Wow, what a wonderful summer we had! One of the best summers that I can remember in many years! The weather was wonderful and our garden went crazy, as I’ve probably already mentioned half a dozen times! But it really did. Not too shabby for growing almost everything on the deck!

With one of my many apronfuls of tomatoes, I made a fantastic “arrabbiata” sauce. “Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian, which gives this sauce it’s name because of how spicy it is from the addition of hot peppers and chili flakes added to the basic tomato and garlic marinara-style sauce.

It’s truly a wonderful sauce, and though most recipes call for using canned tomatoes, it is so much better made completely from scratch!   

This sauce is decadent, rich and truly exquisite! 

 

 

My hubby doesn’t care much for hot sauces, so I was a little careful in choosing what peppers I used. I used a hot banana pepper, a red and green-striped bell pepper,  and a sweet red Carmen pepper. But you can use hot red chili peppers or even a few jalapeños if you so desire. Just whatever you happen to have on hand or is available at this time in your area. 

I made up for some of the heat loss with a bit of crushed red pepper. Add this to your own taste, as hot or mild as you like it. And that’s really all there is to it basically. Just click on any of the links or photo of the sauce for my Arrabbiata Sauce recipe. 😉 

 

 

So what to make with this fabulous sauce? I had chicken breasts and hot italian sausages on hand, so that pretty much decided that! 😉 I decided to keep my crock pot out for a wile, and in they went with a bit of onions… 

 

 

…and more peppers from my garden! A red bell this time and another hot banana pepper! 😀

 

 

We are mushroom lovers, so those were a sure thing! 😉

 

 

And all the flavors came together like the perfect storm! 😀 

 

 

When the chicken is fall apart tender, just pull with 2 forks, slice the sausages at an angle and toss it all back into the pot with 2 jars of your homemade arrabbiata sauce and some pasta. I used rotini and cheese-filled tortellini. Then just cook until the pasta is tender, about another 30 minutes or so! 😀 

 

 

After a few light stirs and folds to mix, supper is ready! 😀  

 

 

I simply served this with shaved fresh parmesan cheese, a small side salad, and buttered bread, and WOW was it delicious! 😀 The bit of heat leaves other tomato sauces in the dust! 

So if you’re looking for something a bit more unique than the “same old same old”, you’ve come to the right recipe! 😉 

*One suggestion, if you don’t mind eating leftovers for a couple of days like we do, or you’re feeding an army that hasn’t eaten in a week, you can easily just omit the rotini and just use one bag of tortellini. 😉 We loved it, and enjoy being able to have something to reheat quickly in the microwave, but not everyone does. So use your own best judgment on this. 😀 

And that’s all for today friends! Enjoy the Indian Summer we’re blessed to have right now, and I’ll see you all tomorrow! 😀 ~Kelly 

 

*My recipe for homemade “Spicy Garden Fresh Arrabbiata Sauce” here.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Hot Italian Sausage & Pulled Chicken Arrabbiata with Cheese Tortellini & Rotini (Crock Pot)

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Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 pints (4 cups) Homemade Arrabbiata Sauce, or purchased
• 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of any fat, seasoned with salt & pepper
• 5-6 hot Italian sausage links
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken broth, to well-cover
• 1/2 - 1 tsp. crushed red pepper, to taste for heat preference
• 1 large hot pepper or peppers of choice; large dice, julienned, or sliced into rings
• 1 onion, sliced into 1/2-1" wide wedges
• 4 oz. fresh sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups rotini pasta, *optional
• 1 bag (16-19 oz.) frozen cheese-filled tortellini, (I used a 19 oz. value brand and it was fine)
• shaved fresh parmesan cheese, garnish
• fresh parsley, optional garnish

Instructions

Make Arrabbiata Sauce if using homemade. (*Make the day before for ease of preparation.)

The next day, place 3 large seasoned chicken breasts, sausage links, onion, crushed red pepper, and broth into large oval crock pot. Cook on high for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, add peppers. After 3 hours add mushrooms, cooking for a total of 4 hours.

Remove chicken and sausage to a cutting board. With two forks, pull chicken into large chunks and add back to pot.

Slice sausages at an angle into large bite-sized pieces and add back to pot.

Stir in Arrabbiata Sauce and 1 cup rotini noodles. (*Rotini noodles are optional.) Cook until about halfway done, about 15 minutes.

Gently fold in frozen cheese-filled tortellini and continue cooking until both pastas are tender. Another 20 minutes or until tender.

Plate and serve topped with shaved fresh parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Notes

*If wanting to sub purchased arrabbiata sauce in place of homemade, and you cannot find it in your area, just add your favorite spaghetti sauce and kick up the pot with extra crushed red pepper flakes and a few hot peppers if desired. *But homemade is SO much better and really makes this dish.

 

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