Hearty Rigatoni and Sausage

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes, as it is so hearty, and it has such great flavors, but it really easy to make. As convenient as ready made pasta sauces are, I love the homemade taste that making your own sauce gives, and it is so easy to do with canned diced tomatoes! I always have several cans on hand, and I always purchase ones that are seasoned to up the flavor (i.e. fire roasted, garlic, Italian seasonings, etc.). I also have found that this is a great way to use up all of those deals on link sausage (Louisiana Red Hot...yum!), but substituting ground sausage or even chopped chicken works with this recipe as well. Serves 4 amazing portions.

HEARTY RIGATONI AND SAUSAGE

1 lb sweet sausage
2 sliced bell peppers
2 onions, sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
2 Tbl tomato paste
1 c marsala wine
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb rigatoni

Cook sausages over medium heat until brown, 7-10 minutes. While sausage is cooking, cook pasta and drain. Remove sausages, add bell peppers, onions, salt, and pepper, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, basil, and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir, and then add Marsala wine, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, return sausage to pot. Simmer uncovered, until thick, about 20 minutes. Toss with pasta, garnish with Parmesan cheese.

This entire meal is ready in about 40 minutes, and uses ingredients that most people already have in their pantry. If I do not have fresh bell peppers on hand, I always have some chopped and frozen, for occasions such as these. I will go over how to prepare and freeze ingredients for future use in a later post, but feel free to substitute any of the ingredients above if you do not have them on hand. One of the best parts about cooking at home is using what you have at home, and not wasting time at the grocery store every night to pick up last minute ingredients.