Rock Crock Sausage Pasta

I'm writing this blog post for me because I want to remember how to make this amazing dish! I stumbled upon a recipe for this last fall, but when I tried it again in spring, the recipe I found on Pinterest just did not work! But tonight's dinner did! And I want to make it again and again.

Ingredients and instructions:

Pampered Chef Rock Crock!!!!!!

Step 1:

1/2 pkg of Johnsonville Ground Italian Sausage (mild)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Add sausage to the rock crock and cook on low on your stove for about 6 minutes. Stir to break up the meat. Add the garlic for another minute or so. 

Step 2:

Measure the following:

3 Cups chicken broth

1 jar of marinara (12 oz)

2.5 cups of medium size pasta shells

Add the broth, marinara and shells to the sausage mix. Cover and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, start your broiler. After the shell mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and set a timer for 9 minutes. Stir your pasta mixture occasionally.

Step 3:

Make a crumb topping. I chose to crush a bag of croutons from my local grocery store and mix with some Parmesan. Set aside. 

Step 4:

Cream cheese (8 oz)

Your pasta should be "al dente" after your nine minutes, so then add the cream cheese. (8 oz). My video is not very exciting, but you can see the bubbling meal as we put in the final ingredient and stir it together before putting this dish in the broiler for 5 minutes. Top with your crumb mixture and toast another minute or two. 

The final product: Check this out!!!!!

Verdict: Seriously... this dish is so good. I have not made many pasta dishes where I didn't pre-boil and set aside the pasta before mixing with the sauce. But this dish has me second guessing those years of water cooked pasta.