Summer Pasta

My friend Michelle gave me this recipe and I'm glad she did! It's a great way to use zucchini and squash, and smoked sausage is a nice change of pace from beef. This recipe freezes well, so you could make the sauce ahead and freeze it in a ziptop bag for a quick meal later. Or you could make a double batch, and freeze half (I'm all about options).

This is a recipe you can use when you need to put food on the table quickly: the sauce doesn't take any longer than cooking the pasta. It's also one that can be changed based on what you have that's seasonal or from the garden. I use zucchini and summer squash, but you can also use or add carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, whatever you have and your family prefers.

Put on a pot of water to boil, then add your favorite pasta. I usually use spaghetti for this, but gemelli or penne or something else would work just fine.

For the sauce, first cut up the smoked sausage (I used keilbasa cause that's what I had!) I cut it crosswise into slices, and then cut each slice into quarters. Saute the sausage just til it starts to brown. (This is really an optional step, but I prefer the texture of this after it's been browned. If you don't care, just add the meat into the sauce when you add the tomatoes.)



Remove the sausage from the pan, and add a bit of olive oil. Saute the squash and onions until tender.



Add the tomatoes and sausage to the pan and stir well. Simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors combine. (I puree my tomatoes first cause I don't like chunks! You can just pour them in straight from the can.)



Drain the pasta. Serve the sauce over the pasta, and top with parmesan cheese.

There are more great ideas for squash at the In Season Recipe Swap.

Get more recipe inspiration at Friday Feasts, Food on Fridays, Family Recipe Friday, and Foodie Fridays, Ingredient Spotlight.

Summer Pasta

1 pound spaghetti or your favorite pasta
1 pound smoked sausage or polska keilbasa, sliced and diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise and then crosswise
2 small summer squash, sliced lengthwise and then crosswise
1 small onion, chopped
1 28-oz can seasoned diced tomatoes (I used olive oil and garlic)
parmesan cheese


Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta; cook til al dente. Meanwhile, saute sausage in a large skillet until just starting to brown. Remove from skillet. Add olive oil to the skillet and saute the vegetables over medium heat until tender. Add the tomatoes and sausage to the vegetables. Lightly simmer for 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Drain pasta. Serve sauce over pasta and top with parmesan cheese. Serves 8.