Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Pasta with Sweet Italian Sausage

Pasta with Sweet Italian Sausage

This past weekend was rainy and quite chilly in New York compared to the warm weather we've been enjoying. Oh well, the flowers need the rain and we got to enjoy a lazy weekend of cuddling, movie watching and puttering around the kitchen.

Pasta with Sweet Italian Sausage
It seemed like a good opportunity to get in a last hearty pasta dish before the summer salads start taking over. Sweet Italian sausages added a wonderful flavor to an otherwise ordinary recipe and we eagerly lapped up the leftovers all weekend long. Enjoy!










Ingredients
1 lb. Lean ground beef
1/2 lb. Sweet Italian sausage
3 Cups tomato sauce (your favorite brand or recipe)
1 Cup low fat milk
1 lb. Pasta
Handful of fresh basil
Fresh Parmesan cheese for grating
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Roast the sausages on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven until they are brown and the inside is no longer pink. In a pan on the stove top, brown the ground beef. Add the tomato sauce, garlic powder and milk and stir. When the sausages are cooked, cut diagonal slices and add to the beef sauce. Simmer on low heat while you cook the pasta.

I had calamarata (a pasta with large wide rings that resemble calamari and that is considered excellent for holding sauces) in the house but pappardelle or penne would work just as well. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, drain and add to the sauce. Toss in the basil and season to taste. Finish with a handful of grated Parmesan cheese. Makes about 4 servings.

27 comments:

  1. It was so rainy here in NY. I did they same this past weekend. This is a great rainy day dinner. They sun is finally shining today! :)

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  2. I have a confession to make...

    I eat pasta even in the summer.

    Also, I want this. REALLY bad.

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  3. I could eat pasta every day but the best part about this recipe is the sweet Italian sausage....LOVE IT!!!

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  4. This looks tempting and sounds delicious. I am new to your blog, so, I've spent a bit of time browsing through your earlier posts. I'm so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  5. mmm...I love Italian sausage in pasta! Looks like a delicious dish and your sauce recipe looks tasty as well!

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  6. I'm sorry to hear about the bad weather in NYC, but what a delicious-looking pasta. I'm not familiar with that pasta shape, but I'd love to find some.

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  7. This pasta looks insanely amazing - what a way to beat the weather :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  8. I cannot believe how cold it was there over the weekend! Crazy weather. Anyhow your pasta dish sounds like a great way to warm up. Sweet Italian sausage is usually my pick over beef when it comes to pasta, even though the hubby likes hot spicy sausage. Delicious post!

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  9. Looks as though you've used pappardelle which is the wide pasta. Such a comforting and delicious pasta dish, for any day, not just rainy!
    Thanks for your kind comment on my blog. It's not Lizzy, who got injured...it's Lizzie, who is me! (elisabeth)

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  10. I totally agree with adding in a quick hearty pasta before all the salads take over! This looks phenomenal. Great pictures!

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  11. Oh, yes! My family would love this pasta dish...and I'd love to get my hands on some calamarata :)

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  12. This sounds like a wonderful weekend topped off with a fantastically delicious pasta!! Sweet Italian sausage makes everything so much better (well in my opinion!) :). This looks insane! Definitely a dish I would make over and over.

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  13. This dish looks soo good. This is my kind of dinner!

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  14. This sounds so delicious. I am such a sucker for Italian pasta. Talk about comfort food!

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  15. I can almost smell that fresh basil and lovely pasta coming from my computer screen! What would the world do without pasta???

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  16. oh yum, this pasta dish looks fabulous! i love the addition of the sausage!

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  17. Yum! This pasta looks comforting and delicious! I love sausage with pasta!

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  18. Now that's one type of pasta I've never heard of! The recipes looks delicious. Love pasta and sausage.

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  19. Yup. The perfect chilly weather comfort food, for sure! Spring can't make up its mind in Montana so we've been having lots of warm days and then chilly rainy days the next. I'll take what I can get, and in the mean time I'll make a nummy pasta dish like this and soothe the spring time blues!

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  20. looks like a great hearty pasta dish :)perfect for a rainy day like this one!

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  21. I love rainy cozy pasta perfect days! We get a lot of those here in Seattle so I'll be bookmarking this recipe for sure!

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  22. Mmm this sound alike my kind of dish! Definitely perfect for a rainy day :-)

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  23. Surely sounds like the perfect weekend treat Anita!

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  24. Long live pasta! May summer weather not take it over with any other dish, salad or not! ;)

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  25. This looks fantastic! I love pasta and sausage!!

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