Baked Penne With Sausage And Spinach Oven Or Crock Pot Food

CHEESY SPINACH BAKED PENNE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Mist a 2 to 2 1/2-quart rectangular or oval baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook according to package directions for al dente.
• While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a medium pot set over medium heat. Add the fennel seeds and garlic and cook until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil sprig, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, lowering the heat if the sauce bubbles too vigorously, until the sauce has thickened slightly, the flavors have blended together and the raw tomato taste has cooked out, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, discard the basil and season with additional salt and pepper. Pour over the cooked pasta and toss well to coat. Add the cubed mozzarella and transfer half the pasta to the prepared baking dish.
• Put the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the shredded mozzarella and Parmesan and pulse two to three times. Combine half the cottage cheese mixture with the spinach and mix to break up the spinach. Drop in spoonfuls over the pasta in the baking dish. Top the spinach layer with the rest of the pasta and then the remaining cottage cheese mixture.
• Bake until bubbly and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes, and then scatter the torn basil over the top.

BAKED PENNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine first 4 ingredients in medium bowl; set aside. Brown meat with vegetables in large nonstick skillet. Stir in pasta sauce, cream cheese mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted. Add pasta; mix lightly.
• Spoon into 2-qt. casserole; top with remaining mozzarella. Cover.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 15 min.

BAKED PENNE & SAUSAGE

Steps:

• 1. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. In a large sauté pan, begin browning your sausage. Once evenly browned, drain any excessive fat from the pan. Add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato sauce to the pan, stir well and bring to a simmer. Add the minced garlic and basil and stir well. Allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Once water is boiling, salt the water and add your pasta. Stir well. Don't cook the pasta to completion or based on the package directions. You only want to cook the pasta partially since this is going to bake in the oven and complete the cooking process. I usually allow it to boil for about 6 to 7 minutes. Once pasta is done, drain it in a colander and then pour it back into the stock pot, or into a large mixing bowl. Now add the sausage mixture, 2/3 of the shredded mozzarella, and the entire container of ricotta cheese. Stir until fully combined. Pour this into a large baking dish - mine was slightly larger than 13? x 9? - cover with aluminum foil and allow to bake in the oven for 35 minutes at 350 degrees, or until hot and bubbly. Once done, remove the foil and sprinkle the top with the reserved mozzarella cheese. Return the pan to the oven and allow it to cook until the cheese is completely melted. Remove from oven and serve immediately. NOTE: This recipe makes enough for 8 people. You can either make the full recipe if you have that many to feed, halve the recipe for a smaller dinner, or bake this up in two separate dishes where you can eat one tonight and freeze the other one for a future meal. Serve with a side salad and some garlic bread.

BAKED PENNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brown meat with vegetables in large nonstick skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce, 3/4 cup cooking creme and 1/2 cup mozzarella: cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted. Add pasta; mix lightly.
• Spoon into 2-qt. casserole; top with remaining cooking creme and mozzarella. Cover.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 15 min.

BAKED PENNE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Cook Pasta: Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
• Make Sauce: Crumble the sausage meat into a large skillet over medium heat and brown, stirring often for about 5 minutes, until it's no longer pink.
• Add the onion, pepper and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, or until the onion and pepper have softened and the onion is translucent.
• Stir in the tomatoes, oregano, tomato paste, basil, thyme, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring often as needed.
• Stir in the peas. Remove the sauce from heat.
• Toss penne with sauce: Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and stir. Stir in about 1 cup of cheese.
• Assemble: Transfer the pasta to a large casserole dish. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake: Transfer the casserole dish to the preheated oven and bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, for about 20 minutes.
• Serve: Garnish with parsley or basil if desired and serve warm.

