{recipe} penne pasta with sausage & peppers

Penne pasta with homemade marinara sauce and sausage and peppers

Recipe from For the Love of Cooking

Her pictures are much better btw. So if you want to see just how tasty this dish really is, stop by her site :)

Ingredients:

Marinara Sauce:

6-7 miscellaneous tomatoes, quartered

Large handful of cherry tomatoes

1 head of garlic - do not remove the skins!

1/2 sweet yellow onion, cut into large chunks

1 tbsp olive oil + 1-2 tsp (divided)

Dried basil, to taste

Dried oregano, to taste

Pinch of crushed red pepper (more if you want a spicy sauce)

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Other Ingredients:

5 turkey Italian sausages, cooked then sliced into chunks

4 baby bell peppers, sliced

1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced

8 oz penne pasta, prepared per instructions

Fresh basil, chopped

Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees; line a baking sheet with tin foil then coat with cooking spray. Quarter the tomatoes, cut the onions and break up the head of garlic (KEEP SKINS ON SO THEY DON'T BURN). Spread the tomatoes (except for the cherry tomatoes), onions and garlic all over the lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top, then sprinkle with dried basil and oregano as well as sea salt and freshly cracked pepper; toss to coat.

Place in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes; remove from the oven and add the cherry tomatoes. Roast them for another 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are really soft and the tomatoes are still juicy. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Once they have cooled, carefully peel the skin off the cloves of garlic. Spoon the tomatoes, onions, garlic and juices into a small Dutch oven (I used a large pot that I normally make soups in). Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetables until smooth, making sure there are no chunks (I did not have an immersion blender so I tried my best to get rid of chunks by mashing, but I was still left with some. I still enjoyed the sauce with chunks in it). Simmer for 1-2 hours.

Cook the turkey Italian sausages in a skillet over medium heat until they are cooked through. Remove from the pan. Add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to the same skillet and cook the peppers and onion until soft and tender, about 5-7 minutes. Season the peppers with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Slice the sausage.

Cook the pasta per instructions then drain. Add the marinara to the drained penne along with the sausage, peppers, and fresh basil then toss until evenly coated with marinara sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve. Enjoy.

Sorry for the blurry pictures :) It was super delish though, you should definitely make it!

xx, Jen