If you plan to take this with you to work for lunch the next day, wait in the microwave until ready to eat.
