Sausage and Pepper Baked Penne

I saw a recipe similar to this in my Kitchen Aid Food Processor booklet. The original recipe had different ingredients than what I used, but the same idea.

Sausage and Pepper Baked Penne

Serves 10

Ingredients

1 lb penne
2 plum tomatoes
2 green bell peppers
1 small white onion, peeled
1 1/4 lb Italian sausage links (5-6 links)
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
8 oz mozzarella cheese, diced
Basil, chopped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400*. In large stockpot, cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain and put back into pot. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the pasta and stir around.

Put the sausage in a 12-inch saute pan with 1" of water. Put a lid on and cook over medium-high heat for 20 minutes, flipping once. Remove lid and cook 10 more minutes, flipping several times.

Remove sausage from the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into discs.

 

Fit food processor with slicing blade. Slice tomatoes; remove and set aside.

(If you don't have a food processor, just slice the veggies very thin.)

Slice bell peppers and onions.

 

Heat olive oil in the same 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic. Cook for 1 minute.

Add peppers, onion, garlic, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender. 

 

Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce; bring to a simmer.

Stir in sliced sausage. Simmer for 3 minutes.

 

Add veggie and sausage mixture to the pasta. Stir to combine. Remove from heat.

 

 

Pour pasta mixture into a large casserole dish. Top with sliced tomatoes, diced mozzarella cheese, and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Bake casserole 8-10 minutes or until mozzarella cheese melts. Top with chopped basil. Serve warm.

Notes

-If you want to make this ahead of time, put everything together except the cheeses and basil. When you're ready to cook it, put in a 350* preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until heated all the way through and cheese is melted. Top with basil.