Tuscan Pasta

If you like sweet flavors of Sun Dried Tomatoes, this recipe is for you. I saw a recipe for a Tuscan Chicken Pasta that was for an Insta Pot and thought, maybe I can adapt this recipe to use the venison that is overflowing my fridge and clean it up a bit. Don’t worry. If you don’t like venison you can totally sub it out for regular Italian sausage, chicken or a protein of your choice. If you don’t like meat, I am sure this would be amazing without any at all. Since it was adapted from an insta pot recipe, I am sure that you can absolutely make this in an insta pot. The process may need some tweaking.

It was so delicious. We made double the recipe so we could have left overs! It was a hit and a keeper recipe for sure.

 1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes, no oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 lb. Italian sausage, diced (Sub Chicken) * we used venison sausage.

12 oz chickpea pasta (or pasta of choice)

3c low sodium chicken broth

3/4 c 2% plain Greek Yogurt (Fage)

3/4 c 2% cottage cheese

2/3 c fresh parmesan cheese

2 c baby spinach

1/4 c fresh basil, chopped, or 1 tsp dried

In a large skillet, over med-high heat, sauté the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper on high heat for about 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add the sausage (or chicken) to the skillet, brown the for 1-2 minutes.

Pour the pasta and chicken broth in the skillet. Give it a quick stir to make sure all the pasta is covered by the liquid. Bring the broth a boil then reduce the temperature to medium heat.

Cover the pan and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is done.

While the pasta is still hot add the parmesan cheese, spinach, and basil. Mix the pasta until the cheese melts and the spinach wilts. Add a tbsp of hot water if needed to help spinach wilt.

Blend the cottage cheese and Greek yogurt together to get a smooth texture for a cream sauce. Pour the sauce over the pasta. Mix until all the pasta is completely covered. Serve Hot!