Sausage and Bell Pepper Pasta

I got the idea for this from a recipe on the Kraft Foods site, but I didn’t have any canned tomatoes as they called for, so I ended up using an alfredo sauce that I had in the cupboard. At the last minute I decided to top each serving with a few drops of lemon juice. I think the acid was a perfect topping to cut the creaminess of the dish.

I also had a half box of chicken broth left over from my Pot Pie the other day, so I decided to cook the pasta in broth instead of water to give it extra flavor.

Overall, I thought it turned out great. I didn’t really love the particular brand of sausage that I used, but aside from choosing a different kind next time, there’s nothing else I would change about the recipe.


What to use…

2 c ziti pasta
4 c chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
¾ lb turkey sausage of choice, cooked and sliced
2 c julienned bell peppers (I used baby red, yellow, and orange peppers)


1 c alfredo sauce of choice (I used a Trader Joe's sauce that I happened to buy off-hand one day, but it turned out to be the best jarred alfredo sauce I've ever had, I highly recommend it if you have the chance to buy it.)


¼ c shredded parmesan (optional)
Lemon juice for topping


What to do…

1. Cook the ziti in chicken broth, uncovered at a low boil. If liquid is gone before pasta is fully cooked, just add a little water as needed.




2. Melt butter in a nonstick cooking pan (ignore the dirty look of the pan in the picture, I had just cooked the sausage in it), add peppers and sausages, cook until peppers are half-cooked. Not crunchy but not totally soft.




3. Stir in cooked pasta and alfredo sauce. Top with parmesan.





4. When serving, top with a few drops of lemon juice to taste. Enjoy!