Penne and Italian Turkey Sausage

This was a quick, easy fix in my Instantpot tonight, but it would be super easy on the stovetop as well.  I’ll leave you directions for both.  This is a great quick and easy meal for a busy  night when you need something low in calories.  The trick is the penne.  I’ve found a low calorie penne (150 cal per 2 oz) at my local grocery store and it comes out tender and delicious just like the regular kind.  Keep in mind that my penne comes in a 12 oz box, and many of the regular types come in a 16 oz box, so you’ll have to adjust the water (if you use instant pot) and calories accordingly if you use the larger box.

Ingredients

• 3 butterball sweet Italian turkey sausage links, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
• 12 oz of reduced calorie penne
• 1 container of pre sliced mushrooms
• 1 jar of prego light smart pasta sauce (32 oz) or mommy’s on a diet homemade marinara
• 32 oz of water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 cup white wine* (opt) or water
• shredded parm and crushed red peppers for garnish (opt)

*white wine not included in calorie count

Directions:

Stovetop:

1. Fill a large pot with about 4 cups of water, and bring to a boil.  Add penne and cook according to package directions.
2. While water is boiling, warm 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet.  Cook turkey sausage slices in the skillet until they are browned on the outside and cooked through.
3. Use about 1/2 cup of water or white wine (opt) to deglaze the pan, meaning, pour the liquid in and use a spoon to scrape all the bits off the bottom so nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
4. Add pasta sauce, mushrooms, salt, garlic, and oregano to pan.  cover and cook on low, stirring occasionally while you continue working on pasta.
5. Once pasta has finished cooking, drain it well.  Once mushrooms have cooked down, add your pasta to the large skillet and toss sauce and pasta together.

Instantpot: 

1. heat instant pot on sautee function.  Add oil, and then sausages to cook.
2. Cook sausages in oil just until they are browned on outside.
3. Literally add all other ingredients in, starting with sauce, then mushrooms, then seasonings, then water.  Don’t stir it up.
4. Once everything else is in the pot, add pasta.  Poke all pasta down inside the water and make sure no pasta is exposed (it won’t cook if it’s exposed).
5. Set your Instantpot to manual for 6 minutes.  Quick release as soon as timer goes off.
6. If there is too much liquid when it’s done, either stir it and then replace cover and leave it sitting covered in the pot for about 5 minutes: or you can stir it up and heat on sautee, adjusting the heat to “less” and stir continuously until sauce thickens.

Makes 5 servings= 378 calories per serving

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