Rotini with Ricotta, Sausage, and Broccoli

I'm trying to be better about using up things in the pantry and refrigerator before I buy more. I think at one point, I had three quarter- or half-full boxes of pasta in my pantry. And as finals approach, I'm finding that it seems much more pressing to organize my kitchen than to review Zwinglian theology, so I'll see if I can nip that in the bud.

I loved using the ricotta as a sauce for the pasta. The lemon zest added more flavor. You can substitute a lot in this recipe. Use spinach instead of broccoli. The recipe I based this off of used prosciutto, but I used chicken sausage. Go with what you have!

Rotini with Ricotta, Sausage, and Broccoli
adapted from A Year in the Kitchen

1/2 a box of whole wheat rotini (or penne or rotelle or whatever)
1 cup lowfat ricotta cheese
zest of 1 lemon
2 links pre-cooked chicken sausage, sliced (I used Trader Joe's smoked apple and chardonnay)
1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
2 small heads of broccoli, chopped
1 tsp oil
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Put water on to boil for noodles. When water is at a rolling boil, pour in noodles.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a small skillet and add slices of sausage, turning until browned and heated through.

Mix together stock, zest, and ricotta, stirring to combine.

Add broccoli to the boiling water for the last few minutes of noodle-cooking time. Drain noodles and broccoli when cooked (about 8-10 minutes total).

Toss with sausage and ricotta mixture, sprinkling with Parmesan cheese and adding salt and pepper as desired.