This ain’t a Chef Boyardee copycat recipe. This recipe is for the grown ups that still love a taste of nostalgia every now and then. Anellini pasta in a kicked up parmesan laced sauce with spicy sausage meatballs. Yes! Tonights your night. So put the kids to bed and pour a glass of your favorite wine and enjoy!
Ingredients:
SpaghettiOs:
1 cup onions minced
1/2 cup bell pepper minced
1 tablespoon garlic minced
1 24oz can whole tomatoes
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound Anellini pasta
Olive oil
Sausage meatballs:
1 pound ground hot or sweet Italian sausage
3 tablespoons Parmesan, grated
Directions:
Add tomatoes and basil to a food processor or blender. Pulse for about 30 seconds until tomatoes form a smooth purée. Pour purée into a bowl and set aside.
In a bowl combine ground sausage and Parmesan cheese. Form ground sausage mixture into 1” balls using about a teaspoon per meatball.
In a heavy pot or Dutch oven add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Cook meatballs until browned. The meatballs should not be cooked all the way through, they will finish cooking in the sauce. Transfer meatballs to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Set aside
In the same pot add onions, green pepper and garlic. Sauté until onions have softened. Add red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Next add tomato paste. Cook for about 3 minutes. Whisk in reserved tomato purée. Add sugar. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a simmer and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Add meatball and Parmesan cheese to sauce. Cook for another 15 minutes over low heat.
While the sauce is simmering. Let’s cook the pasta. In a large pot bring water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a heavy pinch of salt. Stir in pasta. Following info the directions on the package, cook pasta until al dente. Drain water from pasta. Carefully add sauce to pot with pasta. Mix with large spoon. Sprinkle in more grated Parmesan if desired. Serve immediately with garlic bread.
