Everyone needs a couple good, basic weeknight recipes. This Cheesy Kielbasa Skillet fits that bill perfectly. It’s bound to please even the pickiest person in your family. My son who is old enough to eat all his veggies, but still doesn’t, told me this was amazing. I think it’s the first time ever he’s eaten green peas and red peppers. I guess that’s called maturity.
I started with Tinkyada gluten-free spiral pasta. It’s got a strange package (check out the bunny) and the website (oh, don’t get me started) is quite the experience but it’s the best all-round gluten-free rice pasta ever.
I used some of our home-raised (by my cousin) pork kielbasa for this dish. It comes straight from the butcher uncooked so I may have prepared this dish a little differently than you need to. Store bought kielbasa is typically pre-cooked so feel free to brown it and get some really nice caramelization on it but it’s not necessary.
I love making my own cheese sauce. It’s simple when you start with some cream cheese. I like to use a couple different kinds of cheese. I used some parmesan, cheddar and Monterey Jack. It’d also be great with some gouda or Swiss too!
This is one of those meals that freezes really well. I’ve been doing some meal prep lately and I froze the leftovers of this. I ended up reheating one of them today and it was great. I think next time I’ll add some extra cheese sauce on top though because you can never have enough cheese!
- 1 bag gluten-free spiral pasta
- 1 lb. kielbasa, uncooked (See note if using cooked kielbasa)
- ½ cup green peas, frozen
- ¼ cup red pepper strips
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- ¼ c. butter
- ¼ lb. cream cheese
- ¼ c. parmesan cheese
- ½-1 cup milk
- 2 cup shredded cheddar & Monterey jack cheese
- -
- salt & pepper to taste
- Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
- Add pasta and cook until al dente.
- Add peas to the water for the last minute of cooking.
- Drain pasta with peas and set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, pan fry the kielbasa until cooked through.
- Remove from skillet to plate.
- Fry pepper strips in leftover fat from kielbasa. Remove to plate with kielbasa.
- Keep cooked ingredients warm while you’re making the cheese sauce.
- To make the sauce, combine butter, cream cheese, parmesan cheese and ½ cup milk in a saucepan on the stove on low, stirring until hot and creamy.
- Add cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese and stir until melted through. Add more milk if you’d like it to be thinner.
- Combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- You may cover the skillet and keep in a warm oven until serving.
- Serves 4-6.