Rigatoni with Sausage, Asparagus, and Cheese

Things have been so hectic around my house lately. I am all about cooking quick meals that makes great leftovers.

My Rigatoni with Sausage, Asparagus, and lots of parmigiano reggiano cheese is a perfect quick, flavorful meal.

I started off by bringing a large pot of salted water to boil. Drop in asparagus and allow to cook for about 3 minutes, then immediately drop asparagus into a ice cold water bath to cool.

Leave the rubber band around the asparagus while boiling, it makes everything that much easier. 

Next, remove the casing off your sausage. 

Brown up the sausages in a little olive oil, season with my spice blend, cook around 10 minutes, add onions, Serrano pepper and cook a little longer. 

Don't forget to pour in the chicken stock and reserved pasta cooking water.

Toss in your cooked pasta.

Lastly, add the asparagus.

This dish is that simple people...and it's full of flavor!

Don't forget to add extra cheese before serving...let's eat!

Rigatoni with Sausage, Asparagus, and Cheese

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. rigatoni
1 lb. Johnsonville Italian Sausage
1 lb. asparagus
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated
1 small red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Serrano pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon Italian Parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon creole seasonings
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
extra virigin olive oil

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add asparagus to water and boil 3 minutes, then shock asparagus in ice cold water to cool. Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, drain pasta again, coat in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water to thin sauce.

Chop asparagus into bite size pieces and set aside.

In a skillet add 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, add sausage, casing removed and break up with the back of a spoon. Season sausage with spices, cook for about 10 minutes, add onion, Serrano pepper, and parsley, cook 5 minutes more.

Pour in chicken broth, pasta cooking water, cook 5 more minutes.  Toss in pasta, half the cheese and asparagus, mix well, cook a few more minutes. Serve with remaining cheese to garnish.