Penne With Sausage and Peppers

Clark has had a dish similar to this at Olive Garden and really liked it so I combined several recipes I found and this is what I came up with. Most of the recipes I saw used spaghetti, which would be good, but he likes the penne. Depending on the type of sausage you use, it can be pretty spicy. Clark likes the spicy. If you use a mild sausage you may want to increase either the cayenne or the hot pepper sauce. Just a matter of taste.

Penne with Sausage and Peppers

1 lb. smoked sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 medium green peppers, thinly sliced
2 medium sweet red peppers, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cans diced tomatoes with liquid
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 to 8 drops hot pepper sauce
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 C chicken broth
2 TB cornstarch
12 oz. penne cooked and drained
1/2 C cream (optional)

Brown the sausage and then add the peppers and onions. Saute for 2 minutes and add tomatoes, garlic, hot pepper sauce, paprika, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are tender. Combine broth and cornstarch; add to sausage mixture. Bring to a boil and cook and stir until thickened. Add penne and cream and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes enough for 6 - 8, depending on whether they are big eaters.