Penne and Italian Sausage with Tomato Vodka Sauce

This is one of my family’s favorite comfort foods. It is easy to make with pantry items, some Italian sausage, and of course, vodka.

Here is the frugal part

Your real potential costs here are with the cheese, vodka, sausage, and half & half. I’m going to use a pound of sweet Italian sausage for $1.49/lb. You’ll also need vodka, half & half (or something heavier if you want to indulge), crushed red pepper, a bit of butter and olive oil, a 28-ounce can of tomatoes, grated Parmesan, and a box of pasta. Alternatively, if you have marinara sauce on hand, you can use four cups of that in place of the tomatoes, onions, and garlic. I used a 13.25-ounce box of whole grain pasta, but any pound-ish box of pasta will be fine.

Overall, this cost me about $4.50 to make. We ate about half of what I made, so $2.25 worth or $.75 per person per serving! We also had a salad to complete the meal, which made dinner at most about $3.50, or $6 for dinner for three and a few easy lunches.

Here is the homemade part

Do a little bit of prep:

The sausage I am using was in casing – I just removed it once it thawed. You can use hot sausage, which I actually would prefer , but my three-year-old might say “picy” and not eat her dinner.

I you are using marinara, add the crushed red pepper to the sausage when it is about a minute from being done then leave it all in the pan.

Add the garlic and about 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, or more or less to suit your (or your child’s…) taste. I only added 1/4 teaspoon here and she did not once say “picy” while she was eating, but there was a little something there for me. If she weren’t going to eat it, I’d add a bit more than 1/2 teaspoon. Let that cook for another minute, tossing it around well. If you are using marinara, skip this part too.

After the sauce has cooked for 20 minutes (and the alcohol is cooked down), you can puree it. This is optional, but I really think it makes the consistency so much better. I am just (stupidly, but carefully) using a (metal) stick blender (in a non-stick pot).

Add the pasta and toss. At this point, I sit down and have salad, and the world does not end because I am not serving it “immediately.” That always stresses me out in recipes! In this case, it actually helps let it all thicken a bit more. I usually undercook the pasta a bit to make sure it doesn’t get too soft while it sits.