Spicy Sausage & Pepper Penne Skillet

This was a meal that I distinctly remember eating (& liking! rare, because I didn't like pasta when I was growing up) when I was living at home. I didn't think of it for years until a friend on Facebook said one time, "I need help! I need a recipe for dinner that involves spicy sausage & pasta!" And boom. There it was. It was back in my mind again. I hunted for the recipe, sent it to her, and made the same dish for our table for dinner that night. Score! (I love cooking. I HATE, with an unholy passion, deciding what to make for supper.)
I'm not entirely sure of the source of this recipe, but my guess is that it comes from Canadian Living. You should check them out, and subscribe to their magazine, because they somehow always know just what you're craving for dinner, and give you the best recipes for it!

This is a super easy and quick meal idea, it only dirties 1 pot to boil the pasta and 1 skillet that you cook the rest of the stuff in. Awesome! Since that fateful day, I've made sure that I have the ingredients in the house all the time.

Spicy Sausage & Pepper Penne Skillet
Ingredients:

• 1lb Hot Italian Sausage
• 4c Penne Pasta (uncooked)
• 1-2 bunches of broccoli (we like more than less!) or 2 cups of frozen broccoli florets 
• 2 peppers
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 
• Ranch, Blue Cheese, or Caesar dressing to drizzle on top

Directions:

1. Squeeze sausage meat out of casings into large hot skillet. Cook over medium heat til no longer pink, mashing to break into smaller chunks. 
2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook Penne for 8 minutes. Reserving 3/4c of cooking water, drain pasta & return to pot. Stir in 1/2 cup of cooking water, cover & keep warm.
3. Add broccoli, peppers, garlic & seasoning to cooked sausage in skillet, cook for 1 minute. Add remaining 1/4 cup of pasta water & bring to a boil. Cover & cook 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
4. Add pasta, cheese, & pepper to sausage mixture - toss to combine. Serve with a drizzle of creamy dressing.

Post-Script: We make this meal Gluten Free by using Catelli Gluten Free Penne - we always stock up on those ones when they're on sale - our favourite GF pasta so far!