Italian Drunken Noodles with Sausage and Peppers

Would you ever try to make Mexican food without cheese?  How about bread without flour?  Maybe making shish-ka-bobs without skewers.  Riiightt... Well, I was all gung-ho to make this dish.  I started it, and got all the way to the part where I add the tomatoes.  I go into my tomato storage in my closet, and there are no tomatoes.  Don't panic... I text three different neighbors, and the only one that had some on hand was out of the house.  I could have thrown in the towel, tossed the kids in the car, and headed to McDonald's for the ump-teenth time.  I kept on keeping on.  I just followed the recipe exactly minus the tomatoes.  It turned out amazing!  I'm not a huge chunky tomato fan anyway, so this fit the bill for me.  The different peppers, the cooking wine, and the sausage made for a delicious one pot meal. 

Italian Drunken Noodles with Sausage and Peppers
source: http://thecozyapron.com/a-cozy-pasta-italian-drunken-noodles-and-shaking-things-up-a-bit/

Olive oil
4 Italian mild sausages, casings removed
1 onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 1/2 t salt
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, whole (just kidding- thinly sliced)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c white wine (I used dry cooking white wine)
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice (I didn't have any tomatoes on hand, so I omitted this)
2 T flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 c basil, cut into strips, divided
8 oz. pasta (I used extra thick spaghetti noodles- original recipe called for Pappardelle)
fresh Parmesan

Heat 2 T olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Once it's hot, add the Italian sausages.  While they are cooking, break them up into chunks. Brown the sausage on all sides.  Once it's browned, remove it and set it aside.

Add the onions to the same pan.  Cook them for about five minutes.  Stir them often and add more olive oil if necessary.

After the are browned a bit and soft, add the salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper.  Stir,  Add the bell peppers.  Saute for a couple minutes.

Add the garlic; Cook a minute longer.

Add in the wine and allow it to reduced almost completely.  Stir occasionally. Add the diced tomatoes and the cooked sausage.  Stir to combine and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add 1-2 T more olive oil.

Stir in the parsley and half of the sliced basil.

Keep warm while you cook the noodles.

Once the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it, and add it to the sauce.  Use tongs to gently toss it all together.

Serve onto a plate and top with the remaining basil and fresh Parmesan.