We don’t eat pasta. I know…weird, right?

So…when my son requested pasta for dinner I was more than a little surprised.

Really?!? Does he not know that I am not a fan…that I don’t cook that stuff? Has he not noticed that in his 16 short years of life, that I have cooked spaghetti maybe a total of 20 times?

Spaghetti…that is sort of my limit when it comes to my pasta know how in the kitchen. B-O-R-I-N-G!!!

However, for my boy, I will do just about anything short of helping him hide a body! 😊

I scrambled onto Pinterest and looked for the first recipe that had at least 2 reviews and at least 4 stars.

Luckily, I stumbled upon one that had like 75 reviews and was 5 star rated. That must mean it is pretty good right? It really didn’t matter though since it only required me to add a few more things to my list. SCORE! Total win for this mom.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty cynical and believe that most of those 5 star reviews usually come from friends and family and the occasional fake profile, but this time…I think I found a winner!

First, I sautéed a chopped onion in some olive oil.

Then I added in 1 pound of Italian sausage. As it cooked, I broke the sausage apart into smaller pieces.

Once it was no longer pink, I added in about 2-3 teaspoons of minced garlic and let it cook for about a minute or two until it just smelled delicious.

Tossing in some salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, along with some petite diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste brought everything together.

Just before serving, I added in some heavy cream and parmesan to thicken up the sauce and turn it into a cast iron pan full of nothing but creamy goodness.

Then, I stirred my little bit of heaven in with my rigatoni and BOOM…

Dinner is served yall!!!

Are you a pasta fan? What’s your favorite?

Try this one night when you need a good helping of comfort and let me know what you think.

Print

Spicy Italian Sausage Rigatoni with Creamy Parmesan Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 3 tsps minced garlic
• 14 oz petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 10 oz tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 12 oz rigatoni
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet.

2. Saute onion until soft.
   
3. Add in Italian Sausage. Break apart with wooden spoon. Cook until no longer pink.
4. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
5. Drain grease and return meat to pan.
6. Add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and basil.
7. Let simmer for about 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened.
8. In the meantime, cook pasta, drain and transfer into a dish.
9. Add heavy cream and parmesan to meat mixture and let simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Pour cream sauce over pasta and stir to coat.
11. Serve with a side of garlic bread and a salad.
12. ENJOY!!!