Rotini With Tomato And Sausage

• 1 lb Rotini
• 3 Tb olive oil
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage (hot or mild)- crumbled
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 cup cleaned and sliced mushrooms
• 1 can (8 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese to top
• Optional: oregano, red pepper flakes

1. Cook pasta in a large (3 qt) pot of water to which you've added one tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Once pasta is cooked al dente, drain and keep warm.
2. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 Tb of oil to medium heat, sautee the crumbled sausage, onion and garlic for 5 mins. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking for another 3-4 mins. Make sure the sausage is cooked, but not burnt. Add the chopped tomato and sauce. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. At this point, you may add oregano and red pepper flakes to sauce if you like these flavors. Bring sauce to boil and then lower heat and simmer for 5 mins to blend flavors.
3. Mix pasta in with sauce, and top with parmesan cheese at serving.
4. *NOTE aside from red pepper flakes and oregano, I've used other spices and herbs depending on who my guests are. Examples include basil, parsley, capers and sardines that I've browned in the oil before adding the sausage.

rotini, olive oil, italian sausage, onion, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, parmesan cheese, oregano

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/rotini-with-tomato-and-sausage-1200225 (may not work)