Gameday Recipe - Week 9

Now that the weather is turning a bit cooler, my attention turns to more hearty, kitchen-centered recipes. Today's concoction is my Baked Penne with Italian Sausage dish, and it hasn't killed anyone yet.

INGREDIENTS
12oz. of penne
1lbs of Italian sausage
1 cup chopped onions
2-3tsp olive oil
1 (15oz) can of tomato sauce
1 (14.5oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 (6-8oz) can of tomato paste
1 cup chopped asparagus, zucchini or squash
2 cups shredded mozarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
1- Preheat oven to 350
2- Bring large pot of water to boil
3- Boil penne for 10mins (or according to the package), and drain
4- Brown the sausage (crumbled) and onions in a large and deep skillet with oil
5- Drain skillet of excess fat
6- Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste w/the browned sausage and onions and simmer for 10-15 minutes
7- Toss the penne into the skillet, stir, then place everything in a 9x13 baking/casserole dish.
8- Add in the asparagus, zucchini or squash and spread evenly throughout the dish.
9- Top generously with mozarella
10- Bake in oven for 20-25mins
11- You're done

This is just the bare-bones recipe. Ziti could easily substitute for penne, and my wife substituted 1lb of marinated chopped chicken breast for the sausage once and it turned out OK. Sometimes I go lighter on the cheese (down to 1 cup) if the mood strikes. Also, I add fresh chopped basil and oregano into the sauce/tomato/tomato paste mix as well.


Delizioso!