I did NOT feel up to cooking today. But I was comforted by the fact that I had something easy, quick, healthy, and soul satisfying planned for dinner tonight. And by quick I mean fridge to table in 45 minutes. I timed it 🙂

Yes, I can make a tomato sauce in faster than 45 minutes. But I am not the type of person who wants to sacrifice flavor for speed. Using Italian chicken sausage instead of ground beef gives you a flavorful richness without the extra fat. Adding carrots gives a natural sweetness and sneaks some veggies in on your kids (or hubby as my case may be). This meat sauce is truly a crowd pleaser.

Since I want you to be able to recreate this one in 45 minutes, I am going to be a proper Rachel Ray and walk you through the steps. The first thing you want to do is get out all your ingredients.

Step 1 is just to get your pasta water on the stove and boiling. I feel the need to brag for a second: my new stove boils a large pot of water in 15 minutes, which is SO much better than 40 on the old stove!


2. Dice your onions and carrots small so that they cook fast. I usually do a half centimeter dice.


3. Remove the sausage from its casing and add to your pan over medium high heat to brown. Browning the sausage takes about 6 minutes. Then spend the next 3 minutes using your wooden spoon to break it up into small pieces and let it continue to brown. I suggest getting a good turkey or chicken Italian sausage. I love the hot Italian chicken sausage from Whole Foods.

4. While the meat is browning, mince your rosemary and garlic. For this recipe, we leave the thyme on its stem. You can always just use dried herbs here, but there is nothing like fresh rosemary in a simmered sauce. Dried pales in comparison.


5. Remove the meat from the pan and add your onions, carrots, and rosemary. Saute until soft (took me 6 minutes) and then add in the garlic. Saute for another 1 minute. While this is cooking, open your tomato cans.

6. Add the meat and thyme to the pan. Mix well.


7. Add your tomatoes to the pan and use your spoon to break the tomatoes into small pieces (took about 3 minutes). At this point I switched to a bigger pot because mine was near over flowing.

8. It is now time for the secret ingredients: Cognac and milk. Cognac because I don’t want to take the time to reduce wine and unlike a bottle of wine, it lasts forever in my pantry. It is my must add ingredient in all tomato sauces. Milk because the enzymes in the milk help the meat break down.

9. Add additional seasonings: salt, red pepper flakes, agave nectar for sweetness, and dried Italian herbs (sold as Italian Seasoning here in Texas) because I like the layered taste of both fresh and dried herbs.

This brings us right around 30 minutes of cook and prep time.

10. You will aggressively simmer your ingredients for 15 to 20 minutes over medium high heat. Just make sure to stir it a lot so the tomatoes don’t stick to the pot and burn. In this time, I usually clean up my kitchen and load the dishwasher. That way I am around the cooking and can stir frequently.

11. When your sauce starts looking thicker (10 minutes), start cooking your pasta.

I love these Lumaconi pasta shells for a hearty meat sauce. The sauce gets caught up inside the shell making for really meaty bites. If you can’t find lumaconi, use a larger shell type pasta.


12. Last step! Mix your sauce together with your pasta in a large bowl. This will allow the pasta to absorb some of the tomato sauce. Yum!

45 minute meat sauce

Makes 5 servings

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cup carrot, diced
1 1/2 pounds chicken or turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
4 sprigs rosemary, minced
4 springs thyme
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 – 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, drained (I prefer the fire roasted kind)
1 tablespoon cognac
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
1 pound large shell pasta like lumaconi
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Lightly oil (using cast iron, I did not need oil). Brown the sausage then break it into small pieces. Remove the sausage from the pan add a little more oil to the pan if it is dry. Add the onions, carrots, and rosemary. Cook until the onions and carrots are soft, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the sausage and thyme. Add in the canned tomatoes and break into small pieces with your wooden spoon. Mix in the remaining ingredients (cognac, milk, salt, red pepper flakes, agave nectar, and dried herbs.) Simmer over medium high heat, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Pull out the thyme after simmering. In the mean time, cook your pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta is done and the sauce has thickened, mix sauce and pasta together in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve warm.

 

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