Penne For Your Thoughts!

I was racking my brain for something quick and easy to make for my husband and me for dinner one this week, when I thought of this--no recipe really, but it's so easy to do, tastes good, and is something just a bit different from the pasta and sauce that I usually do.

Ingredients:

• sausage of your choice--smoked, Italian, whatever your family likes--I used Rabideaux's smoked beef and pork sausage


• marinara or spaghetti sauce of your choice--I used a jar of Ragu, jazzed up with some extra seasoning


• pasta of your choice--I used penne rigata

The first step was to put on a pot of water to boil, and get the pasta cooking.

While I was was waiting for the water to boil, I sliced up some smoked beef & pork sausage.
When I'm using sausage in a recipe like this, or in jambalaya or gumbo something similar, I usually cover it with some water and par-boil just a couple of minutes to cook out a little of the fat--this time I just browned it a little and then drained it on some paper towels and wiped out the frying pan.

I put the sausage back in the pan, and poured on spaghetti/marinara sauce. I have to confess--most of the time I use Ragu, and then add an envelope of spaghetti seasoning a bit of water to dissolve the extra seasoning. You could certainly use your scratch sauce instead. Bring this to bubble, put the lid on, and let it simmer for a while.

Meanwhile, back at the pasta pot--once it's done to your family's taste, drain and serve with the sausage marinara, and top with a little grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Serve with garlic bread or yeast rolls or bread sticks. Add a salad if you must(!)




So what kind of quick and easy meals have you been making for your family lately?

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Until next time--good cooking, and good eating!