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Roger’s easy pasta recipe for Hot Italian Sausage Spaghetti
It seems easy to simply use a jar of store bought Italian sauce for your spaghetti. But, if you think about it, even with store bought sauce you still have to brown the meat, heat the sauce in a separate pot, and prepare the spaghetti in another pot. So, as long as you are going to have to clean a fry pan and two pots, why not cook like a pro and make the dinner special by making your own sauce.
The following recipe, although easy, will produce a fun family meal. Just add a small salad and a glass of red wine to complete the picture.
EASY RECIPE
Recipe will serve 4 to 6:
1 ½ lb of hot Italian pork or turkey sausage; remove casing from sausage by cutting a line down center and peeling casing off.
While browning the sausage break it down into smaller bite size pieces. Brown at medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the sausage has a nice color and texture.
When browned, push the sausage to one side of fry pan, tilt the pan a little bit and use a spoon to remove the excess fat. Remove the sausage to a bowl and let sit; keep the fry pan for later use.
In a 3-1/2 quart pot add:
15oz can of tomato sauce,
15oz can of diced tomatoes,
1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic,
2 tablespoon fresh chopped basil (leaf only),
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano (after rinsing oregano slide fingers down the stalk to remove oregano leaves from stalk),
¼ teaspoon dried fennel seed,
1/3 cup of good red wine.
Start to heat the pot and ingredients on medium heat, if it begins to boil reduce to simmer.
Mince one cup of white onion and ½ cup of green bell pepper, and sauté them in the fry pan used to brown the sausage until soft (might want to use paper towel to get rid of excess grease).
Place onions, green pepper, and sausage in the pot with all other ingredients, salt and pepper to taste, slowly bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer. You can simmer forever by adding water as necessary until everyone arrives, but in any event simmer for at least 30 minutes, more is better but I know you are hungry.
Ok that’s it! You have just made an awesome home made sauce for your spaghetti.
In the remaining large pot add water, ½ tablespoon of virgin olive oil, bring to boil, add the spaghetti noodles, then reduce heat to a light boil for about 5 minutes.
Serve the hot Italian sausage spaghetti with a small side green salad and enjoy.
and STUFF
As we used to say in my home state of North Dakota (quietly renamed “Fly Over Country”, in the Healthcare Act at page 9031) “Uff Da”. Of course in this super fast world we now live in where time is measured in nano seconds the phrase had to be shortened to “Duh”. I have recently experienced a full fledged Duh moment while carrying out a great vacation idea.
It started like any other 84 degree day in paradise (Maui), tanning and playing Frisbee on Sugar Beach with Molokini beautifully looming on the horizon. But, as happens, those pesky Trade Winds, quite useful prior to the invention of the steam engine, started kicking up sand. Seemed like a perfect time to zoom up to Haleakala to see the volcano. Without a thought in the world we slid on beach sandals, t-shirts and off we went.
We drove through the beautifully tree lined roads of Upcountry, and eventually arrived at the entrance to the park. We began the 38 mile drive to top of the volcano. It was not long before the earth appeared to end at the edge of the road, and blue tones of the ocean merged with the sky. Absolutely beautiful, and to most drivers, the severe angle would have provided a clue of what was coming. But no such clue entered my thought process.
Eventually we arrived at the top of the volcano, and maneuvered into the parking lot. We were in luck. The parking lot was practically empty. The Trade Winds were still blowing, but no matter, that was why we left the beach. Then we got out of the car, and even in the wind you could quite clearly hear me scream Uff Da. After I regained my composure, I of course yelled the hip modern exclamation Duh. It had completely escaped me that although we were in the beautiful island of Maui, that 38 mile road had taken us from hot to darn near freezing. It turns out that the average temperature at the 10223 foot top of Haleakala is 40 to 65 degrees, and when windy the chill factor can be near or below freezing (for more information go to www.haleakala.national-park.com).
So there we stood in our sandals and tee shirts surrounded by a few other tourists and park rangers wearing down jackets. Undaunted, as I said I was originally from Fly Over Country, and not wanting to waste a 38 mile drive, we toured (briefly) the top of Haleakala in sandals and tee shirts. Duh!
Have a laugh on me, and why not strike up a discussion over dinner about your Duh moments.
Good Eating and Talking,
Roger
