Spicy Sausage Pasta

Hot Italian sausage was on sale yesterday, so I picked it up and then found a recipe which of course involved going BACK to the grocery store. One day I will get organized....just not today. I found this recipe in my notebook of random recipes I want to try out. Anytime I see a recipe in the paper or a magazine, I cut it out and tape it in my notebook. It probably gets more use than other cookbook I have because I know I want to eat EVERYTHING in it. It was really easy to make, relatively inexpensive and super yummy. I ate it with a simple mixed green salad, but it is plenty filling on its own. Obviously, this is not part of the cookbook, but since it's good, I figured I might as well share it.

Ingredients, serves 6:

1 T. olive oil

1 lb. spicy Italian sausages, casings removed, meat crumbled

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 lb. pasta (tube-shaped) - i use penne

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 T. butter

2 T. finely chopped fresh Italian parsley (the recipe called for flat, but they only had curly at the store- who cares?)

Freshly ground black pepper

So, first I worked on chopping the garlic and removing the casing from the sausage.

EW.......casing! Yucky!

Now, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Preheat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the oil to the hot pan, then add the sausage and garlic. Break apart the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's no longer pink.

Then add the cream and simmer over low heat.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions. When the pasta is ready, so is the sausage.

Drain the pasta well in a colander and add to the sausage in the pan. Add the Parmesan, butter, and parsley. Yes, my pan is way too small. I'm in the process of moving, and my big boy pan is all packed up.

Mix well.

To serve, sprinkle with a little more of the Parmesan cheese and season with pepper. It's got a nice kick, but don't let the spicy title steer you away...you could always use regular Italian sausage....but the spicy kind is sooooo much better!