The first time I ever made this and told Tom what we were having, he said, “Really? Are you that broke that we have to eat something called Peasant Pasta?” The answer was no (well kind of), it just sounded good (had seen it on TV earlier that day) and I didn’t have to go to the grocery store for one thing. It’s super quick and easy, a Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meal, and we really like it.

EVOO, about 1 tablespoon
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, 2 links, casings removed (we use less)
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, 4 links, casings removed (we use less of this too)
3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream (we used half & half)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen green peas
24 leaves fresh basil, torn or thinly sliced
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente
grated Italian cheese, for topping

I’m not a big meat eater, so we cut the amount of sausage that goes into this one, but otherwise, it doesn’t need a whole lot of alteration. It’s almost a one pot meal, which is definitly a plus, and has become part of our regular dinner repetoire.