It’s pretty sad but when a cooking magazine shows up at the apartment, it’s a REALLY happy day for me. In fact, John always gets it and puts it right on the couch so I can’t miss it and then I happily spend the evening snipping recipes and filing them into my (ever increasing) binder of recipes. The binder was a really great idea but I wonder if it will ever decrease in size.I try to cook from it often enough but it’s rare that I find a recipe worthy of the garbage can. Even if I personally don’t like it, I can still draw inspiration from it. Lately, I’ve been trying to be better. If I haven’t made the recipe in over a year in the binder, it’s get thrown out. Because that must mean it was too difficult, or had too big of an ingredient list, or was just plain too unhealthy for us.

But then, I found this one from Cooking Light which has been in my binder for over a year and I couldn’t bear to throw it away. John was, of course, on board since sausage was a featured ingredient! So I’ve decided that sometimes it’s worth it to keep those old recipes around, you never know when you might find a true gem. But now I’m also in the market for a new binder!

Sausage, Tomato, and Arugula Fettuccine (adapted from Cooking Light)

Serves: 4

12 ounces fettuccine

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 ounces spicy chicken sausage

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

1 12-ounce can no-sodium diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 cups arugula leaves

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Break sausage into small pieces and cook 3-5 minutes, until nicely browned. Add garlic, cook an additional 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant. Drain tomatoes and reserve the liquid. Add the tomatoes, pepper, and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook 5-12 minutes, until tomatoes start to break down. Mash tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to break them up. Reduce heat to low and cook 12-15 minutes, until thickened. Remove pan from heat. Add pasta, tomato liquid, and arugula. Toss well. Divide into 4 bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Until the next time my oven is on…