Sausage Pesto Pasta

Need a dinner that's big on flavor but low on effort? This Chicken Sausage Pesto Pasta is your new weeknight hero. The original recipe Prep time was 5 minutes, total cook time was 15 minutes. The recipe fed two hungry adult men, myself, and we had a hearty portion for lunch the next day.

Ingredients

• 4 cups pasta, cooked (we used Cellentani)

• 3 spicy Italian sausage

• 1 cup grape tomatoes

• 1 cup mozzarella balls, cut in half

• 4 cups spinach (I added this to add more veggies)

Pesto:

• 2 cups fresh basil

• 1/4 cup pine nuts

• 1 lemon, juiced

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Start by cooking your pasta according to package. Set aside.

2. Make your homemade pesto by combining: basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, garlic cloves, lemon juice, grated parmesan cheese, pine nuts, salt and pepper. Mix to combine.

3. Cook chicken sausage according to instructions.

4. In a large bowl, add pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella balls and chicken sausage.

5. Add pesto on top to mix in.

6. Serve with additional fresh basil and grated parmesan on top.

7. Enjoy!