Pasta with Italian Sausage, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives and Goat Cheese

I don't normally plan a meal for Friday nights when I meal plan for the week. I use that night to clean up leftovers from the fridge. I don't post about my Friday night dinners too often but every once in a while they turn out pretty good. This time I found a single Italian turkey sausage in my freezer and half of a red pepper, some olives and some goat cheese in the fridge. I immediately thought of using them in a pasta dish. Pasta is a great medium for finishing off odds and ends as it is a glue that binds all of the ingredients together. I knew that I would have to roast the red pepper for some extra flavour. I like balsamic vinegar with roasted red peppers and with goat cheese and so it was in. With that I had a quick and tasty pasta dish using odds and ends from my fridge. This recipe is only for one but you could easily double it or quadruple it.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pinch red chili pepper flakes (optional)
1 onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 Italian turkey sausage (casing removed)
1/2 red pepper (roasted, chopped)
8 olives (pitted and chopped)
1 serving pasta (cooked)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
oregano to taste
salt and pepper to taste
parsley (chopped, optional)
goat cheese (crumbled, optional, or feta)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the red chili pepper flakes and sautee until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds)
5. Add the sausage and break it apart with a spoon and saute until cooked, about 5 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and stir in the roasted red pepper and olives.
7. Toss the mixture with the cooked pasta.
8. Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper is a bowl.
9. Toss the Dressing with the pasta.
10. Garnish with parsley and crumbled goat cheese.

Similar Recipes:
Butternut Squash, Italian Sausage and Sage Pasta
Orecchiette with Italian Sausage and Rapini

Take a look at the Presto Pasta Nights roundup at Once Upon a Feast.