Just brown some Italian sausage in your pan, add canned tomatoes to make a quick sauce then throw in the pasta to let it cook. I remember the first time I cooked pasta directly in the skillet I was sceptical, but I’ve done it a hundred times now and it always comes out great! The only trick is to stir it every so often to keep it from sticking to the pan. Less dishes, less work, and very, very tasty!

1. Preheat oven to 475 F.

2. Add the tomatoes to the bowl of your food processor and pulse until there aren’t any large pieces left, about 12 pulses.

3. Set a 12-inch skillet over medium heat and add the sausage. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink, using a wooden spoon to break the sausage up and stir occasionally. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook just until fragrant, 30 sec to 1 min. Stir in the tomatoes and the salt (if you’re not using a nonstick pan, now is a good time to scrape the bottom of the pan to release the browned bits). Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer gently for about 10 min, or until the tomatoes don’t taste raw anymore.

4. Add the water and pasta to the pan (the pan will probably be quite full, just stir gently to prevent overflow). Cover the pan and turn the heat up to medium to medium-high (adjust as necessary to maintain a vigorous simmer). Cook, stirring frequently to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan, for about 15 min, or until the pasta is tender. The pasta will not have absorbed all the liquid in the pan.

5. Add the heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and parsley to the pan. Stir to incorporate, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Top the pasta with the mozzarella cheese then transfer the pan to the oven and bake for about 10-12 min, or until the cheese has melted and browned.

Enjoy!