Hot Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta Sauce

Jarred pasta sauce is great for most things (especially when you don't know any better like us) but this is a dressed up version I concocted during our first year of marriage.  I never actually had a written recipe for this or had ever really measured any of the ingredients until I made this today.  This is a meal Eric typically overeats on :)  I've also made double and triple this recipe before to serve at our gatherings/parties.

1/2 red pepper, chopped*
1/2 green pepper, chopped*
1/2 onion, finely chopped*
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp EVOO
1 lb hot italian sausage, casing removed
1-14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1-26 oz jar pasta sauce (I pick something a "boring" one like meat flavored)
1/4 c water
1/4 c red wine
1-6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
5 sprigs of fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
freshly grated parmesan cheese to top if desired


In a large pan, heat EVOO over medium heat.  Once pan is heated, add peppers and onions.  Saute for 5 minutes and add garlic.  Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.  Add hot italian sausage, casing removed, and crumble as you brown the meat.  Once the meat is cooked, add diced tomatoes and jar of pasta sauce.  To the emptied jar, add the 1/4 c of water, shake well (to get the rest of the sauce) and pour into the pan as well.  Add red wine and tomato paste and stir all well.  Stir in basil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and parsley, mixing well to combine.  Reduce heat to low/simmer and cover.  Cook, stirring occassionally, for 1 to 1 1/2 hrs.

This is more than enough pasta sauce for a 13.25 oz box of wheat pasta.  I usually freeze the leftovers, which is about enough for a single or double serving of pasta and use it as a side dish to another meal. You can always add the leftovers to some plain old pasta sauce if there's not enough.

*A lot of times, my recipes will use only 1/2 of a pepper or onion.  I actually buy peppers in bulk (it's cheaper!) then chop some finely, coarsely, in strips, etc, and divide them up into smaller freezer bags like 1/2 of a pepper, a whole pepper, etc, and freeze them in a larger freezer bag.  Then when I want to use them, depending on the dish, I just toss them in the pan or microwave them for 20-30 secs.  I know you can do this with a lot of vegetables, including onions, but with onions, I always pick two recipes that I would use 1/2 of a onion for in a week.  I am not a huge onion fan (however, I know they are needed for flavor.... sometimes) so if you love onions, it's probably best to double what my recipe calls for since, unlike cheese, I will typically skimp on the onion factor.