eaten: Bowtie Pasta with Italian Sausage

Do you ever have a night where everything just comes together perfectly at dinner time? Those instances are few and far between for me with a last minute scramble to set the table, wrangle my four year old and make sure everything is done at the same time.

Well the stars aligned when I made this dish and maybe that contributes to how delicious I thought it was? Anyway, I managed to get the pasta and sauce ready at the same minute and all my sides too including rolls and asparagus and it was all delicious. Coming from a girl who recently served under cooked totinos pizzas for dinner to her boys, I was beyond thrilled. Henry even ate it!

This dish is both creamy and flavorful. I am always hesitant with cream sauces because if they sit too long or cook too high they can separate and become greasy but this one was easy to make. I also had never used stewed tomatoes before and these italian ones added great flavor.

I halved the recipe using the second half of the sausage roll I used to make biscuits and gravy. So why not have a sausage-y week? Just kidding, I froze the sausage and then thawed it to make this but wouldn't that be heavenly, sausage every night of the week?

Bowtie Pasta with Italian Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 package (16 oz) bow tie pasta
• 1 lb. mild bulk italian sausage
• 1-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 - 2 cans (14.5 oz each) Italian stewed tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup Shredded parmesan cheese
• OPTIONAL:
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In a separate pan, cook the sausage, garlic, onion, and pepper flakes over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink; drain.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, cream, salt, basil and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
4. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; toss with sausage mixture.
5. Garnish with parmesan cheese. Yield: 5 servings

Recipe and Picture from Lilluna