Ingredients
The ingredient list for this one pot pasta is really simple and you just might already have everything at home. It combines Italian sausage, pasta, peppers, garlic, onion, chicken broth, cream, salt and pepper. That’s it! I decided to go with rigatoni pasta and whatever peppers I had at home which lead to a colorful and delicious meal.

First things first, remove the sausage from the casing and add to a pot over medium heat with some olive oil.

Break up the larger pieces to speed up the cooking time. Continue to stir and allow to evenly brown.
Once browned, transfer to a plate and add in the peppers, onions, and garlic.

Sauté until the garlic is fragrant and the peppers are slightly browned.
Once browned, add in the cooked sausage and two cups of chicken broth.
Then a 1/2 cup of whipping cream.
Give it a stir, and then add in the uncooked pasta. That’s right, uncooked pasta!
  At this point it might look weird but keep going! lol Next, season with salt and pepper. Continue to stir and let it come to a boil.
Once at a boil, lower temperature to medium-low, cover and 20 minutes later….BOOM!
At this point, you want to check your pasta to make sure it is cooked. For one pot pastas, I’ve found that smaller pasta’s are easier to manage but feel free to use whatever you have. If you decide to go with a longer pasta just make sure to move it around as it’s coming to a boil so it doesn’t stick together. Once assured pasta is cooked, stir in 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Once combined, sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and broil until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned on top.
That should take just a few minutes. Make sure to monitor this step so you don’t end up burning all of your hard work! This step isn’t necessary but it’s more cheese sooooo yeah lol. 🙂
Ta-Da! I like to garnish with some dried herbs such as oregano and/or parsley.
Look at that cheesy, creamy magic! Just like that you’re done! As promised, a simple one pot pasta that’s on your table in 30 minutes. The flavors are amazing. But enough of my talking, it’s time to eat!

Thanks for stopping by! Drop a comment if you give this recipe a try! Don’t forget sharing is caring!

*On Pinterest? Click the pic below to pin!*

See how easy that was?!? Until next time, cook like a king!

Ok, now thats out the way, lets talk about this new recipe!

 It’s hard to live life without a little pasta. Especially when you bake it, add bacon and lots of cheese 😊. Coming up with this recipe was so much fun and delicious. This is an obvious combination anyone would enjoy. This recipe is perfect for the family and uses basic items you have in your fridge and pantry right now. I’m a visual learner, so I’m going to hit you all with a lot of process pictures so you’ll be able to see the entire dish come together. This is such a simple dish that comes together in less than 60 mins and tastes like it’s been cooking for hours. Let’s get started!

The Sauce

To elevate your basic marinara sauce you gotta add some additional ingredients to brighten up the sauce. Adding some ingredients like fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, and thyme will really take a your marinara from simple to amazing! Throw in a a few dried herbs and it’ll taste like your marinara sauce was made from scratch!

To add more texture and flavor to the sauce, you want to add some ground meat of your choice (for this recipe I picked ground sausage, but ground beef or turkey will work just fine) and of course bacon! Bacon is the secret ingredient to this sauce…shhhhhhh :). It really helps to deepen the sauce and bring the flavors together.

In a large pot add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and start to cook your bacon until it’s nice and crispy. Once that’s done, remove the bacon and add ground sausage and cook until browned, breaking up large pieces as it cooks. Once cooked throughout, remove and set aside and add in the chopped onion and garlic. Cook until onions begin to become translucent. Then, you will add in the diced tomato and the marinara sauce of your choice. I always, always use Trader Joe’s Tuscano Marinara Sauce simply because the ingredients are straight to the point and it has no additives. It’s just a great kitchen hack and I make sure to keep a couple of cans at home at all times. (And no, Trader Joe’s isn’t paying me to say that lol, I wish. I just love Trader Joe’s!) Return the bacon and cooked sausage to the sauce and stir to mix. Add in bay leaves, dried oregano, dried basil, chopped thyme and a little salt and pepper to taste. Once everything is in the pot, cover and let those flavors marry. This is a sauce that you can let go for hours; the longer the better, but 30 mins usually does it if you don’t have a lot of time on hand. Thats the great part about using this marinara sauce, you save time without sacrificing flavor.

