Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Sausage and Kale

Don’t you love it when the stars align and you make the best impromptu dinner ever with stuff you already have in your pantry?! Me too. I wasn’t even planning on blogging this particular “recipe” because it was just one of those throw together Sunday night pasta dishes but it turned out so good that I knew I had to share!

This dish is so simple and quite kid friendly, if I do say so myself. All you need is whole wheat spaghetti, sausage (we used chicken sausage with artichoke and mushrooms – so good!), kale, olive oil and a little cream. 😉  

Watching Luke eat pasta is so hysterical. He literally slurps each noodle lady and the tramp style…this was no exception. Both boys loved it and cleaned their plates/trays. As much as I love plain ol’ white pasta, I think there’s a place for whole wheat and that is here. 🙂 It gives a bit of texture, bite and a rustic feel to this dish. Plus, I feel like it counteracted all the cream I added.

This is one of those dishes you pretty much need to eat right away after you make it. You guys know I am always honest with you and honestly, this doesn’t make good leftovers. In my opinion, the only really good pasta leftovers consist of lasagna and stuffed shells. This is perfect when you make it…but then don’t let it sit around and get dry. 

I hope everyone has a great day! It’s HOT here so we are planning to hit the beach this weekend for the first time this season and I can’t wait although Luke is definitely still in the “putting every thing (including sand) in his mouth” stage so there’s that. The boys are getting so big and this whole life with two thing is getting more fun (and more crazy) every day. I owe you all a real update soon!

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Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Sausage and Kale

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

15 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 bunch curly kale stems removed and chopped
• 1 lb whole wheat spaghetti
• 8 oz good quality sausage we used a local chicken sausage here
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup cream
• 1/3 cup cooking water reserved from making the pasta
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Place a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil. Once boiling, add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain pasta but reserve 1/3 cup cooking water. Set aside.

   
   

2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet and add the sausage, breaking up into small clumps with a wooden spoon. Cook until sausage is done and then add the chopped kale.

3. Continue cooking the kale and sausage mixture until the kale has wilted. Then, add the cream and stir. 

4. Add cooked spaghetti to your skillet and stir well to combine. Add the cooking water --- only enough so your pasta is not dry. Just add a little at a time here.

5. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.