One-Pan Pasta Margherita With Spicy Italian Sausage

In the U.S., consumers have a choice between boxed meals providing dried pasta and a package of dried seasoning added to 1 pound of ground beef  or precooked frozen meals that go from freezer to stove to table. Both are convenient, but usually have preservatives and other ingredients you may not want to be part of your or your families diet like:

• Partially hydrogenated oils
• Monosodium glutamate
• Natural flavor (mystery ingredient in 100s of prepared foods)
• Artificial colors
• Preservatives
• Yeast extract
• Carrageenan

One-Pan Chicken Margherita With Spicy Italian Sausage takes the concept of one-pan frozen and boxed meals, but eliminates all or most of the chemical ingredients. You can make it 100 percent organic if desired.

For this recipe, you can use prepared or homemade sausage. To reduce saturated fat, I used lean homemade turkey sausage. It takes less than 10 minutes to make and contains no nitrates or nitrites. Other options are pork sausage and ground beef.

Unlike boxed versions that have 4 to 5 ounces of noodle like pasta pasta to 1 pound of ground beef, this recipe uses 8 oz. (225 g) of any short pasta or noodles.

Cooking time may be slightly longer than the boxed versions due to the type of pasta used. This recipe using penne pasta took about 17 minutes for the pasta to become al dente. Total preparation and cook time is about 40 minutes.

Health Risks Eating Frozen Entrees

While frozen meals claim they are ready in 10 to 12 minutes, your cooking time can be significantly longer depending on your stove and pan. It is like the mythical cooking times for individual frozen meals based on using an 1,100 watt microwave oven few if any Americans own.

Like microwave oven meals, frozen skillet meals warn they must be reheated to 160°F (71°C) to avoid bacterial contamination. Food manufacturers assume every American has a handy instant read thermometer and will use it.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition information is based on 5 servings of about 11 ounces (310 g) as pictured.

Related Recipes

Turkey Sausage

1-Pan Pasta Margherita With Chicken

Ingredients

• 8 oz. (225 g) penne or other short pasta
• 16 oz. (450 g) spicy turkey sausage
• 1 tbsp. (15 ml) olive oil
• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) dried onion (1/2 cup fresh)
• 1/4 tsp. (1.25 ml) garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp (2. 5 ml) dried basil
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) dried thyme
• 1 tsp (5 ml) kosher salt (optional)
• 4 oz. (112 g) canned mushrooms
• 14.5 oz. (411 g) canned low sodium chicken broth
• 14.5 oz. (411 g) canned low sodium diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 to 3 oz. (56 – 85 g) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh minced basil or basil pesto (optional)

Method of Preparation