Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta

I think it was Federico Fellini who said "Life is a combination of magic and pasta".  Personally, I think pasta IS magic.  I love pasta.  It is my comfort food of choice.  I would eat it morning, noon, and night, seven days a week if I could.  I love it with red sauces and white sauces.  I love it with meats.  I love it with cheeses. I love it with veggies. I even love it with just a little butter and garlic.  Did I mention that I love pasta? :)

I found this dish on the Tasty Kitchen website.  I saw it and printed it out just because I thought the name sounded good.  I didn't even look at the ingredients, actually.  When it came time for me to make it the other night, I realized, hhhhmmmmm... this isn't what I thought it was going to be, so I decided to change it up a bit.  I liked it a lot.  Actually, I liked it more the next day, but that's sometimes how it goes with pasta :)  Chris liked it too, but he had a really hard time with the color of it.  He said it reminded him of how one of his sister use to make her tomato soup.  So I guess as long as the color of the sauce doesn't bother you, I recommend trying this.  It might not be the healthiest thing, but if you are looking for comfort in calories, this is the dish for you :)

Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen 
Ingredients:
1 lbs. sweet Italian sausage
1 cup finely diced onion, caramelized (see recipe for caramelized onions below)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup pasta sauce (homemade or store bought)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 lbs. ziti or penne pasta
Fresh Parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse. 

In a Dutch oven or large pot, brown the sausage.  Drain off any excess fat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute for 1 minutes.  Add the pasta sauce and the chicken broth.  Stir until combined.  Add the cream.  Simmer, stirring often, until reduced by half. 

Toss with pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Caramelized Onions:
(note, though you use 1 cup of diced onion, it will cook down to about 1/2 cup or less)
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely diced onion

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until they turn brown in color, stirring occasionally, about 20-40 minutes. Take care not to burn the onions. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

By the way, this was my lunch the next day :)  Like I said, just as good, if not better!