Super-easy crock pot recipe

Here is a recipe that Scooter and I tried this last weekend. We wanted something super-easy that didn't require a lot of prep and found exactly what we were looking for in this recipe: rigatoni and sausage. The original recipe comes from my wonderful crock pot recipe book, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook that I have posted recipes from before. If you like crock pots, definitely pick up this book.

What you'll need:
1 lb. uncooked Italian sausage
1 26- to 28-oz. jar of tomato pasta sauce*
1 lb. uncooked rigatoni
1 Tbs. garlic powder
Freshly grated Parmesan, Asiago, or other hard Italian cheese

What you'll need to do:
1. Remove the casings from the sausage and crumble the meat.
2. Over medium-high heat, brown the sausage in a medium skillet until fully cooked. Drain off the fat.
3. Grease the crock pot with a nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the pasta sauce. Fill the sauce jar with water and add to the crock pot. Add in the garlic powder and stir together. Add the cooked sausage and rigatoni and stir until well-coated.
4. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Pasta should be tender.
5. Serve with grated cheese.

That's it! Something easy and good with little prep. A sharp-flavored cheese is essential to this recipe; the pasta and sausage can taste a little bland without it. Adding the cheese really brings the flavors together and makes them pop. I used a vodka pasta sauce, and I think the stronger tomato flavor of a red sauce would also make the flavor even better than we had it.

*I used a 24-oz jar for the recipe (it was what I had in the pantry) and would have liked a little extra sauce than we got. For more sauce, follow the original recipe amount noted above (or even add a little more from a second jar). If you like less sauce, try the 24-oz jar.