Weeknight Italian

 This is not a recipe for what my friend Evan refers to as Sunday Gravy. That takes 4-6 hrs, and fresh garden tomatoes. This is a recipe for 30 min on a weeknight when you want something several steps up from sauce in a jar. 

1lb italian sausage

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (or 2-3 Tbsp pre-minced, no judgement)

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp onion powder (optional)

1 c red wine (optional)

Salt to taste

If you're me, start defrosting the italian sausage you forgot to start thawing last night.

Start a large (5-6qt) pot, 2/3rds full of water on the stove at high. Add a tablespoon of salt.

In a dutch oven, deep frying pan, or other large capacity pot, brown the sausage. Add the garlic while you're opening the tomato cans. Stir. Add the tomatoes. Stir. Add the italian season and optional ingredients. Stir. Turn to low. Taste to check salt level- it's not going to need much, if any. 

In an ideal world, your pasta water is boiling.* Follow the directions on the package, but yes, this makes enough to go with the whole pound of pasta. Add the pasta to the water, and stir both pots occasionally until the pasta is done. Drain the pasta. Serve, with or without parmesan. Makes 6-8 servings.

*On the other hand, if this is the point you go "I knew I forgot something", be at ease. The sauce gets better the longer it simmers. The extra 20 min are no big deal. Except to your blood sugar. Eat a piece of the sausage as Quality Control.