Broccoli Sausage Pasta

We have a large family rife with big personalities and varying tastes. It can be very challenging to please them all, at times. Of our 4 children, one doesn't like rice, except plain sticky rice, one doesn't really like any veg except for carrots and broccoli, one refuses to eat any ground meat of any kind, and one is just a baby and likes to chuck his food to the floor. Usually, I try to make a conscious effort to include one component of each meal that I know everyone will like, which can be challenging. But, sometimes, it brings inspiration and I manage to sneak a 1 pot dish in front of my kids that they'll all eat to some degree... And that, in my book is a huge win!

Broccoli Sausage Pasta is something I came up with spur of the moment after we'd gotten home late from the store. The ground meat hater in the family hadn't been born just yet, so the 2 picky eaters we had at the time surprised the heck out of me by devouring the entire meal with out a single complaint and shocked me even more by asking me to make it again the following week. And thus, a family favorite was born! Even now, when my 5 year old tells me she hates ground meat, she will gladly eat the pasta and broccoli in this dish, which is good enough for me.

The dish is ridiculously simple. Bite size pieces of Italian sausage, broccoli, some garlic, olive oil all tossed together with adorably kid friendly bow tie pasta and topped with fresh parmesan cheese. You can NOT get this wrong, people! It's just not possible.

This is my method:

1 package sweet/mild/hot Italian sausage (if you use the kind in the casing, cut that off and rip into chunks)
1 box farfalle pasta
1 pound broccoli, cut into bite size spears
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Get a pot of water off to a rolling boil and cook your pasta to package directions. 1-2 minutes before you think the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the pot.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large pan, brown the sausage up until it's cooked through. Turn off the heat and add the garlic and the olive oil to the pan and let the residual heat saute the garlic while you go drain your pasta and broccoli.

Toss the cooked pasta and broccoli into your pan and toss it all together until it's well coated. Sprinkle with the Parm and serve hot.