fusilli with sausage and brocolli

Cooking off the cuff.  On most week nights, you'll likely find me digging through my cabinets and fridge for something to throw together as a last-minute meal, and since I don't consider almond milk and cereal as dinner items, I'll end up haphazardly preparing some form of pasta.  This dish, with (my week-old) red peppers, broccoli, pantry fusilli, and leftover marscapone, is simple and packed with a mix of flavors cooked in about 30 minutes.  As for the hot chicken sausages, well those weren't exactly off the cuff as they were an impulse purchase from a few days prior.

Together these ingredients create a creamy texture without overpowering all the other flavors, have a nice kick to add some dimension, and not to mention, the fresh crunch of organic broccoli is always a plus.

As for the recipe, I'm all about multi-tasking, so a few of these steps could be done simultaneously.

Fusilli with Sausage and Broccoli serves 2-4, total time: 30 minutes

2 tablespoon olive oil 2 cloves of garlic 1 red bell pepper, halved with seed and stem removed 3/4 pack gluten-free fusilli 4 hot chicken sausages, casings removed 1 head of broccoli florets 1 tablespoon marscapone Salt and pepper to taste Parmesan cheese, to serve

Preheat oven at 350.  Place red pepper halves with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt on a baking rack and sheet (can also work if with just tin foil), and roast for 10 minutes.  In the meantime, prepare a small container combining olive oil and garlic.  Turn oven to broil and let peppers brown for no longer than 2 minutes.  Remove from peppers oven, slice lengthwise, and place into the container with olive oil and garlic.  Seal, and let it soak up the flavors.

Prepare fusilli according to package (take 2 minutes off package cook-time, total time should be about 7-8 minutes).  Remove pasta from water and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan on medium.  Pour in all the red pepper marinade, making sure it's evenly dispersed throughout the pan. Add sausage and cook for about 7-10 minutes, season with salt and pepper.  Add the pasta, combining it with the meat, then fold in marscapone, evenly coating pasta and meat.  Lastly, drop heat to low, add broccoli on top the pasta, then cover the pan without lifting for 7 minutes.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan.