I have a few thank yous to mention!
I want to give a big thanks this week to Lyndsey from The Tiny Skillet. It was her turn to pick the dish for Martha Monday and she chose a nice healthy dinner.
You can’t go wrong with sausage, pasta, and artichoke hearts in my book. And when the whole family LOVES it, you know it will be repeated.
This is not a very saucy dish, but you’ll find it delicious. For the sauce, you add a little tomato paste to some pasta water. It keeps it light and not so weighted down like some sauces can do. I also used a turkey sausage, because it was easier to find then chicken. Then it’s pumped up with artichoke hearts and chard. The recipe said to use frozen artichokes, I used artichokes in a jar. And can you believe that this was the first time I had ever bought or used chard? It wont be the last. I liked the flavor, the ease, and I felt so healthy fixing and serving it.
If your looking for a recipe that is new and healthy, look no further.
You just found dinner! 
But since were saving all those calories being good and healthy, how about a little sinful delight?
Well, recently I won a contest from Gingerbread Bagels. I got to pick an item off of her treat list, and she sent me my choice. How cool is that?
The treat I picked was…
Boci Blondies and Nutella Buttercream!
These were so dang good. The kid and I couldn’t wait to dig into these sweet morsels of love. If I gave my daughter anything, it was the appreciation of anything Nutella. I heard such high praises for these bars from everyone. Well, everyone being the hubby and the kid because I wasn’t sharing with anyone else. (Sorry Taste testers)
“A Blondie is a brownie without the chocolate”, I had to explain to the kid. But this blondie has a hazelnut filled chocolate bar in it and on it.
Bliss!
They were chewy, rich, and oh so delicious.
And then to top it off, Lindsey adds the smoothest, the best, whipped Nutella Buttercream.
Oh heavens to Betsy, these are awesome!
If you want a great treat, this is for you. I’m telling you, get the recipe from Lindsey, and get into the kitchen.
But make the pasta first. I dont want you to ruin your appetite before dinner.
Thank you Lyndsey for a great dinner pick, and thank you Lindsey for the perfect Blondies.
We enjoyed both very much!
Penne, Sausage, Chard, and Artichoke Hearts
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- 12 ounces whole-wheat penne
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 pound chicken sausage, removed from casing
- 1 bunch Swiss chard (about 1 pound) cleaned, stems and leaves separated and chopped
- 1 (9-ounce) box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan (about 2 ounces), plus more for serving
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions
- Set a large pot of salted water to boil for pasta. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking sausage into pieces, until cooked through and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add remaining oil, chard stems, artichoke hearts, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook until chard stems soften slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chard leaves and cook, stirring, until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add pasta to boiling water; cook until 2 minutes short of al dente. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain pasta; return to pot.
- Pour half of reserved pasta water into a small bowl. Add tomato paste and whisk to combine. Add tomato paste mixture, sausage mixture, Parmesan, basil, and red pepper flakes to pasta in pot. Toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.
Print This Recipe
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, everything look delicious, I need to try it especially the blondies, I loved it
xoxo Have a great week!!
I am sitting at my desk having a lousy tuna sandwich and you come up with this….and a treat to boot….
Looks like a perfect ending to a perfect meal. I have to admit to never having bought chard before.
I thought the pasta was good too. I like chard a lot, especially when I can get it in a bunch of different colors.
I’m happy that you liked it too. I know we all enjoyed it, and I even had some for lunch today and it was just as good! It was satisfying, and I wanted to keep eating it. I think it’s easy to change it up a little too. My post if finally up!
Could you send me some of these bars? Yum! My daughter loves nutella too!
A lovely pasta and that blondie with a hazelnut chocolate bar sounds just wonderful!
Hi Megan,
BlogFront.org is committed to uphold the quality standards of blogging. We strive to maintain and promote only the most credible blogs in their respective fields.
Spam blogs or “splogs” has been a problem for some time now and people are getting confused about which blog to trust.
We would like to thank you for maintaining such a reputable blog. We know that it takes time, effort and commitment to keep such a blog and as such, we have added your blog as one of the top Food Blogs.
You can see your blog listed here: http://blogfront.org/food/22
You can also claim your BlogFront Top Blogs badge at http://blogfront.org/badges/food
Thank you for keeping your blog credible. Let’s keep the blog revolution alive!
Maria Blanchard
BlogFront.org
Blog Revolucion
If my husband saw this pasta recipe, he would get down on his knees and beg me to make it. Boy will he be happy when I surprise him with it, using the last of our garden’s seasonal chard. Yum!
Oh this looks wonderful!!! My type of dinner and that dessert YUM!!!!
We make something very similar with broccoli & its a favorite in our house. I bet the artichokes are a great addition!
This all looks so wonderful. You have made me very hungry:)
Aww I’m so glad you loved them! And thank you for including them in your post, this made my day.
The pasta looks incredible! I wish I could of had dinner at your house.
Those blondies are definitely definitely worth the calories saved during dinner. But then again, those were easy calories to save, because i bet the penne didnt compromise taste for calories!
Pasta dish looks amazing! What a great combo of different ingredients.
LOVE pasta with Artichoke Hearts