Chard, Sausage & Lemon Pasta

YJDKIY busted out a treat that has been in the freezer since November. At one of the last farmer's market, we bought some local sweet sausage from Wild Turkey Farms. We've had their tenderloin and some zesty sausage and although I don't eat a lot of meat, it is definitely tops on my list for when I do.

Not only because it tastes good, but because it is local and I trust the way the owners have raised their pigs. However, I don't really do raw meat. It was time to call in some reinforcements!

Other cooker to the rescue! Hooray...and can I just say, those casing things...gahhhrooossss. I think you could make this vegetarian with the Tofurky kielbasa or smart ground. And then your whole house wouldn't smell like sausage. Moving on to the other ingredients!

Rainbow chard! And lots of it. This was the freshest we've been able to get in a long time, but still not local. Can't wait til I can make this with all local ingredients! There was a really rainbow selection this time, usually it's just plain ol' red & green.  Four to be exact...FOUR!

 

I keep digressing...ANYWAY!

The rest of this recipe was a somewhat healthier cream sauce.

Which I have FINALLY perfected (all about the stirring!). I added some ground pepper and a TON of garlic powder to this.

Meanwhile, add in the chopped chard, once the sausage is browned.  Overheard more than once: "Are you suuuuure it's done?"

These local noodles were some of the yummiest spinach noodles I've had. You could actually taste the spinach, which was a nice earthy complement.

Layer it on!