Sausage and Peppers Baked Penne

One of the first dishes I ever made without following a recipe was baked ziti. I despise ricotta cheese, so generally I avoid most recipes for lasagna and baked ziti. Mozzarella is delicious and binds the pasta together well enough together that you don't even miss the binding properties of the ricotta. Miss F gobbled up this pasta and ate most of the meat from my plate. C really enjoyed the dish as well, so it is definitely a keeper in our house. The sweet bell peppers and spicy sausage are perfect together. I bought a new basil plant, let's see how long I can keep it alive this year.

Sausage and Peppers Baked Penne

1 pound Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato paste (6 ounces)
2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces each)
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon salt

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound penne pasta
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a Dutch oven, sauté and break up the Italian sausage until cooked through. Remove to a plate and drain all but 1 tablespoon of grease from the pot. Sauté the onions until soft, adding the garlic for the last 30 seconds of cooking. Add the tomato paste and cook for one minute. Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano, red pepper and salt; return the sausage to the pan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the bell peppers with the olive oil and place the peppers on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. When the peppers are done, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Prepare the pasta per package directions, under cooking by two minutes. Drain.

Add the bell peppers, pasta and 1 ½ cups of the cheese to the sauce. Stir to combine. Grease a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Add the pasta mixture to the pan and top with the remaining 1 ½ cups cheese. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

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