Monday Meals: Sausage & Red Pepper Alfredo

Mondays... kind of suck. Monday mean the weekend is over, and you have five grueling days of work ahead of you. Ugh. And if your house is anything like the Wisconsin Test Kitchen, Mondays mean back to school, tae kwon do lessons, possibly book club, and finally dinner. Cooking dinner after a long Monday is a thankless task. BUT: we found an awesome one dish meal that might make your Monday a little bit brighter.

Seriously. One Dish. 

And it's so good. Think creamy, delicious pasta and Italian sausage. In one dish. 

Did we mention you can make this in about 25 minutes, in only one dish?

Seriously people: ONE DISH!!!!

Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo
http://hostthetoast.com/one-pot-roasted-red-pepper-and-sausage-alfredo/


¾ lb Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups milk, plus ¼ cup for the sauce
1½ cups chicken broth, plus ¼ cup for the sauce
1 (16 oz) jar roasted red peppers, drained and pureed (you can do this in a food processor or blender)
8 oz goat cheese
½ cup grated parmesan
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 handfuls fresh spinach
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 oz pasta of your choice


Remove the casing from the sausage and discard the casing. To do this, simply cut along the side of the sausage with a sharp knife and peel off the pierced casing with your fingers.
In a large pot or high-walled pan, saute the sausage meat with the garlic and olive oil over medium heat, until browned.

Stir in chicken broth, pureed roasted red pepper, milk and pasta. 

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 12 minutes. If the liquid has all been absorbed, add the additional milk and chicken broth.

Stir in spinach, 1 handful at a time, and cook until wilted and hot.

Stir in the goat cheese and Parmesan. Continue to stir until melted. Remove from heat and serve.

Notes from the Test Kitchen: 

We tend to play with quantities a little bit, and meals like this are pretty forgiving. We used an entire pound of Italian sausage, a 24 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, and an entire bag of spinach (we love spinach). The addition of extra roasted red peppers added more liquid to the pot, so we didn't need to add the extra 1/4 cups of milk and chicken stock. 

We hope this delicious, hearty meal makes your Monday a little more bearable!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew