Jambalaya Pasta

Don't even ask me about running. :-( Lately 6-10 miles is a good week. ::sigh:: Half marathon training starts in January so I'm looking at this as a little down time before I start to get serious about it again. ;-) I did find a new race I'm excited to try. It's called The Red Eye Relay. It's a 100 mile relay run with a team of 5-7 people. It's in a very hilly area of Indiana *and* it's run at night. That could make it very challenging. Our team had a great time last year at the River-to-River Relay in southern Illinois. (Go Tailwinds!) I'm looking forward to doing more relays. It's nice to have a team dimension in what is normally an individual sport.

Things have been crazy around here lately. Between three kids on different basketball teams, three kids on different wrestling teams, girls scouts (both Daisy's and Junior Girl Scouts), band concerts and Jake's book club, we've had a lot of busy, busy nights lately. Throw a dose of the flu into the mix, in addition to TNT mini-marathon training starting up and I've had very little time to cook lately. The other night I broke out an old recipe I haven't made in quite awhile. I found the recipe on the internet years ago and used to make it every couple of weeks. Somehow it dropped out of the rotation and I'd almost forgotten about it. Luckily I rediscovered it and now I have another quick and easy meal for those way-to-busy nights.

Jambalaya Pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound low fat smoked turkey sausage -- cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic --pressed
1 jar spaghetti sauce -- your favorite
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
cayenne pepper -- to taste
12 ounces linguini -- uncooked

In a skillet over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Add sausage; cook over medium heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add the chopped peppers, onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until tender. Stir in pasta sauce and remaining ingredients except pasta. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cook 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Spoon sauce over hot pasta.