Orecchiette w/ Turkey Sausage & Broccoli

So I often get questions about how I find the perfect recipe to make and photograph each week for the blog. Sometimes I'm inspired by something I see on Food Network or Pinterest. But most of the time, I refer to whatever my taste buds are in the mood for at the moment. Then I refer to my cookbook collection or sites like this or this to find something that will satisfy my taste buds. It's just that simple. Being that Valentine's Day is in a few days, I feel like I should be posting something sweet or chocolate-y. But that's not what my taste buds wanted last weekend. They wanted pasta. And that's what they got. 

I found this orecchiette pasta in one of Giada's cookbooks and I've seen her make several versions of it on her show. I have always been fascinated with the shape of that pasta, so I decided to try it out. Let's just say my taste buds were ecstatic! This was incredibly delicious, slightly spicy (I used hot Italian sausage cause' I love spicy food) and so easy to make. The juices from the sausage and the pasta water create this light and wonderful sauce that is SO good! It took me less than 25 minutes to make this from start to finish, so it would be a great weeknight dinner. 

A little side note: The recipe called for broccoli rabe, which can be a little bitter. So I substituted baby broccoli, which is slightly sweet and much more tender than broccoli rabe and regular broccoli. If you have kids, they might favor it more as well. 

Images by me