I love a warming rustic pasta dish on a cold winter’s night. Kale is a hearty, super nutritious green that can hold it’s own against the strong flavors of tomato sauce and sausage. Kale is rich in vitamin K, beta carotene, vitamin C and calcium, and tomato sauce contains cancer fighting, immune boosting antioxidants.

And, who doesn’t love any excuse to add cheese to pasta? Eating cheese is another delicious way to bump up your daily calcium intake. BOOM.

For the pasta:

• ½ cup cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons organic butter
• ½ box Wild Oats rotini pasta

For the sauce:

• 2 cooked sausages, mild or spicy, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cups organic kale, cut into bite sized pieces
• ¼ cup pasta water taken from boiling pasta
• 2 tablespoons Wild Oats organic extra virgin olive oil
• ½ jar Wild Oats brand pasta sauce
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• Directions:

Cook pasta according to box directions.

Add olive oil to a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add kale and the boiling pasta water. Sautee kale until water evaporates and kale starts to brown slightly. Add sliced sausage and sautee for a couple of minutes. Stir in Wild Oats pasta sauce of your choosing.

When pasta is finished, return cooked pasta to pan and stir in butter and cheese.

Top cheesy pasta with sauced up sausage and braised kale.