Something out of Nothing

I was a little hesitant about this recipe at first because it looked bland. I normally love the recipes that come off of the Real Simple website, but I felt a challenge with this on in particular. It wasn't the nuts in the pasta, or the simplicity of the sauce it was that besides the parsley and garlic there wasn't much flavor. So, I spiced it up a little with some breakfast pork sausage I had in the freezer and I was quite impressed.

Chickpea and Sausage Pasta

-olive oil
-3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 7 cups chix broth
-crushed red pepper flakes
-1 lb pasta (I used whole wheat)
-1 15.5oz can of chickpeas
-1 cup of flat leaf parsley
-1/4 cup of unsalted roasted almonds, chopped
-1/2 cup grated parm
-6 pork sausage links, cooked and chopped

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth, red pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring, until the broth is nearly absorbed and the pasta is al dente, about 6 minutes. In the meantime, cook pork sausage and chop. Stir in the chickpeas and parsley.Divide among individual bowls and top with the almonds, parmesan, and sausage. If you have any extra lemon juice on hand a splash of that brightened the dish.