More summer family cooking
fun. This recipe is TOTALLY kid friendly,
and so quick and easy … and yummy! Of
course, we’re big pasta fans, so this was a no-brainer for us. But who can beat a dinner where you just dump
everything into one pan and you’re done?
The only real work was to slice the sausage and pull the fresh basil leaves off my kitchen plant. If you don’t have a basil plant in your kitchen, you can usually find a package of fresh basil in the produce area in Wal-Mart. (You can even pick up a live plant in Wal-Mart. Just keep it in a sunny place, and water it from the bottom when the soil begins to look dry.) You can even buy cute little frozen packs. In a pinch, you can even resort to about 3 tablespoons dried without changing the flavor too much. But however you get your basil, you definitely need to try this recipe!
3 cups
halved grape tomatoes, divided (I quartered Romas)
1 large
onion, sliced
1 pound smoked Italian sausage links,
precooked and sliced into coins (to make this healthier, try these)
20-30
basil leaves, divided
4 garlic
cloves, sliced (I use this)
1 pound
dry linguine
1½
teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon
fresh ground pepper
4½ cups
water
1 cup
shredded Parmesan cheese (my go-to“parmesan”)
Reserve
(set aside) 1 cup halved tomatoes, 10 basil leaves and cheese. (I skipped this part and just added everything to the pot.)
Combine
remaining ingredients in a large (12”) braising pan or dutch oven over medium
high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, remove cover and cook
7-9 minutes until pasta is al dente. Toss
pasta with tongs occasionally to keep it from sticking. Liquid will be mostly absorbed when pasta is
cooked.
Add
cheese and toss to combine. Cheese may
clump but will melt into the sauce after a few minutes. Toss in remaining tomatoes and basil before
serving.
