I was really happy with how this recipe turned out. I can't believe I have never cooked with Italian Sausage before! The Mister loves Italian Sausage on pizza, but it's never been high on my list of favorite foods. However, I was interested in seeing what it could do with the tomato sauce and I was not disappointed! This recipe was easy and yummy - perfect combo for this week of getting back into the swing of things.
**Please note that this picture shows tomato paste, but you don't need the paste, only the tomato sauce (I figured this out later on and didn't want to reshoot :)
For this recipe, you'll need:
- 1/2 lb Italian Sausage
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (ended up being about half of the onion)
- 2 tsp minced garlic (I used two cloves of fresh garlic)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp Italian Seasoning Mix (original recipe called for this, I used Italian Seasoning Grinder, see below)
- 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (8 oz) can Spanish style tomato sauce (I used tomato sauce with basil, oregano, and onion)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 (16 oz.) package ziti pasta (I couldn't find ziti, so used penne instead ;)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
This recipe came from this magazine - SOOOOO many awesome recipes I can't wait to try!! Perfect for the fall!! Back to the recipe...
Cook sausage over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking sausage into pieces (not pretty in the picture, my apologies :) I added a little oil here so as not to completely burn my sausage. Drain; return sausage to the pan.
Saute onion and garlic in hot oil in saucepan over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until tender. This part smelled divine!!
Now, you could add 1 1/2 tbsp Italian Season Mix here (1/2 cup dried basil, 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp dried oregano, 4 tsp dried crushed red pepper, 2 tsp whole black peppercorns. Process in food processor 1 minute or until mixture is fine powder. Store in airtight container up to 4 months) OR you can do what I did...
Use this!! Super easy and on sale at Alberston's this week for $1!! All the same ingredients, already in a grinder - Score! (Sorry, sometimes the silliest things get me super excited) I just used this and seasoned my sauce to taste. Mix and cook 1 minute.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and 1 cup water bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer 40-45 minutes or until slightly thickened.
It was at this point during the process, I realized I should've used a different pan. Learn from my mistakes, friends, use a bigger pan. (Becky, this is for you!! :)
After simmering, stir in salt and honey. Yes, honey! It sounds weird, but works well. Then, mix in 1/2 cup mozzarella with drained noodles and sauce.
Put in lightly greased pan, top with remaining mozzarella (original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but we like cheese around here so remaining 1 and 1/2 cups of cheese was used :)
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy! This was enjoyed by all members of the family - easy and yummy!
2 comments:
Woo Hoo! I made a post!!! I can't wait to try this recipe. Maybe Grace will actually eat her dinner!
I made this last night. It was yummy! EVERYONE ate it...Thank you! I always love going to see what Sarah says we are eating...makes my meal planning easy! ;)
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