On my drive home tonight I was mentally cataloging what we had in our pantry and fridge to work with for dinner. At first I thought I was screwed, but then I recalled that my mother made a trip to Patak’s this week and was kind enough to hand over some of the delicious spoils of her visit. Spinach, cannelini beans and tomato sauce were just things we had on hand, but they worked perfectly together and snuck an extra serving of veggies into our meal.
So here is one of my first ever self invented recipes. Suffice it to say it actually turned out amazing (or else I wouldn’t be mentioning it!) I actually high-fived Mr. AT after dinner was done, so proud of myself I was!
Italian Sausage, Spinach and Cannellini Beans
Servings: 2
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 spicy Italian sausages
1 can of cannellini beans
4 oz tomato sauce
handful of spinach
Directions
Cook crushed garlic over medium heat until golden. If your range, like mine, starts browning garlic too fast, you can remove it from the heat and set aside. Otherwise, add the sausage to brown once garlic is golden. Brown for 5 minutes. If you removed garlic, add it back in once sausage has cooked for 5 minutes.
Add liquid from can of beans and tomato sauce, simmer 5 minutes. Add beans and spinach, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove top and simmer for another 15 minutes, turning up heat slightly if needed until sauce is reduced and thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
It was shocking, shocking I tell you, how tasty and easy this was. I had to add very little salt and pepper, and it was still full of spicy, hearty flavors. Once the sauce is reduced, the beans actually transform into something so creamy and wonderful. Better yet, several main ingredients came out of a can, which although not the most gourmet way to do this, it certainly was the easy, after a long day at work way to cook! This will definitely be a new favorite at our house!
Oh my!! I will totally make this! Thanks- can't wait 🙂