Chicken Sausage and Asparagus Pasta

My husband (Mr. Discipline) has been training for for a half Iron Man the past 3 to 6 months.  If you don't know what that is, its a triathlon where you swim for 1.2 miles, bike for 56 miles and then run for 13.1 miles for a total of 70.3 miles.  I know, WHAT??? Now to be honest, I am not sure why people CHOOSE to do this, but never the less MANY people do.  In each race he has competed in there is always close to a 1,000 participants or sometimes much more.

Vineman finish 2011

The training of triathlons is exhausting (and I am not even the one doing it), but I must admit I LOVE race weekend.  It gets my competitive juices flowing (I know I am not the one racing) but I can't help it.  It probably helps that my husband is a stud and in his last race (this past weekend in Santa Cruz's The Big Kahuna) finished 6th in his age group and 28th overall (and that was with a hurt hamstring. Yes, I am a proud wife)!

after the Orangeman 2011

I walk around and feel inspired by the ultra fit people, and for the most part they are, but I always come across a handful of people getting ready for the race and think "really,  you can finish this race?"  And from this I have learned that this sport has a HUGE mental component, enter Mr. Discipline, which I apparently do not have.  But let me tell you I do look forward to the In-n-out and ice cream we enjoy after the race.  I may not train like a triathlete but I like to eat like one :)

Anyways all this to say that I have had to discover some new recipes to feed my triathlete husband.  I came across this one and LOVED it.  Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables and who doesn't like pasta?  Pair the two together and you get nothing but yummy! 

Chicken Sausage and Asparagus Pasta (adapted from The Enchanted Cook)


Ingredients

1 package of a tagliatelle egg pasta, prepared according    to package
1 bunch fresh diced asparagus, the thinner the better
1 handful of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3 large links spicy chicken sausage, uncooked and removed from the casing
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• Heat a large skillet to medium-high and add your chicken sausage.  Break up the sausage (as you would when you brown ground beef) and cook until sausage is fully cooked.
• Add asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes along with salt and pepper to flavor the veggies. Stir for a 2-3 minutes until they soften.
• Add in the marinara sauce and stir until it is heated through.
• When your veggies and sauce are warm add the Greek yogurt and stir until it is creamy.
• Add the cooked pasta and mix together then serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Tip for cutting asparagus:  break 1 asparagus, where it naturally breaks cut the rest of the bunch.

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