Day 6: Creamy Pasta Sauce

When I came up with the idea for 30 Days of Honey, I put the word out on Facebook that I'd like to try some friends' recipes. This one, courtesy of my friend and former colleague, Colleen, is simple to make but tastes absolutely incredible. The honey really does tone down the acidity of the tomato sauce - one of those things you don't think you need until you have it.

Colleen's recipe (actually Ed's creation) allows for flexibility in both ingredients and quantity, so I made a few changes based on what I had available. The key ingredients are pre-made pasta sauce, cream cheese and honey. Meat and veggies are cook's choice. Colleen suggested the quick and easy diced pepperoni stick or bag of sliced pepperoni, which I will definitely try next time.

Here's how I prepared it.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground mild Italian sausage
1 jar of pasta sauce
2 bell peppers, seeded and diced
5-6 crimini mushrooms, diced
3-4 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons millefiori honey

Directions

Brown sausage over medium heat. When cooked, add pasta sauce.

Add peppers and mushrooms.

Allow sauce to simmer while you start the pasta. I served this over brown rice spaghetti. If you haven't tried brown rice pasta, do it soon. I haven't bought wheat pasta since I tried this because it simply tastes fantastic and is, I presume, healthier. Even the pickiest eater I know, my brother Jack, likes it.

Stir in cream cheese to taste. I used about one-third of a block. As with all cheese, if some is good, more is better. I cut back on cheese several months ago after I identified dairy as the cause of my skin problems. That's not to say I never eat dairy, but when I do I make it worthwhile. This is absolutely worthwhile.

Add honey. If you are sampling the sauce as you add in the ingredients, you will notice immediately how the flavor changes and mellows when you add the honey.

You know when something tastes so good you can't wait for it to cool down and you keep shoveling it in even as it burns your mouth, possibly making a mess in the process? Yeah, this is one of those.