Drunken Italian Noodles

This recipe is AMAZING! It is fast and easy to make which is great for a weeknight or weekend meal. The longest part is prepping your vegetables.This recipe has all your veggies, meat, and carbs all in one dish so really you can't beat that. One of my favorite parts about this dish is using fresh noodles and herbs. I never realized just how much better fresh noodles are vs. boxed dried noodles from the store are until I had this dish. BIG DIFFERENCE!
Now I've never been to Italy so I cannot verify if this truly is "Italian" but it has good flavors nonetheless.

Olive oil
1 lb. ground Italian sausage (mild or hot depending on preference)
1 med. onion, quartered and sliced thinly
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp cracked black pepper
1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup white wine
1 (28 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes with juice
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned
1 pkg fresh  noodles, uncooked (I've used multiple kinds such as fettuccine, angel hair, linguine, etc.)

1. Heat a large pan (with deep sides preferred) over medium-high heat.
2. Add 1 TBSP olive oil and add the sausage. Break up the sausage as it cooks. (You don't want to break the pieces up to small or it will be hard to eat).
3. When sausage is cooked (roughly 5 minutes), remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Add a little more olive oil to the pan and add the sliced onion, and saute for 2 minutes.
5. Add sliced bell peppers, salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Stir to combine and allow to cook another 2-3 minutes, until peppers are tender but not soggy.
6. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until it becomes aromatic.
7. Add in the white wine and allow this to cook until almost completely reduced.
8. Add the diced tomatoes and the sausage into the pan and stir to combine.
9. Turn heat to medium low and allow to gently simmer for 5 (can simmer longer if you want, but not necessary).
10. While sauce is simmering, prepare the noodles by following the instructions on the package. You will want to drain the noodles very well.
11. To finish, drizzle with 1-2 TBSP olive oil, and add the fresh noodles, chopped parsley, and half of the basil. Gently toss with tongs to combine all ingredients together.
12. When dishing up, add remaining fresh basil on top for garnish.

**Randi's Side Notes**
~ I would save some of the starchy pasta water just in case your sauce is a little runny and won't stick to the noodles. In this case ladle a little bit of the water in to help bind it together.
~ The wine does cook out of this dish, but if you are opposed to cooking at all with wine then simply leave it out or use some broth in it's place.



Recipe adapted from The Cozy Apron.