Three-Cheese Baked Pasta
Ingredients
- 150 g penne
- 1 T oil
- 1 T butter
- 8 oz sausage
- 1 c finely chopped bell pepper
- 1/2 T dried Italian seasoning
- 1 t crushed red pepper
- 1/8 t black pepper
- 1/8 t salt
- 10 grape or cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1 minced garlic cloves
- 142 g tomato paste
- water (or broth, as needed)
- 3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 c shredded red leicester
- 1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cook pasta until nearly done. Drain and keep warm.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and oil. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper, black pepper, salt, tomatoes, and garlic to pan; saute 6 minutes or until bell pepper is tender.
4. Stir in tomato sauce. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
5. Add pasta to pan, tossing gently to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Stir in mozzarella and goat cheese; sprinkle with parmesan.
6. Bake at 350F for 7 minutes or until bubbly and top is browned.
Notes
SJ Note 5 Sept 2009: Really good, yummy. A meal by itself for two, or serves four with sides. We froze the leftovers tonight; will see how it does to thaw and reheat later.
SJ Note 18 Sept 2010: Did not freeze well. The pasta went a bit mushy, which was to be expected, but the flavor also deteriorated. Do not freeze.