italian sausage & sausage baked penne

On our blog, I (Jenn) wanted to do a series of easy and simple recipes that can be made quickly. My inspiration? Studying to take the bar this summer. Unfortunately, I'll have to spend more time memorizing law rather than spending hours in the kitchen making culinary masterpieces. Keep reading for yummy pictures and the recipe!

This recipe was almost painfully simple to make. Even better, while it baked in the oven, I got the entire kitchen cleaned. That’s the best thing about one pot meals…they condense the amount of utensils you end up dirtying.

The original recipe that I got from Yumsugar called for Swiss chard…but Walmart doesn’t carry it. So I switched it to spinach. You can still use two (2) cups of chopped chard instead.  I'm also on the lookout for Italian sausage without pork for those who don't partake.

Ways to make this even easier to make? Minced garlic in a jar. But, I’m all about fresh ingredients, so…it’s up to you.  I'm excited to make this again and use other flavors of Italian sausage - sweet, hot, the possibilities are endless!

Can you imagine that it tastes even better than it looks?

½ a box of dried penne pasta (8 oz. or 2 cups)
2 tsp. olive oil
2 Italian sausage links (about 8 oz.)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups of rinsed, fresh spinach leaves
1 can (14 ½ oz.) of diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (an entire 8 oz. bag)
¼ c. shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Boil the pasta, stirring occasionally, until tender – about 10-12 minutes.

While waiting on the water to boil, remove the sausage from the casings and mince the garlic. Go ahead and heat up the oil as well.

You want to time the pasta cooking with the Italian sausage as well. Add the sausage and garlic, and any other seasonings you like (I like to use basil, oregano, etc. when I make Italian-type dishes). Cook the sausage apart, breaking it apart (so you don’t have huge hunks of sausage meatballs). Cook until it’s brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the spinach until it’s wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes (with juice), the salt and pepper, and the drained pasta. Stir and combine.

Transfer to a 2 or 2 ½ quart baking dish. Sprinkle cheeses on top. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbling.