15 Minute Pasta

Ingredients

• 8oz Pasta of your Choice

• 8oz Italian Sausage

• 2 TBSP Tomato Paste

• 15oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes

• Italian Seasoning

• 1 clove of garlic

• Parmesan Cheese

• Fresh Basil for garnish (optional)

• 2 tbsp Cottage Cheese (optional)

Preparation

1. Cook Pasta: Cook pasta according to the instructions until al dente. Reserve up to 1 cup of pasta cooking water.

2. Cook Sausage: Pre-heat a large tall-sided pan or a large pot. Drizzle a small amount of oil and cook sausage until golden brown all over. Break up if needed or desired. If you like larger chunks of sausage, then leave them slightly larger.

3. Make Sauce: Once the sausage is cooked, add your garlic and Italian seasoning as well as your tomato paste. Allow to become fragrant and the tomato paste to become a brick red color. Add tomatoes at this point and scape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. If needed, add some pasta water to thin it out. Simmer for about 3-5 minutes. If desired, add some cottage cheese to make this creamy, you can also use heavy cream.

4. Mix: Add drained pasta into the sauce mixture. Grate some parmesan if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Plate and Serve: Add pasta and sauce into bowls or tall dishes. Garnish with red pepper flakes, fresh basil if desired.

Tips and Best Practices

• Optional but I use a couple of tbsp of blended cottage cheese to make this creamier

• I had extra basil so I let this dry out and used it in the seasoning for the sauce