Farfalle with Andouille Sausage and Mushrooms

Almost 3 months have passed and another trek across the country has brought us back to the very hot Southern California. We are finally settling in to our busy schedule here and so we are just now starting to get in to a routine. Home cooked meals are finally becoming the norm again and we are making an effort to make them healthier than their takeout counterpart.... which should be very easy taking in to consideration what we have been eating lately.

Home cooked meals have been a drag since taking on a busier schedule. It always comes down to just being too tired at the end of the day to cooking up a meal. Grabbing takeout was a much easier chore than slaving away behind a stove and so the cycle started and the pounds and the inches began to pile up as well. 

It was time to make better choices. Nothing too drastic. A little less meat and a little more vegetables. Whole grain foods and less processed. We even got a juicer to replace a meal or two. 

Before going on this journey, first things first... lunch.

30 minutes is all it took and it was much cheaper than takeout and most importantly, much much healthier. Give it a try and let us know.

Farfalle with Andouille Sausage and Mushrooms

Farfalle with Andouille Sausage and Mushrooms

1 pound organic whole wheat Farfalle (cooked al dente according to package instructions) (make sure not to drain away ALL of the pasta water)

8 ounces Andouille Sausage large diced (feel free to omit the sausage if you want the dish vegetarian and just double the mushrooms)

6-8 ounces button mushrooms quartered (any mushroom would get the job done so go ahead and experiment)

5 ounces cleaned and washed spinach 

2 Roma tomatoes large diced

1/2 a medium sized yellow onion large diced

6 cloves of garlic minced

3 tbsp chopped basil

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup of pasta water

Parmesan cheese 

2 tbsp oil

Procedure

Boil water and cook the pasta. The time it takes to cook the pasta which is about 11 minutes, the sauce would be ready just in time as you are draining the pasta. Make sure you have all your ingredients prepared so as to not miss a beat. :)

In a separate pot, sweat the garlic for 30 seconds then add the onions. 

After another 30 seconds or so, add the sausage and the mushrooms. 

Once the mushrooms has softened a bit, add the tomatoes and saute until slightly broken down.

Add the pasta water then toss in the pasta and then season with salt and pepper. 

Toss in the chopped basil, turn off the fire and give it a final quick stir and serve hot with shaved Parmesan on top. Enjoy!