Fettuccini with Meaty Marinara

On Friday night, Matt and Melissa came over for dinner. I hadn't made them fresh pasta yet, so I knew we had to have some.  I figured we'd keep it simple with homemade meat sauce since making the pasta takes a little while. I make mine with spicy italian sausage because I'm not a huge ground beef fan. Either one would work great for this recipe though.

Melissa helped me roll out the pasta while the boys played darts upstairs. It was so nice to have a helper! My life would be a lot easier with a sidekick in the kitchen.

The sauce is really easy to assemble. The longer you let it simmer, the better. Just brown your meat in a little olive oil and remove it. Then saute a diced onion and 4 minced garlic cloves. Next, add in your tomatoes and spices and just leave it alone for an hour or so.

Throw in your cooked pasta and you've got a great comfort meal. Obviously dried pasta would work great with this too!

That sauce really sticks to each strand. Yum.

BETH'S MEATY MARINARA

1 pkg Hot Italian Sausage, casings removed

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 15 oz can tomato puree

1 28 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (that's our preference, but regular diced work too)

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbs italian seasoning

1/2 tbs salt and pepper

1 pinch sugar (optional)

1/2 tsp oregano

2 tbs chopped fresh basil (if using dried, only 1 tsp)

Brown sausage in a little olive oil, remove. Saute onion and garlic until just translucent. Add the sausage back in and then add your tomatoes and spices. Let simmer for an hour or so and serve with pasta.