Lemon Garlic Pasta with Paulie O's Spicy Italian Sausage

The month is not over yet and we some more dishes coming your way. It is amazing what you can do with a little creativity and even less money. This dish is amazingly simple, packed full of flavor, healthier than Olive Garden, and is cheap to make. I know most of you would not be able to get a hold of the sausage I use as its a local delight so use the best you find. Quality ingredients may cost a bit more but its worth it to your taste buds and you health. So there are a few ground rules for this dish. Do not use garlic powder. Use fresh garlic and you will see why. Garlic powder just can not deliver on this occasion. The last thing is do not over do it with the butter. A little goes a long way. Now to show you how easy and inexpensive this dish is. I did not have anything extra to spruce up this dish with some color but here are some suggestions: sauted butternut squash, fresh chopped parsley, green or red bell pepper, roasted zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, etc.

Serves 4 people
Total cost: about $20.00

Ingredients:
5 large cloves garlic minced
1 large yellow onion diced
12 oz mushrooms of your choice. I used sliced white shrooms this time around.
1.5 lemons squeezed
2 tbsp clarified non-salted butter
4 Spicy Italian sausage links, casing removed
EVOO
1/2 a regular box of whole grain or whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles cooked till al dente
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter and add the onions. Let them sweat for about 4-5 minutes or until lightly golden.
2. Brown your sausage in a little bit of EVOO (about 1/2 tbsp). Make sure you try to buy a lean sausage. You can tell if its lean or not by looking at it raw. If you see a lot of large specs of white throughout that's fat. So choose wisely.
3. While all this is going on you noodles should be put on to cook. It takes them about 6 minutes to cook till al dente for me. Drain well.
4. Now for the fun part. Add the garlic to the onions, saute until aromatic. Then immediately add the noodles and sausage to the veggies and make sure to toss well. Trust me there is enough butter as the onions and mushrooms soak it up so there will be plenty of flavor. Now squeeze 1/2 a lemon, salt, pepper and continue this until you have reached your desired levels. Use just enough lemon to give a zing and just enough salt to subdue the harsh bite of the lemon. Now you are ready to serve a jaw dropping dish. Simple and packed full of flavor. Enjoy!