This is one of my family's favorite meals. Except for Jimmie. Subtract the mushrooms. And the sauce. And the sausage. And the broccoli. And add a pound of butter. Voila! Jimmie's favorite meal.
But I digress.
And don't forget the parmesan cheese.
But I'm getting distracted. Blame it on my age. Or hormones, because those guys are great for taking the responsibility for my actions off my sloping shoulders.
We, however, love this meal, brought to you mainly by the kind manufacturers of portabella mushroom sausage. You could, however, use another sausage. I'm not being paid by Chef Bruce, or even being sent free samples of their products, so you're not being disloyal. I'll let you know if that status changes.
First, take sliced portabellas and saute with garlic and olive oil. We like LOTS of garlic. So throw in a lot of garlic. And then some more. That's how much we like garlic. We are seldom bothered by vampires, which is a little added bonus.
While these are cooking, slice up the sausage. Sam likes them thinly sliced. I'm lazy, so I just slice them quickly and haphazardly. And guess what? They still taste the same.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, start cooking the noodles. Any kind of noodles will do. Jimmie happens to favor the very gourmet-style bow tie noodles, which I find happen to add a bit of whimsy to dinner. And every dinner needs a bit of whimsy.
Oops! That's not a picture of bow tie noodles! They were absent for picture day, so I have substituted rombi noodles, which, if you're a homeschooler, now would be a good time to insert a little geometry/math lesson on what rombi pasta is shaped like (a rhombus!). You will amaze your friends and neighbors with your knowledge and annoy your children with your ability to make everything a teachable moment. Win-Win, I say!
Using either bullion and water or prepared chicken broth, add to the mushrooms and thicken with a little flour or corn starch. I like to shake up some of the broth with flour in a jar and then add to the mixture when boiling. Then I stir until the sauce has thickened, adding more flour if needed.
Add the sausage to the mushroom sauce.
Serve over noodles.
And top with parmesan cheese. Because everything is better with parmesan cheese on it.
Except ice cream.
