I thought it would be a nice change of pace to share something today that is not related to digital scrapbooking! At the start of the new year many people make resolutions to lose weight or improve their health, so I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes to help with those goals. It’s delicious, but also is good for you! Now I can’t take credit for this recipe because I found it at the Whole Food’s Market website.
Italian Sausage with Zucchini and Tomatoes
Ingredients
6 links sweet italian sausage
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 to 6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 lb. zucchini, cut into ½ inch pieces
¾ lb. mixed red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Prepare sausages according to package directions, either in a sauté pan or on the grill. If they are pre-cooked you can just slice them up now. While they are cooking, heat olive oil in a large heavy sauté pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and oregano, stir for a few seconds, then add zucchini and cook 3 to 5 minutes.
When sausages are cooked, cut into large bite-sized pieces and add to pan along with tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Continue to sauté until tomatoes are just softened, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a large platter and serve.
I made this for dinner last night and took some pictures along the way. This is a very easy recipe and takes about 30 minutes from start to serve!
Gather your ingredients. You’ll notice that I didn’t have any fresh herbs, so I used these fresh-like herbs in a tube. They taste just as good as real fresh herbs, and are great to have on hand for emergencies.
The recipe intends for you to use un-cooked sausages, but I prefer to get the pre-cooked kind. I find it makes the recipe even faster to prepare and that’s a good thing for me! More time for scrapping!! Since I can skip the step of cooking the sausages I cut up everything before I start. Also notice that gigantic pile of garlic! Don’t skimp on the garlic…it’s what really makes this recipe come alive! You can chop the garlic finely as the recipe calls for, but I find it quicker to use a microplane grater or even a regular grater that has a small tooth option.
Now you can start the recipe going. Be sure not to leave the garlic and oregano cooking in the oil too long. It will burn! Just a few second like the recipe says.
When you add a new ingredient into the pan, be sure to stir it well to get each piece coated in the garlic & oregano mixture. It will infuse the vegetables with a great flavor.
And here is the final product! So yummy, and it’s good for you. Most people thing healthier food options have to taste bland, but with the addition of some herbs you can get food that tastes good and is good for you.
I’ve created a 4×6 recipe card for you to download and print out. Click the image to see it full size and save it by right clicking and choosing Save File As…:
I hope you’ll give this recipe a try, and I’d love to hear what you think of it. I’m also always looking for great recipes that cook-up fast, so leave me a comment if you have a recipe to share.
