Ingredients: hot italian sausage, onion, garlic, thyme, white wine, butter, flour, cheese (whatever you have - cheddar, parmesan, monterey jack) , broccoli, penne, bread crumbs.
Directions:
1. Fry up some hot italian sausage. When cooked, remove from pan and put aside. Also put a pot of water on to boil -- when it boils at whatever stage, add pasta and cook till just about done. Preheat the oven to 350.2. Dice up 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Toss in pan that the sausage was cooked in. Let the onions get a nice brown caramely color. Toss in some fresh chopped thyme.
3. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine. This already creates a slight sauce (with the wine, grease from the sausage and onions all mixing together). Toss in some butter and whisk in some flour slowly(we're making a roux - think mac'n'cheese). This roux is different than normal because the onions are there... It's hard to explain. It kind of just sticks to the onions. If you add too much flour, just toss in more butter. You want a smooth consistency Once you think there is enough flour/butter, pour in some milk and whisk. A thick sauce should start to form. I added about 1 cup of milk to 1 tbs of flour and a dollop of butter. To make more 'sauce' I tossed in about 1/2 cup of chicken stock as well.
4. Add cheese to sauce - I used a combo of cheddar, monetary jack and parmesan. I added about 3/4 cup of cheese, if not more.
5. Quickly steam some broccoli in the microwave or on the stove to al dente. Add the bite size pieces to the sauce.
6. When the pasta is cooked, return to pot. Add sausage and the sauce with the broccoli. Mix together and put into a lightly greased pyrex or casserole dish. Top with more cheese and bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes and then a quick broil (no more than 2 minutes) to crisp up the bread crumbs.
This is in no way healthy, but what else is new with me. It's friggen delicious. Enjoy!
