Joey's Easy One-Pot Pasta

 This is one of those recipes that has been circulating around the interwebs for a while now. It seems there are several versions, and they're all very similar. Martha has one, Southern Living has one, and on and on. My problem with many of them is that they only use 12 ounces of pasta instead of the full pound. It's fine. I get it. If you add the full pound to your skillet, it won't all fit with the rest of the ingredients. But who cooks only 12 ounces? I don't know about you, but I always cook the whole pound. So I figured, why not just use a bigger pot??? Seemed like a no-brainer to me. My next issue with the other versions is that it doesn't really go very far. I mean, I wanted it to be enough to feed 4 people. So, I figured, let's add sausage to it! That'll help stretch it a little. And that's exactly what I did. And do you know what? It turned out perfectly!! It tasted great, everyone had plenty to eat, and I even had enough leftover for lunch the next day. And it's so easy, you just keep adding things to the pot! Simple! So you should definitely keep this recipe your repertoire. It's ready in less than a half hour so it's perfect for any weeknight dinner. It's also a great menu option for an easy casual dinner with friends. I got RAVE reviews for it. You will too! Definitely a keeper!


8 Italian sausage links (I used chicken sausage)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 lb pasta (I used linguine)
12 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-3 tsp chopped fresh oregano leaves
2-3 large sprigs fresh basil, chopped
5 cups water
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Slice sausage into bite sized pieces and place in a pot along with the chopped onion and a few glugs of olive oil. Cook and stir over medium heat just until the sausage is slightly browned and the onions are cooked down a bit. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the cheese.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated. Add the cheese and give it a good toss with the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with more cheese and a few more chopped fresh basil leaves over the top. 

Tips:
Feel free to use any kind of sausage you like. Pork, chicken, turkey, sweet or hot,  even Chorizo or Andouille. Any kind will work! Not a fan of sausage? Just leave it out! That makes it even easier. You just throw everything right into the pot, bring it up to a boil and then simmer as directed. Done.
You can use vegetable broth or chicken stock instead of water, but water works just fine.