Cooking Recipe: Shrimp & Sausage Skillet

As you can tell by my blog’s name (Nachos Grande) and my old Sporting Blog’s name (Nacho Cheesing), I’m a big fan of eating food. Since I don’t have a budget that allows me to eat out every meal, I’ve begun to learn to cook and bake…all in the name of discovering good, relatively easy-to-make foods.

As a guy who's living on his own, I've certainly had my fair share of spaghetti, hot dogs, and deli meat sandwiches. Unfortunately for me, I quickly tire of the "same 'ol" food, so I have essentially been forced to learn to cook.

I don't consider myself an Emeril (bam!) yet, but I'm beginning to try and master the art of herbs and spices while making up my own culinary dishes. Today, I present a simple skillet meal that's surprisingly tasty (even if it doesn't photograph all that well).

Shrimp & Sausage Skillet
Serves 2.

Penne pasta (cooked)
12 large shrimp (cooked)
2 hot Italian Sausages
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1/4 onion, diced
1 tsp. Italian seasonings (mix of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, oregano, and basil)
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese

Slice the sausages into 1/4 inch wedges. Cook sausage pieces in a nonstick skillet until fully cooked through (add a bit of cooking oil if desired). Meanwhile, cook penne pasta as directed on package. After sausage is cooked through, add onion and cook for 1 minute, uncovered on medium heat. Add shrimp and spaghetti sauce, cook on low heat for about 3-7 minutes (depending on how "mushy" you want the onions). Thirty seconds before removing from heat, add Italian seasonings. Top penne with sausage and shrimp, sprinkle Mozzarella cheese and grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy a simple skillet meal!

Note: Cook times vary depending on your equipment. I use an electric stovetop, so your times may be quite a bit quicker if you are using a gas stovetop instead.