Baked Cavatelli Casserole
Ingredients
8 ounces dried cavatelli or dried multigrain penne pasta
12 ounces uncooked ground Italian turkey sausage
1 cup chopped eggplant or zucchini
1 cup chopped fresh cremini or button mushrooms
1 medium red sweet pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
¼ cup snipped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed
1 tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Italian blend cheese (4 ounces)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting any salt or oil. Drain; set aside.
Meanwhile, in a very large skillet cook sausage, eggplant, mushrooms, sweet pepper, onion and garlic over medium heat until sausage is browned and vegetables are just tender, stirring to break up sausage as it cooks. Drain off any fat and discard. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil, dried oregano, salt and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in fresh basil and fresh oregano.
In a very large bowl stir together pasta and sausage mixture. Spoon mixture into a 3-quart baking dish.
Bake, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.
Source: EatingWell
