Better Homes and Gardens Gemelli with Asparagus and Sausage

My family really loves pasta. Growing up the one dish I would always eat that my mother made was pasta. I loved it anyway she prepared it and ate multiple servings. My two boys have inherited my love of all things pasta and ask for it frequently. I make pasta about once a week, so I am always looking for new ways to prepare it. The September issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Gemelli with Asparagus and Sausage, which looked different than my usual pasta routine and very easy to prepare.

This recipe has 11 ingredients (if you use the optional ingredients). The total time start to finish is approximately 40 minutes. All the ingredients were easy to find at my local grocery store. I did make a few modifications in order to save money. Instead of using asparagus, which can be quite expensive, I used broccoli. Instead of bulk Italian sausage, I bough linked sausage and took it out of the casing. I did use pine nuts, since I already had some in my cupboard from previous recipes. Finally, I used whole milk ricotta instead of the sheep's milk cheese. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys liked this recipe. I liked that the prep work was minimal and the dish turned out well. My husband took the leftovers to work the next day and they re-heated great. Substituting the broccoli for the asparagus was a great way to save money and tasted delicious. Overall, an easy pasta dish with vegetables and protein which can easily be made in less than an hour.

For the recipe go to Gemelli with Asparagus and Sausage.