A Little Slice of Heaven

2 packages butternut squash noodles or rice
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
9 tablespoons salted butter
6 to 8 sage leaves
Ground white pepper
1/2 to 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (use more or less according to your taste)

Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup of water to the skillet. After 10 minutes, flip the sausages over and simmer for an additional 5 minutes adding more water to the skillet as the water evaporates. Remove the sausages and slice them into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. After a minute, add the sausage slices in an even layer and let them cook until deeply browned. Flip and brown them on the other side. When the sausage slices browned, remove them from the pan and place them on a paper towel-lined plate and return the pan to the burner.
Salt a large pot of water and place it on high heat; bring to a boil. Add the butternut squash noodles to the water and cook about 3 to 5 minutes. The butternut squash noodles cook really fast.
Turn the heat to medium-high and add the sage leaves, the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter, and season with white pepper. As the butter melts, scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook until the foam subsides, about 5 minutes. Cook the butter until it’s deeply browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes more.
Drain the butternut squash noodles. Add the to the browned butter sauce and toss to combine. Add the sausage to the skillet and stir. Add the Romano cheese and stir again. Adjust with salt, if necessary.
Place into serving bowls and garnish with additional Romano cheese and sprinkle with additional chopped sage 💕

Footnotes - I started out with noodles but they broke apart while cooking so I ended up with rice 🤷🏻‍♀️ and ran with it LOL!

You can substitute cauliflower gnocchi for the
butternut squash.

You can use sweet Italian sauce instead of hot. I’m not sure how it tastes because I’ve only used hot ♥️