birthday dinner

My birthday fell on a Wednesday this year, so it wasn't really an ideal occasion to go out to eat. Instead, I made an epic batch of my favorite tomato sauce and we had a celebratory spaghetti feast! Sorry for the blurry picture. It smelled too good to spend much time adjusting the camera!



The pasta sauce is very quick and simple. I cooked up 4 links of Italian sausage, drained most of the fat, then added a chopped onion, a chopped green bell pepper, and some minced garlic. I let the mixture cook until the onions and peppers softened a little, about 3-4 minutes, then added a can of chopped San Marzano tomatoes with their juice. I added a pinch of salt, two pinches of sugar, a couple teaspoons of dried oregano and a teaspoon of dried thyme, and let the sauce simmer while I cooked my pasta. As soon as the pasta was done, I drained it and spooned the sauce over the top. I added a side-salad, a glass of beer, and voila! Birthday feast!