How about a bold bowl of this Gluten Free Italian Sausage Pepper Jack Pasta for a winner dinner! It’s just the right amount of spice with ALL the creaminess!!!
I’ve learned something this weekend: It’s never a good idea to be outnumbered by children.
There you have it. That is my wisdom for the week. I should be giving you all daily wisdom, but I just can’t seem to keep up with posting that frequently. So, you will just have to settle for some weekly, or bi-weekly tips for now. I’ll just make sure that they are so ingeniously enlightening that they will last you several days.
Totally kidding. I actually have no valuable knowledge to offer anyone, but one can pretend, right???
Anyway, I’ve become quite accustomed to having two children. I mean, that should be obvious since they’ve been living with me since they were born. It only makes sense that I would be used to them.
But, what I’m saying is that even though the days can be chaotic, we have our system down. We have school, extracurricular activities, homework, beach days, workouts group, etc. I know exactly how much time it takes to get ready for certain activities, I know when and where my kids will be hungry and if and when they’ll need snacks, I know how to react to their temper tantrums and what calms them or sets them off.
For the most part, we have life figured out.
Then BAM!!! You get two more kids and all your pride gets shot.
I’ve been watching a friend’s two girls for the past few days while she and her husband are vacationing. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been absolutely great. We’ve had very few issues and my girls have enjoyed every moment of having constant playmates. Plus, what kids aren’t excited about necessary slumber parties???
But holy cow!!! How do people keep up with four kids?! I literally couldn’t keep things in order in my house. I may have slightly overreacted when I saw every piece of furniture in my living room rearranged. Apparently that is necessary in order to build a fort.
And then there was Play-Doh. I HATE Play-Doh! Oh, and don’t worry. The mess that Play-Doh makes from just one kid (Emry) is substantially different than the mess FOUR kids can make out of Play-Doh.
And going places? You can’t get out the door with four kids unless you start packing up 20 minutes ahead of time. And leaving places??? Same deal. Once you track down one kid to tell them it’s time to go, the other three are nowhere to be found.
You know, Ben and I have toyed around with the idea of having a third, but boy OH BOY…I’m starting to think that two is just fine. Haha!
I’ll tell you one thing; if we ever have more children, there will be a lot more nights of quick and easy dinners like this Gluten Free Italian Sausage Pepper Jack Pasta. Heck yes, pasta is the bread of life to mothers with multiple children. It keeps us sane in this house.
Honestly, pasta really is a life saver for me. I can whip out a midweek meal in no time with gluten free pasta as my blank canvas. There is always something in my fridge that I can toss into a pasta dish and feel as though a decent dinner is served.
This pepper jack pasta is no exception. It is so creamy and cheesy that I’m tempted to just call it mac n’ cheese. And that ain’t a bad thing!
I used Italian sausage, combined with some sauteed bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions to give this pasta loads of flavor. I rarely buy or cook with sausage, but when I do, I absolutely love the richness that it brings to a dish. And the array of spices in the meat are right up my alley.
As if there isn’t enough kick with the sausage and onions, I opted to throw in some pepper jack cheese to compliment these flavors. I sure love me some pepper jack cheesy goodness! But then to make sure the dish wasn’t too spicy, I cooled it down with some heavy cream and cream cheese.
Don’t judge. Sometimes you just need ALL the cream. Embrace it.
Not only was this pasta prepped and cooked within 30 minutes, but my entire family loved it. The girls thought the sausage was a special treat. In fact, I think it may have been the first time I ever cooked sausage for them. Emry acted as if it was gold. Haha! It obviously doesn’t take much to please her.
So there you have it; a family friendly dinner for those of you juggling more than you can handle, which let’s face it, is all of us.
What is your favorite way to prepare sausage?
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 2 cups chopped bell peppers (assorted variety: red, orange, yellow)
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (or 2 cups half and half plus 1½ tablespoons white rice flour whisked together)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 heaping cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 4 oz. cream cheese (cut into bite sized cubes)
- 12 oz. package cooked gluten free pasta noodles (I used Barilla brand penne noodles)
- Begin heating pot of salted water to boil noodles. Once water is boiling, and you have begun cooking sausage, place noodles in pot and cook according to package directions. Drain pasta when done.
- In a large cast iron pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. While oil is heating chop bell peppers and onion. Slice the mushrooms. Place sausage, bell peppers, onion, and mushrooms in pot. Season with a few shakes of salt and pepper. Stir and break up meat as it cooks. Cook until sausage is cooked through and no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes. Drain excess fat.
- Pour in heavy whipping cream (or half and half and white rice flour whisked together). Add salt. Stir to coat veggies. Bring to a low boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in shredded pepper jack cheese and cream cheese cubes. Stir until completely melted.
- Add drained pasta noodles into pot and stir until well coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve pasta warm with desired toppings or garnish.
