Spicy Chicken Sausage with Pasta & White Beans

This dish was inspired by Ellie Krieger from the Food Network. With a couple of tweaks I came up with this recipe. It's a simple, healthy and very tasty dish. The secret ingredient... Sage!

Ingredients

3/4 pound whole-wheat bowtie (or other shape) pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces lowfat Italian-style chicken sausage, casings removed, crumbled (I use spicy Italian chicken from Whole Foods)
1 medium bag of fresh spinach
2 (14-ounce) can low-sodium cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large, deep saute pan or 8-quart stockpot. Saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Stir in the sausage and cook until heated through and browned, about 4 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the beans, 1 cup of chicken stock, sage and red pepper flakes and simmer until the mixture is heated through and liquid is slightly reduced. Add the sausage-bean mixture to pasta and toss well, loosening with the additional 1/2 cup chicken stock if necessary. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste. Divide among 4 pasta bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!