Goat Cheese Pasta

On Friday, Stephen and I decided to make this recipe. It is supposed to be roasted red pepper and sausage Alfredo but we ended up adding our own twist to it - mainly by taking out the red pepper and using brats instead of Italian sausage. However, what drew me to pin it was the fact that it had goat cheese in it. I LOVE goat cheese and anytime I can add it to a recipe, I will. I didn't add the full amount of goat cheese the original recipe called for but probably should have since the leftovers were a little dry after heating it up in the microwave.

I was too lazy to get roasted red peppers then puree them in my blender. We also decided against the Italian sausage and used brats because Stephen loves them. The brats added a sweeter flavor to the pasta than the Italian sausage would have. You can honestly use any type of sausage you want - the taste may vary though. 

 

 

Ingredients:

- 3/4 lbs of sausage (we just used a standard size package of frozen brats from Publix)

- 1 small to medium size onion

- 1 clove minced garlic

- 1 tbs olive oil

- 1 1/2 cups of milk, plus 1/4 cup for the sauce

- 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, plus 1/4 cup for the sauce

- 8 oz goat cheese (we used 4 oz but I think 6 oz would work best)

- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 3 handfuls of spinach 

- 12 oz pasta of your choice

- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook your sausage. In the original recipe, they say you need to remove the casing of the Italian sausage and then saute the meat. Since Stephen and I used brats, my recipe will be slightly different. Stephen boiled the brats until cooked through (about 20-30 min). Meanwhile, chop and saute the onions.

2. While your brats/sausage is cooking, place the garlic and olive oil in a large skillet and turn on medium heat. Stir in the chicken broth, milk and pasta. I added a little bit of pepper for taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until the pasta is cooked through (about 15-20 min). I noticed I needed to stir this a few times since the liquid does not fully cover the pasta, some of the pasta on top was Al Dente. If you notice that all of the liquid has been absorbed, add the additional broth and milk that was set aside for the "sauce". 

3. Add however much spinach you choose (we used about 3-4 handfuls), stir into the mixture and cover so the spinach cooks quicker - stir occasionally until wilted. Add in the sauteed onions and cut up brats.

4. Stir in the goat cheese and Parmesan cheese until melted through. Remove from heat and serve!