Orecchiette with Spinach, Sausage & Tomatoes

This was a perfect weeknight meal - quick, easy and tasty! We strayed from the recipe some on this one. While it isn't a complicated recipe, I thought the cookbook was trying to make it more complicated than it needed to be. I will post the recipe below like I always do, but I will tell you here what I actually did to fix it.

1) Brown the sausage in a skillet, 2) Cook the pasta according to package, 3) Drain the pasta, then put it back in the same pot, adding the sausage, drained cans of tomatoes, pressed garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, spinach leaves and Parmesan cheese, 4) Heat together and mix until spinach wilts.

I thought that my version was simpler than the cookbook's version, but I will list their's below and you can decide for yourself! I got some grape tomatoes, but when the time came to fix this recipe, they had started to go bad, so I just left them out. As much as I LOVE tomatoes, I really don't think this recipe even needed them since you already have a few cans of diced tomatoes. I'd say that the grape tomatoes are optional.

A few notes from the cookbook: 1) Breaking the sausage into crumbles with the Mix 'N Chop helps it to cook more quickly and evenly, 2) Orecchiette means "little ears" in Italian. It is a small round pasta with a slight dome in the center. Companelle pasta can be substituted, if desired, and 3) For a milder dish, mild or sweet Italian sausage can be used. Italian sausage links with the castings removed can be substituted for the bulk sausage.

Enjoy!

Orecchiette with Spinach, Sausage & Tomatoes
Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner, Volume 2
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2009.

Total time: 28 minutes  Yield: 6 servings

1 1/4 lb bulk hot Italian sausage
3 cans (14.5 oz each) Italian-herb diced tomatoes, divided
12 oz uncooked orecchiette pasta
1 1/2 cups water
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups grape tomatoes
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup packed)
5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves (8 cups)

1. Cook sausage in (12-in.) Skillet over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes, breaking into crumbles with Mix 'N Chop. Drain canned tomatoes using large Colander into large bowl; reserve 1 cup of the tomato liquid for later use in the recipe.
2. Add drained canned tomatoes, tomato liquid from large bowl, pasta, water, pressed garlic, pepper flakes, if desired, and salt to Skillet. Cover and cook 13-15 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, cut grape tomatoes in half using Utility Knife. Grate cheese using Microplane Adjustable Grater. Add grape tomatoes, spinach and reserved 1 cup tomato liquid to Skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes or until spinach is wilted, stirring constantly. Sprinkle with cheese.