Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Penne

With the following modifications this was SOOO yummy!
I added an entire chopped onion to sweet Italian chicken sausage while it browned, then added 2 large sliced cloves of garlic to the pan as I removed it from the heat. I blanched bite size broccolini & brussel sprouts in the soon to be pasta water, then scooped them out and added them to the sausage pan on the back burner. When the pasta was 1 minute from being al dente, I put the sausage and veggie pan back on the burner, added ~ 1TBSP of butter, fresh pepper, & a slosh of chicken stock, then added the drained pasta & 1/4c of pasta water. Let that simmer for a minute or so, then added juice from a whole lemon. Served it with shaved parmigiana reggiano cheese! If our son hadn't been there, we would have used spicy chicken sausage or given it some heat some other way, but it was still really good!

Add 1/2 cup chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes and clove or 2 of garlic makes this a good dish.

With a bit customization, this was smashing. I used Italian chicken sausage. I added a clove of minced garlic after browning the sausage. I used a combination of broccoli florets and halved Brussels sprouts. I used finely grated Parmigiana Reggiano, because that’s what I had on hand. And finally, before adding the cheese and lemon juice, I stirred in a pat of butter: very few extra calories per serving, but a big flavor boost. In short, one needs to be creative during this pandemic, use what’s on hand, and improvise when necessary. A good basic template of a recipe!

My first time with broccoli rabe and we just found it to be way too bitter.  But even with broccoli, this dish was boring.  I even added some minced garlic.  Won't make again.

I thought this was good but not great. It's a quick weeknight recipe and a good use of leftover cooked sausage. I think it was the smoked sausage that I didn't love. Next time I would try cooked hot Italian chicken sausage (I love spice but you could use any type of sausage). I don't like broccoli rabe so I used broccolini which I adore. The lemon is a great addition and adds some bright acidity.