Chicken Sausage Orecchiette

I ate a piece of cake yesterday.  And two cookies.  In the interest of full disclosure.  

I'm a little disappointed, but more than that...it was delicious.  Today is my cheat day anyway, so yesterday was....an early start?

Which brings me to the real crux of New Year's resolutions.  Sometimes there are slip ups, bumps in the road, moments of weakness.  The trick is to get back up on that horse.  

Yeah I ate a piece of cake yesterday (and two cookies).  Does that mean that my diet is out the window?  No way.  Does that mean that I should still try to keep imposing a most-of-the-time embargo on sweets?  Of course.

In the meantime, let's eat some pasta, what do you say?

Along with cavatappi, orecchiette is one of my new favorite pasta shapes.  It's like half shells.  And who doesn't like chicken sausage?  No one, that's who.  I feel like this pasta is eerily similar to ones I've made before, but whatever.  Deal with it.

Chicken Sausage and Orecchiette

(adapted from skinny taste)

1 lb chicken sausage

16 oz package orecchiette (or other pasta)

8 oz. spinach

3 cloves garlic

salt and pepper to taste

dash red pepper flakes

2 tsp olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Bring a large, salted pot of water to boil and cook the pasta according to al dente instructions.

Meanwhile, place the chicken sausage in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, breaking up, until browned.  Remove sausage from skillet.

In the same pan over medium heat, warm 2 tsp olive oil, and when hot, add garlic.  Saute just until garlic is browned, then add spinach, cooking until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add chicken sausage and pasta back to the same pan with the spinach and cook on low for a couple of minutes, until well mixed.  Add parmesan and red pepper flakes, if desired, stirring to coat.