Any Brussels Sprouts fans here? Me neither. At first, anyway.

I grew up hating the "Tiny Cabbages", and refused to eat them. When I married my husband, he begged me to try them, which is strange because he isn't a big veggie lover, so I thought I would give them a go. We had them steamed in a butter sauce and how wrong I was! They were delicious! To me, anyway. I was still trying to find ways to get my kids to like them.

I ran across a recipe for Buccatini with Brussels Sprouts, Sausage, & Gorgonzola Cheese on Italian Food Forever, so I adapted it for the tastes of my family and it was a success! I had to change it up for two reasons: 1, Availability of ingredients in our small city and 2, No way would I get anyone to eat chopped nuts on a dish. I know, crazy right? I have to choose my battles. My daughter loves it and at least my son doesn't actively complain when he eats it, which is still a win. Husband loves it as well.

So whether you love them or hate them, you might like this dish. Try it out and tell me what you think! If you have access to Buccatini & Gorgonzola, you can go and try the original too.

Creamy Brussels Sprout & Italian Sausage Fettuccine

Adapted from Buccatini with Brussels Sprouts, Sausage, & Gorgonzola Cheese from Italian Food Forever

Servings: 8

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 lb. Mild Italian Sausage
• 1 lb. Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and sliced thin
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes, divided
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 c. Mozzarella cheese
• 12 oz. Fettuccine pasta

Directions:

1. Salt a large pot of water for the pasta and bring to a boil.
2. In a large frying pan, add the olive oil, diced onion, and Italian sausage on medium heat.
   
   
   
3. Prepare Brussels Sprouts: Chop off the stem end and discard. Slice up the rest of the sprout thinly. When finished with all of them, put in a colander and rinse well.
   
   
   
4. Break up the sausage and cook until no longer pink, and brown bits start to stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Add garlic and 1/2 tsp. of the red pepper flakes to sausage and cook for about 30 seconds.
6. Add sliced sprouts to mixture, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Steam for 10-15 minutes until sprouts are tender, stirring occasionally.
   
   
   
7. While sprouts are steaming, cook pasta until desired consistency. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
8. Drain and return the pasta to the pot, add in 1/2 c. of the pasta water and the sausage mixture over medium heat. Add in the cream cheese in small chunks and stir until melted, adding in more pasta water when needed. 
9. Add in the Mozzarella and stir until melted.
10. Serve sprinkled with the remaining red pepper flakes.