Rotini with trapanese pesto and deer sausage

Since starting this blog, I've become an avid reader of other blogs. Depending on time, I get to quite a few of them each week, but there are a few that I check every single day...I'm addicted to their writing styles just as much as I am their gorgeous photos and fresh recipes.  I've mentioned Iowa Girl Eats before and have tried quite a few of her recipes (like spicy italian pasta salad and caprese lasagna), but this is the first time I've tried a recipe from Bev Cooks. I've been visiting her site to giggle at her sense of humor with cooking, writing, and everything she posts for months but have just never gotten around to trying any of the recipes. saw this one for trapanese pesto a few weeks ago (I didn't even know such a thing existed) and had everything on hand to throw it together...so I pretty much had to give it a shot.

2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup almonds (I used pine nuts because I had them on hand)
2 cloves garlic
12 basil leaves
1 banana pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 T olive oil
1 lb rotini pasta
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb spicy deer sausage (the original recipe was vegetarian but you know how us carnivores roll)

In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, almonds (or pine nuts), garlic, basil, banana pepper, cheese, salt, and pepper. Pulse a few times to get it going. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin stream.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain.

Cook your sausage in a skillet until done, add the sauce and pasta to the skillet. Mix thouroughly and add the entire mixture to a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with shredded fresh mozzerella cheese and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Look at that perdy sauce...you can see each ingredient separately with their colorful specks but the taste is so cohesive, it's like they were made to live together in saucy heaven for all to share. Mmmmmm....I'm telling you guys, this was even good as a cold sauce for a pasta salad. But a little mozz on top put this right where it needed to be...in my tummy! The sauce had a little kick but nothing kids couldn't handle as we had the Bentons over for dinner that night and both chillins loved it.

Oh, and don't fret...I will share with you the recipe for the most fantabulous garlic bread eva-eva tomorrow. Mallory's king's bread is not something I need to be consuming before fitting into a wedding dress, I can't be trusted with this stuff. Every time I walked by it, I was snatching a piece to throw down the hatch. Because calories don't count if your head doesn't know what your mouth is doing...get it down quick and it fits right in your diet. Stay tuned....and prepare to have your mind blown tomorrow! Happy Monday, all!