Italian sausage with pasta, yellow squash, and zucchini

Have you ever wanted something filling, hearty and quick to eat?  I do all of the time.  When one works a lot a hours, there is very little time to cook lavish meals during the week.  I like to cook meals in one or two pots so that there is very little clean up at the end.

I like Italian sausage and you can use it in more things than on top of a pizza.  It goes very well with pasta.  I used rotini in this dish, but you can use any pasta that you like.  Then I added zucchini, yellow squash, and chopped tomatoes.  It was delicious. 

Ingredients:

1 lb of Italian sausage, or ground beef, lamb, turkey, or chicken
1 lb rotini, or your choice of pasta, cooked according to package directions
1 onion, sliced thinly
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small tomatoes, skinned and chopped fine 
2 small zucchini, sliced thinly
2 small yellow squash, sliced thinly
2 TBS vegetable oil
2-3 TBS butter or ghee
1 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
salt/pepper to taste
1 bouillon cube, optional
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of Italian cheese, I use the Italian cheese mix in a bag from the grocer

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Place a non stick pan on med-high heat.  Cook sausage until the meat is brown. Remove from the skillet and place in a bowl, then set aside.  Next, add oil, butter, sliced onions, spices, bouillon cube, tomatoes, and saute until golden. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two. Thirdly, add the sliced Zucchini and yellow squash.  Cook until tender.  I like to brown my vegetables a bit on both sides.  Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking add the sausage to the pot, then add the Parmesan & Italian cheese. In a large pot mix the pasta and vegetables together. Serve immediately. Enjoy!  

 Cooks Note:  You can use canned tomatoes in place of fresh tomatoes if you want the dish to have more sauce.