This pasta uses ground sausage and LOTS of cheese, perfect for cold winter nights! (Or if you live in Louisiana, warm and muggy winter nights!) The kids loved it as well, and didn’t even notice that it had vegetables in it because of all the cheese! There is no baking involved – everything goes in one big skillet – so it is super easy to make.

Here’s what you’ll need…

• 1 lb ground sausage (I used deer sausage)
• 1 box pasta (I used penne, but any kind will work)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• salt and pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes
• parsley
• cream cheese (1/2 block, or 4 oz)
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• shredded parmesan cheese

Start by boiling your pasta, then drain it and set aside. While the pasta is boiling, start browning the ground sausage in a large skillet. (You want to use the biggest skillet you have, because everything will end up in there, including the cooked pasta.)

Once the sausage is cooked through, move it to one side of the pan and add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the other side. If your sausage did not make enough grease to cook vegetables in, you may have to add a little butter or oil for them. (I used deer sausage, which is very lean, so I had very little grease from it. I used about 1 tbs olive oil for my vegetables.) Season vegetables with salt and pepper while they cook.

Once the vegetables are tender, add the jar of marinara sauce and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, and stir everything together until it is well combined. Next melt in the cream cheese – this will turn the sauce from a red color to a dark pink color, and will make it thick and creamy. Once the cream cheese is completely blended in, add in the cooked pasta and toss it all together so that all pasta is completely coated with sauce.

Cover entire top of pasta with mozzarella cheese (I used a small bag of pre-shredded) and a handful of parmesan cheese, then turn heat off. Put a lid on the skillet for about 5-10 minutes, and the heat will melt the cheese on top.

Once the cheese is melted, sprinkle a little parsley on top to make it pretty, and that’s it! The sauce is thick, so between that and the melted cheese, it tastes like something that has been baking for a while. No one has to know you only used one pan!

The vegetables disappear under all the cheese, so the kids aren’t questioning what all is in there before they take a bite. And since everything goes in one big skillet, there are less dishes to wash. I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine did!

Thanks y’all!

– Nikki