Pasta Skillet with Kielbasa

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Stir peas into the pot during the last 2 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium-high heat in a deep skillet. Add onion and garlic and sauté just until tender, about 5 minutes. Add kielbasa; cook and stir until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, mushrooms, sugar, balsamic vinegar, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer until the pasta is done.

3. Drain pasta, then add to the sauce. Stir to combine, then add basil. Reduce the heat to medium-low heat and cook until pasta absorbs liquid from the sauce, about 5 minutes. Stir in cheese and serve.

Tips

You can use lite kielbasa sausage instead of regular, frozen onions and jarred minced garlic instead of fresh, 3 to 4 seeded and diced fresh tomatoes instead of canned, and dried basil instead of fresh.

Use high-quality balsamic vinegar. It may seem like an odd ingredient to use, but it does add a nice flavor.