Another day, another dinner I haven't planned and have no idea what we are eating later, or even if we are eating at all. It probably sounds crazy, but its normally by 11 am that I start to feel stressed I don't have a plan for dinner. I will look at Chanel and whine, "what am I making for dinner tonight" and stretch out and lay my face down on the kitchen island in utter defeat.
Its seriously 11 o'clock in the morning, and I'm already over it. I love when something comes to me the night before and I wake up with a fun plan for dinner. That doesn't happen nearly as frequently though as the above-described scenario.
However, the majority of the time, Chanel and I manage to talk our way to something or some idea that seems worth a shot. Or we come up with something we already know and love that sounds yummy. On this particular morning I whined and Chanel replied, almost terrifyingly quickly, "sausage and peppers."
Well, okay! However, I immediately realized the main issue with the classic Italian-American staple, that none of my boys would probably been keen on eating slimy slices of peppers and would just eat sausage. And baby Hondo, would probably manage to choke on pieces that big and it just didn't seem like it would be a very popular choice. But I like sausage and peppers, and Chanel likes sausage and peppers (not that she eats dinner at the house very often, but she taste tests a lot, and often snacks on last night's dinner after our morning walks, so I suppose she kind of has a dog in this fight).
So my brain started working through it and this creamy, tomatoey, sausage-peppery pasta is what came out and it was fantastic. I mean, it got gobbled up like I could not have predicted. Two 9x9 pans of pasta was GONE by 11 am the next morning!
Aaron called his bestie Clay to come over and they both had two helpings, Hondo tore through three bowls, even Townes gobbled two servings down. I packed some up for T to take to school for lunch the next day, and the little bit left was snatched up the next morning for a baby brunch split between Hondo and Betsy and tastes for Chanel.
It's only been a week since I made it and I've already had requests for it again! I think it might have bumped regular ol' baked ziti from the rotation.
Cheesy Sausage and Pepper Pasta Bake
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. tube pasta (like penne or ziti), cooked al dente
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbs. butter
- 1 lb. hot Italian sausage*
- 3 heaping tbs. flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 large jar (24 oz) of chunky tomato sauce (like this Classico one)
- 3-4 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (mozzarella, parmsean, etc)
*I used bulk sausage for this recipe, I think the crumble texture of bulk sausage lends well to being mixed into a pasta bake. However, you could also use a link sausage. In that case, you will want to sear the outsides first, then slice it into 1/2 inch thick discs and then add them to the veggie mix to cook through.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large stock pot or dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic and salt and pepper; saute until onions are translucent.
Add the sausage to the pot. Using a wooden spoon, mix the veggies into the sausage and break it up into small pieces as it cooks.
Once the sausage is browned and cooked, sprinkle the flour on top, 1 tbs at a time, and mix until all the fat and grease has been absorbed by the flour and has created a paste. Depending on the variety of sausage you chose, you may need more or less flour, based on the amount of fat released by the meat.
Whisk in the jar of sauce a little at a time, making sure it combines smoothly and without lumps. Bring to a boil and stir in the cream. Simmer and stir until combined. Remove from the heat.
Add the cooked pasta directly to the pot and stir to coat the pasta evenly.
This would taste amazing just as it is and would not NEED to be covered in cheese and baked, you could easily just spoon this pasta right into a bowl and eat it.
Pour the pasta into a 9x12 casserole pan or two 9x9 pans. Sprinkle the cheese on top, add a little salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.