Quick Pasta and Hot Links

Easy and suprisingly good. Not sure where the basic recipe idea came from, but it has been a "no time to cook" favorite of my family for a long time. This works well without the ricotta, but better with. The spicy hot links are the key ingredient. We have made this with hot Italian sausage, but the unique "personality" of the dish is altered. It also takes time to cook the the Italian sausage before adding to the sauce. The hot links can be found in the packaged meat section of the grocery store. More info on the hot links can be found on the Hillshire Farm web site (good recipe source). HINT:The hot links can be cubed and frozen in good zip lock bags so they are ready for those "unexpected guests for dinner" situations.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  lb pasta, your choice we like ziti
• 14  ounces  beef hot links sausage, hillshire farm makes a good one
• 10  ounces  marinara sauce, your favorite
• 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1⁄4 cup ricotta cheese

Directions

1. Prepare pasta per package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, cube hot links into 1/4" pieces.
3. Place marinara sauce and hot links in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Add ricotta and mix.
6. Simmer another 2 minutes.
7. Serve over hot pasta with parmesan on the side.
8. Note: We like lots of sausage...you can adjust amount down if desired. Also time does not include dicing sausage. We keep diced sausage on hand.