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Pasta with crispy sausage and ricotta cheese

1 lb. Favorite Italian sausage in casing (hot for me)

1 jar favorite marinara sauce (or homemade)

1/3 c. Chopped fresh basil (about 5 tbs) (1/4 c. Equals about 4 tbs)

½ c. Ricotta cheese for topping

1/3 c. Grated parmesan or Romano for topping

1 lb favorite pasta cooked per package instructions

If you are guilty of picking little crispy pieces of sausage off pizza and popping them in your mouth, you may really like this recipe.

I use sausage in casing and remove it. You could use bulk Italian sausage, but I think the sausage breaks up into pieces that are too small, like gravel.

Slit the casing with a sharp knife and remove the sausage in small pinches. Place the pieces of sausage in a sauté pan over medium to medium high heat. Cook until at least 2 sides of the sausage are crispy.

Using a paper towel, dab most of the excess fat from the pan. Discard paper towel.

Pour the tomato sauce over the sausage and heat until the sauce just starts to bubble.

Add basil, simmer a couple minutes, then serve over pasta.

Garnish each dish with a generous spoonful of ricotta cheese, and a good sprinkling of grated cheese.

Enjoy!