drunken italian noodles

This is a recipe that has been floating around on Pinterest lately, and I managed to track it back to it's source. That's the one downfall of Pinterest- I want to give credit where credit is due to those people who actually originally post their recipes, but sometimes it's so hard! This one came from the people over at The Cozy Apron, and it's definetly a winner.

I made several adjustments to the recipe, and above is one of them. Her recipe calls for de-casing hot italian sausage, but I just chose mild loose sausage from the grocery and doctored it up. Why go to the effort of de-casing when we have loose sausage right on hand? I also use linguini noodles and not papradelle because my local store just didn't have those wide noodles.

I also reserved most of my sausage fat to cook the vegetables in, and only added a tiny smidge of olive oil.

Seasons these puppies liberally, with salt and pepper. Maybe a little garlic powder as well. But I'll leave that up to you.

One the onions and pepper have cooked for a while, then comes the drunken part. Use a nice dry white wine to cook with- one not to cheap, but still one you would drink.

Once the wine has reduced enough that the alcohol is burned off and is about half the amount that was originally poured in, then you can add back in the sausage. You'll also add the whole can of diced tomatoes as this point.

After that has cooked for a bit, you'll want to season with fresh basil and parsley. Got this bunch from my garden as well!

You'll also want to add in about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to create a smooth, velvety texture. Don't worry, the sauce will not be greasy at all. All that's left to do is toss in the noodles and eat!

Drunken Italian Noodles
Original recipe can be found at The Cozy Apron
8 oz. linguini noodles
1 lb loose hot Italian sausage
1 large onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons basil, sliced
2 Tablespoons parsley, minced
Olive oil

In a large stock pot, cook noodles according to the directions on package. Drain and set aside. In that same stock pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add sausage. Cook until no longer pink. Remove from pot with slotted spoon and place in a small bowl. Set aside and reserve for later. Using leftover sausage fat and a tiny amount of olive oil, add onion and bell pepper. Season with Italian seasonings, salt and pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until soft. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add dry white wine. Allow wine to reduce to 1/2 original amount and add entire can of tomatoes, including juice, along with the sausage. Cook for 3-5 minutes to incorporate flavor. Add the last minute before serving, add fresh spices and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Combine with cooked noodles and enjoy!