thenorthnest: Creamy Sausage Pasta, The Farm, and Bumpa's Birthday

I love pasta, and in my opinion, the creamier the better. Here's a very easy and delicious pasta recipe that I got off of Food Network, but modified a lot to add more flavor and creaminess.

Creamy Sausage Pasta
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb hot italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chicken broth (or pasta water, broth adds more flavor)
1 package (500gr) mascarpone cheese
1 lb orecchiete pasta

Cook orecchiete according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saute pan, add diced onion. Once onions start to turn translucent add garlic and stir for 2 minutes. I'm a garlic lover, so I usually add more, like 3-4 cloves, so adjust to your taste. Add sausage and break up into chunks, keep moving the sausage until no longer pink. Add broth and stir 1 minute. Add mascarpone cheese, break it up until it forms a sauce. Keep stiring for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add drained pasta, making sure the noodles soak up all the saucy goodness. Serve and enjoy!

**This dish tastes even better the next day and can serve 4 if accompanied by a salad. I usually serve this with a caesar salad and a good bottle of cabernet. It's easy enough for a weeknight, and delicious to serve guests when entertaining. To cut costs, you can substitute mini shells, or bowties for the orecchiete, and cream cheese for the marscapone.

A great alternative to a home cooked meal is Bob Evans curbside!!! Bumpa and Kathy brought a "Taste of the Farm" when they were in town...

The spaghetti with meatsauce was great, it served 4 with leftovers for 2 (Bonus!). It came with a huge salad, tons of garlic bread, chewy peanut butter brownies, and 2 full kids meals for $28.