A 10-minute Wonder

I just finished a week of steady studying so there wasn't much time to cook much less blog about it. For spring break next week I've managed to write a 2-page 'to-do' list. It consists mainly of boring things like cleaning, catching up on reading, and doing a few others mundane things I've been putting off. Although half of the list I think consists of recipes to try out. I'm not entirely sure who is going to eat everything I'm going to make but we'll see how it goes.

So last week when I was terribly short on time and energy, I made P's favorite sausage and penne pasta. Forget about 30-minute meals, this one will take about 10 minutes and I think it even tastes great as leftovers (this coming from someone who hates leftovers!).


Sausage Penne
3 Italian sausage links, squeezed from their casings
1/2 lb penne
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
12 oz of your favorite bottled pasta sauce (unless you want to make your own!) I like Bertolli with Cabernet
1 Tsp (or so) of Red Pepper Flake
Tbsp of Balsamic vinegar (optional)
Handful of roughly chopped parsley
Grated Parmesan for serving

1 Boil a big pot of salted water. Cook the penne when it starts to boil.
2 Fry the bits of sausage in a small amount of oil. Break it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
3 Drain most of the fat from the sausage. Push the sausage to the edges of the skillet and add the garlic and onion in the middle. Cook until translucent then stir it all back together.
3 Add the sauce and bring the heat down to a low simmer to let all the flavors come together.
4 Add the red pepper flake and vinegar if you'd like. Taste for salt and pepper.
5 Drain the pasta when it is al dente then return it to the same pot and drizzle it with a bit of oil to coat. Add the pasta to the pan and throw in the parsley. Mix and serve with lots of cheese and maybe a crusty bit of bread.

Rachel Ray couldn't make it any faster.