Italian Sausage & Penne Pasta

Good Morning everyone! So the other night I made the first family dinner for my boyfriend and his roommates in their new house! This is a very yummy, filling, comfort food recipe.

Here's what you'll  need:

- Pasta sauce (you can buy it pre-made like Prego, but I like it homemade) if homemade, buy...
- 2 large cans of tomato sauce
- 1 small can tomato pasta
- Oregano, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Red Pepper Flakes, Basil, S&P
-One package (5 links) of MILD Italian sausage
-1 lb of penne pasta (If you don't have that, rigatoni or ziti will work too)

First we're going to get a large pot of water with a pinch or two of salt and boil it.

Then we'll get a saute pan, put the sausage in it and fill it about halfway up the sausage with water, then cook it on Medium to Medium-High until it is light in color. Flip it around once or twice to make sure both sides are cooking properly. This cooks some fat out (it will look pretty yucky). I also like to poke some holes in it with my fork to get some grease out as well. This is what it should look like when it's about halfway done. When it's done, put the sausage on a cutting board and rinse out the pan. Cut the sausage up until half-inch pieces and put them back in the pan on Medium-Low heat with a little EVOO. stir these around until they are cooked through, then set aside. (the ones in the picture aren't cooked through yet)

The pasta should be boiling now, so put in the whole box, and cook until tender. Then drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, pour your pasta sauce into a saucepan to heat up, or make it! Put both tomato sauce cans in a saucepan, along with about half the can of tomato paste to a whole can. It depends on how thick you want yours. Add Salt and Pepper, Oregano, Basil, Onion and Garlic Powder, and Red Pepper Flakes to your taste. Personally, I like mine a bit spicy.  Bring all of that to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes until everything else is ready.

Once everything is cooked, you can mix it all together and dig in! Another option would be to put it in a baking dish, sprinkle it with some mozzarella cheese and bake it for about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is hot. Serve with Parmesan cheese, bread and a salad and enjoy!