While the sauce is building, cook pasta according to packaging. You want to cook your pasta al dente so it still has a bite to it and can hold the sauce. Also, at this point you want to pre-heat your oven to 375F.

Time To Build The Ziti

Once your sauce is done, add in cooked ziti pasta or any short pasta you have on hand (bowtie, rigatoni, etc). Give it a good stir to combine with the sauce. At this point you, will add in one cup of shredded muenster cheese and one cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Mixing the cheese into the pasta creates little pockets of cheesy heaven throughout the dish – just another secret to getting that cheesy goodness in every bite! I picked these two cheeses because they have the best “pull” when you dig in and their flavors aren’t over powering. Mix throughly and transfer to a baking dish.

Now cover the top of the dish with 1 cup of shredded muenster cheese and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and top with some dried oregano. I like to add a little extra virgin olive oil before it goes into the oven, it really helps keep the cheese from burning and drying out while in the oven. I’m giving away so many of my secrets in this recipe lol, I hope you guys give them all a try. You won’t regret it, I promise!

Pop into the oven uncovered for about 20 mins or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

The Reveal!

Let’s take a moment to appreciate this beautiful dish full of cheesy, meaty pasta goodness! Adding the extra virgin olive oil before baking really keeps the cheese smooth and moist.

Serve Immediately! 

No need to wait for this to cool down. You want to get maximum pull right before serving to impress all your guests, or yourself, if you don’t intend on sharing lol.

Serve with grated or shaved parmesan and enjoy!

…

Thanks for stopping by, if you try a recipe, drop a comment! I’d love to hear about!

*On Pinterest? Click Picture Below To Pin*

See how easy that was?!? Until next time, cook like a king!

This slow cooked ragu sauce can be paired with anything. One of my favorite pastas to use is pappardelle pasta, so that is what I chose to pair it with. You can also pair it with cheesy grits or cauliflower puree for an healthier paleo option.
This hearty and delicious sauce just gets better the longer it cooks! Making the perfect ragu requires a long cooking time and simple ingredients. In this recipe there is red wine, fresh thyme, sage and lots of basil. I also throw in a couple parmesan rinds to give it an intense cheese flavor. Parmesan rinds are my secret weapon! I usually buy a nice chunk of cheese and shred it as needed, and the rinds are just the outside of the whole block of cheese. It will melt right in and lend a rich creaminess to your ragu. At the end of the day, the short rib is the star of this dish. It literally falls apart in the sauce, guaranteeing a rich and delicious ragu. This recipe is a must for a lazy and satisfying Sunday afternoon. Enjoy and drop a comment, let me know what you think once you give it a try. This will immediately become your comfort food go to, every Sunday!

Enjoy!

Print

Short Rib Ragu

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Kingcooks

Ingredients

• 3-4 lbs bone in short rib
• 2 strips of bacon chopped
• 28 oz can of marinara sauce
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic crushed
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• ½ tbsp paprika
• ½ tbsp onion powder
• ½ tbsp red pepper flake
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped sage
• 1 tbsp salt & pepper
• Parmesan cheese rind optional
• 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for cooking

Instructions

• In a large bowl combine: short ribs, paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, and white vinegar. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
• In a deep cast iron Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside.
• Working in batches, sear all sides of your short ribs about 3-4 mins per side. Remove and set aside once browned.
• In the same pot, add the onions and crushed garlic, and sauté for 5-6 mins or until the onions start to turn translucent. Add a tbsp. of olive oil if needed during this step.
• Add in 2 cups of red wine and cook for another 5-6 mins. This step will cook out the alcohol, but it will leave behind intense flavor.
• Once the red wine is reduced by half, add in whole can of marinara sauce. Stir and let come to a simmer.
• Add back in the cooked bacon and the seared short rib, and bring to a boil.
• Add chopped basil, sage, thyme, parmesan cheese rind (optional), and red pepper flakes. Stir, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 3 hours.
• Once cooking time is reached, remove short ribs and discard of all bones. Shred meat into small pieces using a fork. Skim as much fat from your ragu as possible during this step. Return the shredded short rib to the sauce. Cover and cook for an additional hour.
• After 1 hour, stir and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Pair with your favorite pasta, grits or cauliflower puree as a base.