Creamy Sausage Rigatoni

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 15 oz Italian sausage crumbled
• 8 oz rigatoni uncooked
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provence
• 15 oz tomato sauce such as tomato pasta sauce or marinara
• 5 oz fresh spinach
• salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
• red pepper flakes to taste

Instructions 

• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a large, high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet on the stovetop.
• Add crumbled sausage and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, crumbling it, until it is cooked through. Drain any grease or liquid.
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• To the same skillet with sausage, add uncooked rigatoni, chicken broth, heavy cream, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and tomato sauce.
• Bring to a boil on medium heat and stir everything well. Cover with a lid, and allow the pasta to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat, while the sauce boils.
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• Cook until pasta reaches an "al dente" texture. Stir frequently to prevent pasta and sausage from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Add fresh spinach, and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently for a couple of minutes, until the spinach wilts to your liking.
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• Alternatively, just remove the skillet from heat, top sausage rigatoni with spinach, cover the pan with the lid. Let the spinach wilt, off heat, in the residual heat in a covered skillet for about 4 minutes. Then, stir.
• Cook longer if you would like a thicker sauce.
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• Mix everything well. Remove from heat. Season with salt, freshly ground coarse black pepper, and red pepper flakes if you like.
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