Creamy Chicken and Sausage Pasta

If somebody described to me over a year ago the kinds of foods I'd be eating, or not eating, I probably would have laughed. Not that I eat anything off the wall, but the style with which I eat these days is so drastically different from only a year ago that it still astounds even me.

I crawled back to my first Weight Watcher meeting almost a year ago during the first week of September (see my blog where I spilled the beans). I was focused and ready--a machine. I realize looking back though, I still didn't have a clue what being healthy was. I was following my points, doing everything I was supposed to be doing (for the most part), and I started losing weight. But I was eating crap. Salty, processed crap. The glorious thing about Weight Watchers is that you can eat anything. And I mean anything. If a blizzard from Dairy Queen is what you crave, you can have it, so long as you fit it properly into your daily points allowance and still cover all of your other daily health guidelines--your fruit and veggies, whole grains, protein, healthy fats, and water. I understand now that just because you can eat those things, doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Naturally, none of this occurred to me last fall because, hey, I was losing weight! It wasn't until late November when the program changed, or was "tweaked", into the new Points Plus plan that I received the good, swift kick in the arse that I didn't even realize I needed. I won't go into all the plan details because it's a tad complicated, but in a nutshell, the plan was tweaked in such a way that it forced me to make better choices in foods. All of the old standby snacks and convenience foods that I used to rely on suddenly weren't looking as appetizing anymore. I found myself slowly switching to foods like brown rice and whole grain bread rather than the light white stuff (I should've done that from the beginning anyway but I'll admit I didn't). My lunch at work used to consist of a Weight Watcher frozen entree and a Ziploc bag of baby carrots, but has now been replaced with spinach salads with roasted chicken, black beans, avocado, and bell peppers. I haven't bought a frozen entree since 2010. No more jarred sauces of any kind--I make everything homemade. I've switched from regular peanut butter (I was using Peter Pan) to natural peanut butter, which I love and adore so much more than the old stuff that I will never, ever buy anything but natural ever again. Olive oil and canola oil are included into something I eat every single day. I even mix canola oil into my plain yogurt, along with either bananas, blueberries, strawberries, or cherries. You don't even know it's there! Again, I was supposed to be doing that from day one, but I honestly didn't start fully paying attention to healthy fats till Points Plus came around. It's a wonder I lost any weight in the beginning at all!

So what am I going on and on about? Basically, just that it finally clicked. Healthy foods DO taste good, contrary to what many believe. Once you start eating those foods and cut out all the junk and salt, your body and mind adapts to it like a chameleon. It takes time and patience, but it happens. I used to find a way to make that Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard fit into my plan, but these days it barely crosses my mind. The other day I was daydreaming about fall coming, and I began thinking about crisp red delicious apples. I was craving an apple like a fiend! It dawned on me that it was possibly the first time in my whole life that I actually craved a piece of fruit, because I'm not joking, I haven't ever craved healthy foods. Quite the opposite in fact. How do you think I got into this mess to begin with?

Do I never eat anything junky or salty anymore? Of course not. I still splurge here and there. But those occasions are few and far between now rather than an every week occurrence. I sometimes need to actually remind myself that I can still have some of the foods I've chosen to stay away from, which makes eating those foods a lot more special and even fun. For instance...

This past Friday we had a couple friends over for dinner that we've been meaning to have over for a while. I wasn't sure what to make and was wracking my brains up until the last minute. David suggested lasagna, but I told him I was a little strung out on lasagna lately! I wanted something that everybody would enjoy eating but would also give me a secret satisfaction of being a little "naughty". Something with a creamy sauce was what I was wishing for, but not so creamy and buttery that I'd only be able to enjoy a few tablespoons of it. The line has to be drawn somewhere!

My pantry is filled with boxes of pasta that I haven't been touching. Pasta is a weak spot for me, even the slightly healthier whole wheat kind, so I try not to make it too often anymore. But when I do, I enjoy it to the fullest, which is what lead to creating a delicious creamy chicken and sausage pasta...

I will be honest, this is a simple meal in itself, but there are a lot of steps in order to complete it, so it's not so simple to make. There are a few shortcuts that can be made in order to make the meal much quicker, though. Picking up a cooked rotisserie chicken from the deli is a huge helper. Take all the skin off and pull all the chicken away from the bones, shredding it into bite-size pieces. You'll only need about two cups of the chicken, so the rest can put away in a Tupperware container to be used for other yummy meals like soups or salads. Blanching the asparagus ahead of time and simply reheating in the sauce will also save you a couple of steps and a little room on your stove top. And of course if you make your own tomato sauce in big batches so that you always have some on hand, or have jarred sauce on hand, it will save you a lot of time. But if you decide you want to do it all at once and use every single bowl and tool in your kitchen (like the sucker that I am did!), just make sure you give yourself plenty of time before dinner to complete it. The ending creamy result is worth it.

Creamy Chicken and Sausage Pasta
Serves: 6-8

-1 medium onion, chopped
-2 garlic cloves, chopped
-1 tbsp. olive oil
-1 tbsp. dried oregano
-1 29 oz. can crushed tomatoes
-1 20 oz. can tomato puree
-8 oz. heavy whipping cream (yeah baby!)
-3 links Italian sausage (sweet or hot), sliced into even pieces
-2 cups shredded chicken
-1/2 lb. asparagus, chopped into bite-size pieces, blanched
-1 lb. pasta (any kind--I used penne rigate)
-2 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese
-8 basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

-Heat a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat and saute the sliced sausage till brown on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onion and olive oil to the fat in the pan and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Scrape any bits from the pan and stir into onions. Add garlic and oregano and saute 30 seconds until fragrant.

-Add crushed tomatoes and tomato puree and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat to a simmer and let sauce thicken, about 20 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to not let stick.

-In the meantime, bring a medium sized saucepan filled with water to a boil. Add the chopped asparagus to the water and blanch for 3 minutes. Remove asparagus from pot with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. This will keep the asparagus crisp and super green. After the asparagus has cooled enough, drain water and set bowl aside.

-In a large pot filled with boiling salted water, add your pasta and cook about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, but reserve about 1/2 a cup of the pasta water and set aside.

-Stir 8 oz. of heavy whipping cream gently into tomato sauce till completely combined. The sauce should have a pretty pinky, orangey color to it. Add cooked sausage and chicken to sauce and stir.

-Take the drained pasta and pour directly into the pan with the sauce, tossing to completely coat and distribute the meaty sauce. Sprinkle the asparagus and ribboned basil into the pasta and toss again. Pour into any serving bowl or platter and sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top. Add some extra basil on top for color if you prefer.

-If sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen till it reaches the consistency you desire.


I served this with garlic bread and salad, and it made a very complete meal. There were four of us eating and we had tons of leftovers, despite our full bellies. Surprisingly, this is not a very heavy meal, despite the cream and sausage. If you prefer the dish to be a little meatier, by all means up the amount of chicken and/or sausage. I made it this way as to not go overboard, but still remain meaty enough to savor. And savor I did--every white scrap of pasta, every slurp of creamy sauce, and every juicy bite of sausage!

Enjoy!