Bow Ties with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream

This is a recipe I printed from allrecipes.com a few years ago, and I often come back to it. In fact I was kind of shocked I haven't blogged about it yet (...or maybe I have, but I just didn't find the post!!!). It's really easy to make but especially delicious. It's slightly spicy, slightly sweet, with a creamy pink tomato sauce.

I make a few slight alterations to the recipe below: instead of Italian-style plum tomatoes I like to use a can of diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano (this time I used Hunt's), and instead of diced onion I like to use 2 tablespoons of minced dried onion, the kind you buy in the spice section. I also leave out the parsley at the end. I like to serve it with some garlic breadsticks and a tossed salad with Italian dressing.

• 1 (12 ounce) package bow tie pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
• Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.