BAKED PASTA WITH SAUSAGE & SPINACH

Like I said in this post, Skinnytaste is one of my go-to sites for meal planning. I tried this baked pasta dish last week and OOOMMMGGG was it good. Logan said it made his 'top ten favorite meals I make' list. ;) Only thing is, when I was shopping for the ingredients, I made a mistake and bought the wrong kind of cheese. I bought 'pepperoncino provolone zesty blend' instead of 'Pecorino Romano'. Do not even ask me how I screwed that up, except for the fact that the Woodman's cheese isle is a bit overwhelming if you ask me. I could stand there and look for a certain kind of cheese for 15 minutes and it will be right in front of me.  Anyways, I used the pepperoncino provolone cheese anyways (there was no way I was running back to the store) and it was AMAZING! It gave the dish a some kick. Logan 'lover of all things spicy' gobbled it up. I loved it too! I wouldn't make it any different. Put this recipe on the meal planning list people! DO IT! You will love it aaaand you can freeze it. Stock up that freezer kids!

(I made a few changes to the recipe - the cheese being one and I used fully-cooked chicken sausage so I could skip the browning the meat. I would also suggest making the marinara yourself. It is really simple.)

Ingredients:

olive oil spray
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano pepperoncino provolone zesty blend
8 oz part-skim ricotta
8 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded
14 oz fully cooked chicken sausage - chopped into bite-sized piece (see image below)
12 oz rigatoni pasta
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
salt and fresh pepper to taste
4 cups Marinara Sauce  - or make your own - See recipe HERE.

I used the applegate brand, but either will work just fine.)

Directions:

If you are going to make your marinara, do it now. See recipe HERE.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9- x13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, 6 tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese.

Add oil to a heated skillet and sauté garlic about a minute, careful not to burn. Add spinach and season with a little salt and pepper and cook another minute. Add sausage and the marinara sauce to the skillet; cook on low about 2-3 minutes.

When the pasta water comes to a boil, cook pasta according to instructions for al dente, but undercook them by 4 minutes less; drain and return to pot.

Put half of the cooked pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half of the meat sauce. Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce in an even layer. Coverwith the remaining pasta and the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining mozzarella and Pecorino Romano pepperoncino provolone cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 6-7 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned.