Bowtie Pasta

Goodness…I really meant to post this two weeks ago…you know, back when I actually MADE it…Then again, if I hadn’t told you that I didn’t cook it last night, I guess you wouldn’t have known, huh? Silly me!

Anyway, this is a quick and easy and so, so, SO yummy recipe that I make when I need something good and fast/easy that is also a crowd pleaser…and it never fails. The thing that I like most about this recipe? It’s so versatile. The way that I make it? It’s not the way that I’m supposed to make it or the way that it was served to me many years ago by my good friend, AmandaW. But it’s a staple pasta dish at my house that you can “mix and match” the ingredients with until it’s to your liking…which makes it a winner in my book!

So I thought that I would share…everyone say thanks to AmandaW for introducing me to her Bow Tie Pasta recipe…thanks!

Bow Tie Pasta
(this is the original recipe…I’ll share how I change it down below!)

Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) package of bowtie pasta
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground Italian sausage or beef
½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
½ cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes (drained)
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ tsp salt

Directions:
Boil water to cook pasta. Cut the casings off of the sausage (or beef) and crumble. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook meat (and pepper flakes if used) until sausage is browned. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream and salt. Simmer until thickened (8-10 minutes). Stir pasta into sauce until mixed well and heated through out.

Ok – now for my version. The original recipe is FABULOUS. Seriously. But I don’t like sausage. And if you just use beef like the recipe calls for, it turns out a bit bland since beef doesn’t have the flavor that sausage does.

Add another ½ tsp of red pepper flakes.

I don’t measure the salt…I use WAY more than ½ tsp though…more to taste than any exact measurement and I might throw in some garlic salt just for fun.

Add black pepper to taste.

I use half a bulb of garlic – between 5-6 cloves…and I don’t mince it, I just press it into the skillet.

I totally skip the olive oil…I use a pat or two of butter because it's more fattening!

That’s all the extra stuff that I add…but I also sauté the garlic and onion first before adding the meat in, whereas the original recipe does it backwards. You can also choose from a variety of diced tomatoes now…when AmandaW and I were first making this delish dish, there was only regular tomatoes and Italian…now there’s all kinds! So experiment with it and see which one you like best.

I think that’s all the changes that I make. Ummm…I maybe use 2 cups of heavy cream since I like mine a little saucier…oh, and I like the mini bowtie noodles. They’re just cuter!

The only other thing you need to know? Mix the sauce in with the pasta in a BIG pot…this recipe makes a good amount of pasta and you can’t pour the cooked pasta into your skillet…not unless you’re cooking with the world’s largest skillet.

Oh, and serve with garlic bread. Everything is better with garlic bread. You can also have salad, if you’re trying to be a little healthier. My family? We no likey the salad so much…give us the carbs!!

Try it out and let me know how you like it! My whole, entire family LOVES this dish…and that’s a feat unto itself! LOL!