Bless my sweet husband's heart, he almost got his hand ripped off when he started to dig into this dish before I had taken a photo. His puzzled look when I yelled, NO! was too hilarious. When I explained why he needed to wait just a second he first laughed, and then huffed, and then pouted. The poor guy was hungry!
Ingredients:
1/2 lb mild Italian sausage
2 cups penne pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley*
1 tbsp. fresh chopped basil*
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes **
* It's ok to use dried if you don't have fresh. I would use only 1/2 tsp each of dried.
** Optional, if you want a little more kick
Preheat oven to 350°. Meanwhile, fill a pot with salted water and turn on med. heat. Once water is boiling, add pasta and cook for 8 min. or until al dente.
In a saucepan over medium heat, cook and crumble sausage. Drain grease and set sausage aside.
In the same saucepan, not wiped out so there is still a tiny bit of grease in the pan, add garlic and onions and cook just until soft and fragrant. Add cream, tomato sauce, and parmesan and cook for several minutes. Add to that the basil, parsley, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Combine sauce, sausage, and penne pasta and toss to coat. Pour into baking dish and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15-20 min until cheese is melted and bubbly.
