Chicken Sausage and Mushroom Penne

This is from delish.com and the comment "this is what dreams are made of"; is not too far from the truth. This dish takes a bit to prep, but would be a "wow" dish to serve to guests. Since I am gluten-free and all; you all, I used Tinkyada brand penne. When I serve this again; I will slightly undercook the pasta; as thought mine was a tad overdone. I had made a bit ahead due to the Broncos/Chiefs game. I will not bore you with that outcome... I always keep heavy cream frozen to have on had for dishes like this and instead of parmesan; I used pecorino cheese to slather on top. It is a bit more tangy and did not have fresh grated parm on hand. This is the brand of chicken sausage I used. Whole Foods had samples and it is fabulous. No added sugar and pretty clean ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried gluten-free penne pasta (Tinkyada brand) or other of choice
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 12 ounce package chicken sausage, sliced (I only used 1/2 of the package for 2 servings)
• 8 cremini mushrooms, washed, stem removed and sliced
• 1/3 cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
• fresh grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
• fresh parsley

Directions:

In a large saute pan over medium heat add olive oil and spread out mushrooms and let brown on one side for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add onions and garlic and saute till softened; another 3-4 minutes. Add wine, broth and heavy cream. Simmer 5-7 minutes. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions (slightly undercook gluten-free). Drain and add the cream sauce and the chopped spinach. Set aside leaving the lid off.

Over medium high heat add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to saute pan and add the sliced chicken sausage. Cook till heated through and slightly browned on one side.

If making ahead; at this point I covered both the pasta and the meat until time to serve.

To serve: place pasta in a microwaveable bowl and add chicken sausage on top. Heat slightly in the microwave. Garnish with cheese, fresh parsley and red pepper flakes is desired.