Caprese Family Dinner - Recipe

I love having Caprese Salad in the summer, but it’s traditionally served as an appetizer.  Today, I’m upping the ante by taking it from appetizer to family dinner!  The traditional Caprese Salad, an Italian salad from the Isle of Capri, is made to look like the Italian flag.  As an appetizer, the ingredients are served uncooked, so it’s typically quick and easy.  We won’t be adding too much time to the prep though!  Try it out and let us know what you think!

Ingredients:  1 ~9oz box of pasta,  ~13oz pkg Turkey Sausage (I’m using pre-cooked Butterball Turkey Sausage), small container grape tomatoes (or assorted tomatoes cut into small cubes), 8oz ball of mozzarella, a small handful of fresh basil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Directions:

1. Boil water for pasta. While it’s heating…
2. Place ¼ cup lemon juice in a small bowl. Add ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper.  Measure ¼ cup olive oil and slowly drizzle into lemon juice while stirring quickly with a whisk to blend.  The ingredients will emulsify into one.
3. Add pasta and 1 tsp salt to boiling water and stir once. My directions called for 10 minutes, but we’re going to slightly undercook to 6/7 minutes.
4. Preheat a med/lg size skillet to med-high. Lightly coat with olive oil.
5. Chop turkey sausage into chunks and add to the skillet. The Butterball sausage is pre-cooked and only needs to be warmed.  If you’re not using a pre-cooked option, start this step before your pasta goes into the water.
6. Slice mozzarella into ¼ inch thick rounds.
7. Rough chop basil – I piled them together and did two chops for large pieces.
8. Stir turkey sausage and add ½-3/4 cup of pasta water to skillet. Stir to grab all the yummy bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. 
9. Drain pasta and add to skillet.
10. Add tomatoes and drizzle with lemon/oil mixture. Stir well then sprinkle basil on top.
11. Place mozzarella slices on top and reduce heat.  Flip slices after a minute or two. 
12. Serve after cheese has warmed – a few minutes.

Note: If you’re not familiar with Dreamfields Pasta, it has higher amounts of fiber and protein than most pasta.  This helps reduce the absorption of carbs so quickly, meaning your blood sugar will not spike as high or so quickly and you won’t absorb all the carbs.  It’s great for diabetics.  I have very low blood sugar so I like to keep it as level as possible since extreme spikes make me feel badly.  Try it out if you’d like a healthier option!