Day 5: Sausage and Penne with Vodka Tomato Sauce

Yet another recipe from Dianna. This is one she hadn't tried, but thought we'd enjoy. We love Italian food, and Austin hearts noodles of any kind. It seemed really easy too. Plus, Paul was going to be home for dinner tonight and he really enjoys sausage in his pasta...so perfect pick.

Calories per serving: 235 WW: 5 points
Kitchen Play by Play: I bought the Archer Farms(Target) Italian Chicken Sausage and Barilla Whole Wheat pasta. I'm thinking the whole wheat may have cut the calories a little, but I'm sticking to 5 points per serving anyway. I used 4 cloves of garlic because very seldom is there such a thing as too much garlic. Chopping the garlic and onion was the most time consuming task(3 minutes). The sausage browned very quickly and the onion and garlic sauteed as quickly as the recipe claimed it would. I am very impressed at how well written and easy to follow the recipe is. It's perfect for a kitchen moron like me. I knew from the start that the sauce would not be thick since 3 tablespoons of cheese is its only thickening agent, so I left the Romano cheese on the table to top the pasta if needed. Again, the 1 cup of pasta amazed me. It's a lot especially with the sausage. I definitely put more than 1/2 cup of sauce on mine though, so I may need to add a point or two to my serving size. I considered the tomatoes our vegetable for the evening and enjoyed serving a one pot meal. Very little cleanup.

The finished Product: Batteries, and I remembered to actually take a picture tonight. This is Paul's; he probably had 1 cup of sauce/sausage.

The Verdict:
Nicole-Flavor was there and was good. I could really taste the olive oil/garlic mixture. The sausage was VERY yummy. I think I may buy it instead of Italian sausage from now on. I still cannot accept a runny sauce though. I feel like my noodles are naked and are begging to be covered. I did not add extra cheese because I did not want the extra calories. Paul did though and it did not seem to thicken it up much. I'll eat the leftovers, but I probably won't make it again when I have so many other great pasta recipes in my box. I give it a 3.

Paul-gives it a 4. It wasn't a 3 but not quite a 5. Little bit of everything made it good. A sausage, noodle or tomato by itself was just kinda blah, but together it all worked.

Austin- Ate about 15 pieces of sausage once they were browned and waiting to be added to the sauce. I kept seeing his little eyes peering over the counter and hearing, "more sausage please." Once it was in his bowl with sauce and noodles, he still only ate the sausage. He passed on the noodles for sausage. So totally buying these instead of real Italian sausage. I may even try to pass them off as hot dogs. Who am I kidding? The kid is a hot dog connoisseur. He'd never buy it.