Spicy Andouille Chicken Sausage Pasta

Bryan picked what he wanted for supper last night. I always give him a ton of recipes each week to select from before I make our dinner menu. He had been looking forward to trying this one for a while now. This dish was incredible. We both enjoyed it and are already looking forward to leftovers for lunch. In my opinion, the best thing about making pasta dishes is that they are very filling so you don't need any side dishes with them. Just scoop a portion into a bowl and enjoy.

This dish is spicy but there are going to be suggestions below on how to make it a little more mild.

Spicy Andouille Chicken Sausage Pasta
Serves: 4
Adapted by: http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/spicy-sausage-pasta.html

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound andouille chicken sausage OR any other kind of smoked sausage or chicken sausage you prefer (I used Trader Joe's all natural andouille chicken sausage links), cut into small chunks
1.5 cups onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 - 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
10 oz can Ro-Tel (I used original but mild would help decrease the spice in the dish)
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used fat free half and half to make this dish much healthier)
8 oz penne pasta or any small pasta of your choice
1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup reduced fat monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup scallions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced - OPTIONAL

Directions
-In an oven-safe saute pan, add olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add sausage and onions and saute for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
-Add chicken broth, rotel, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Add the jalapeno at this point if you are using it. Bring to a boil, cover the dish, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until pasta is tender and cooked.
-Remove skillet from the heat and add half of the shredded cheese. Stir all ingredients together. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions. Put under the broiler in the oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.
-Serve immediately

*Tip #1: I used 2 cups of chicken broth and found that the dish had more liquid in it than it should so I would recommend using 1 1/2 cups instead of 2.
*Tip #2: Don't add the cream or fat free half and half until the pasta has cooked completely. Add it and stir everything together and then add your cheese. I think this would make the dish present better.

Enjoy! :)