Thursday, November 20, 2014

Creamy Spinach "Alfredo" Chicken Sausage


I have been thinking about making this all day. It's cold, and I want some creamy comfort food! Trying to accomplish creamy, and stick to real food can have it's challenges. But, I was on a mission, and I was determined to be successful!! And, I was! This turned out exactly how I pictured it would! It was pretty easy, and didn't take too long to make, even though I had several things cooking at one time. You could easily add more seasonings to the sauce, according to your tastes. I probably will next time, but this time I was focused on creaminess! (Is that a word?)
Yum, just yum!!!





Ingredients:

1 box (13.25 oz) cooked pasta of choice. I used 100% Whole Wheat
8 oz block of shredded white sharp cheddar
1 cup fresh or frozen spinach (I buy the bagged frozen so I can use as little as I want to)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp tapioca powder/flour (you can sub corn starch or arrowroot powder)
1 1/4 cup plus 3 tsp milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 package of Bilinski's Organic Spinach & Feta Chicken Sausage** (or sub meat of choice)



For the Meat:
Just heat and slice! I heated in a skillet while everything else was cooking.
For the Pasta: 
Boil as you normally would, then drain and place in a medium bowl that you can add the rest of the ingredients to as they get done.
For the Spinach:
While you have your pasta boiling, heat the olive oil in a skillet then add the minced garlic. When it is just starting to look toasted, add your spinach and saute until it is done. Add to the cooked pasta.
For the sauce:
Combine the 1 1/4 cup milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a small saucepan on low heat. While that is heating, have your shredded cheese close by. In a small bowl combine the 3 tsp milk and tapioca flour and mix until all the lumps are out and it forms a paste.
When your milk is heated, slowly add the cheese, stirring constantly to help it to melt and to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once you have all the cheese melted, add the tapioca paste and continue to stir over the heat until you reach a creamy consistency. This should only take a few short minutes. If you do not think it is thick enough, you can make another paste 1 tsp at a time, equal parts tapioca powder and milk.
Once you get the creamy texture you are looking for, pour it over your cooked pasta and spinach.
Add the meat, and stir.
That's it, you are ready to eat it up!

**Here is the Sausage I found at our local Harris Teeter. For a sausage, it has a pretty minimal ingredient list. It also tastes fantastic!!



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