I was recently chosen to participate in Marx Food’s Blogger Recipe Challenge: Game Sausage Edition. I was sent four links of one of the sausages in their game sausage sampler. The type I was to receive was a mystery until the FedEx man delivered me my cute little, ice-packed, cooler-type package. We were waiting with bated breath because if foie gras was on the menu, I might have had a hard time getting FishPapa to play this game with me. As it turned out, our mystery meat was one we could go hog wild over: Wild Boar Italian.
Italian sausage is a regular staple at our house. I often use it in making Queso Fundido. However, since that is a recipe that I adapted from a magazine, I didn’t think it was fair to use it for the contest. Our second application for Italian links is to serve them with pasta.
Kids and adults alike love pasta, so how can you lose? No mom wants to be met with wrinkled noses when she brings dinner to the table, does she? And she doesn’t want to slave all day, either.
So, I concocted a super easy, but delicious recipe – one that utilizes budget pantry items, the crockpot, and the grill. Mom does a little work, Mom saves a little money, and the appliances and hubs finish the job. Can I get your vote on that?
Without further ado, I present
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 cups canned, diced tomatoes (one 15-oz can is fine)
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 Italian sausage links
- For serving: cooked pasta or spaghetti squash
In a skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the carrots and onions. Over medium-low heat, saute the vegetables, stirring, until very tender, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper in the crock of a slow cooker. Add the cooked carrots and onions. Stir to combine.
Submerge the uncooked sausage links in the sauce. Cover. Turn crockpot's heat to HIGH for 4 hours or to LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
Remove sausages from sauce and shake off excess sauce. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan. Brown the sausages on grill. (If you don't have a grill or grill pan, just brown them in a pan on the stove.) Cut sausages on the diagonal and return to the sauce.
Serve the sausages and sauce over cooked pasta or spaghetti squash.
Nutritional values do not account for pasta or squash for serving.
To freeze: cool the sausage and sauce and place in an airtight container. Chill in the refrigerator before freezing. To serve, reheat and serve over pasta or squash.
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Yum! Looks delicious!
I voted – good luck!