PENNE & SAUSAGE CASSEROLES

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside., In the same Dutch oven, saute mushrooms and onion in oil until tender. Add garlic and oregano; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in 1 cup wine. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, sausage and remaining wine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes., Drain pasta. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in each of two greased 13x9-in. baking dishes. Divide half of the pasta between the dishes; layer each with 2-1/2 cups sauce and 1 cup each of the cheeses. Repeat layers., Cover and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

BAKED PENNE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Place sausage and onion in the skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Pour in wine, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, to deglaze the pan. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with cooked pasta, and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with mozzarella.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

BAKED PENNE WITH SAUSAGE AND SPINACH (OVEN OR CROCK-POT)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375. Grease a deep lasagna pan (or two 9x9 pans). Crockpot instructions are at the bottom.
• SAUCE: In a large deep saucepan, heat oil. Add onion and saute slowly until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add sausage to pan; continue to saute and break up sausage into bite size pieces. When sausage is just about done, add garlic for a minute or two. Finally, pour red wine into pan and bring wine to a boil to evaporate alcohol and eliminate most of the liquid.
• Add tomatoes to other ingredients. Pour about 1/2 cup water into the tomato can to clean out the can - add this water to the pot. Add pesto. While this simmers about 10 minutes, cook the pasta.
• PASTA: Bring plenty of salted water to boil for pasta (lots of water will prevent sticky pasta). Cook according to package directions; drain.
• In a large mixing bowl, toss hot cooked pasta, chopped fresh spinach and tomato/sausage sauce. DO NOT ADD CHEESE YET. Continue combining hot ingredients until spinach wilts slightly, THEN add cubed mozzarella and 1/2 CUP of the Parmesan cheese. Toss quickly and pour into your prepared baking dish (if you work with the cheese too long, it will become a stringy mess!).
• Sprinkle final 1/2 CUP Parmesan on top.
• Bake 375 for 30 minutes, uncovered, until hot and bubbly.
• CROCKPOT VERSION FOR A CROWD: Double recipe. Make sure pasta is a bit undercooked (slightly firm). Pour into crockpot; add 1 cup hot water around the edges. Cook on HIGH 3 hours.

BAKED PENNE WITH SAUSAGE, SPINACH, AND BEANS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat and cook the onion and garlic for a few minutes, until soft.
• Squeeze the sausages out of their casings into the pan and cook, breaking up the meat until it's no longer pink.
• Add the tomatoes, beans, and tomato paste and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the pesto and some salt and pepper.
• Cook the pasta until al dente, drain it well, and toss it with the spinach, mozzarella, and about half the parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
• Stir in the hot tomato sauce, which will slihtly wilt the spinach.
• Pour into one or more baking dishes (it should be enough to fill one 9x13 inch pan) and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
• At this point the dish can be cooled completely, covered, and kept in the refrigerator overnight, or frozen for up to 4 months. Bake from frozen.
• Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (40 minutes if frozen), until bubbly and golden.

BAKED PENNE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water just until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and return to pot. Stir in marinara sauce and toss to coat.
• In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, eggs and Parmesan cheese. Add basil, salt, garlic powder and pepper; stir to combine.
• Layer half of the pasta mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta. Spoon the remaining pasta over the ricotta. Sprinkle mozzarella on top.
• Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes (or until hot and bubbly).

BAKED PENNE WITH SAUSAGE, TOMATO AND CAULIFLOWER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat the stock with the saffron in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a pot and season with salt. Add the cauliflower, cover and steam until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and break into florets.
• Heat the EVOO in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and crumble it into very small pieces with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Add the garlic and onions and cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze with the wine, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, tomatoes and saffron stock and stir to break up the tomatoes. Simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and cinnamon stick and season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook to just shy of al dente, about 7 minutes. Reserve a ladle of the starchy cooking liquid and drain the pasta.
• Return the pasta to the pot. Add the heavy cream, cauliflower, sausage sauce and
• a little of the reserved cooking liquid and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish and top with the cheeses and parsley. Bake until the top is browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Divide among plates.
• Cook's Note: The unbaked casserole can be covered and refrigerated for a make-ahead meal. Bake as directed before serving.