Baked Cavatelli

Ingredients

• 8 oz dried cavatelli or dried multigrain penne pasta
• 12 oz uncooked ground Italian turkey sausage
• 1 C chopped eggplant or zucchini
• 1 C chopped fresh cremini or button mushrooms
• 1 medium red sweet pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14½-oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 8-oz can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• ¼ cup snipped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed
• 1 tbs snipped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 C shredded reduced-fat Italian blend cheese

Directions

1. Prep Oven & Pasta: Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook pasta per package directions without salt or oil; drain and set aside.
2. Cook Sausage & Veg: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausage with eggplant, mushrooms, sweet pepper, onion, and garlic until sausage is browned and vegetables are just tender, breaking up sausage as it cooks.
3. Simmer Sauce: Drain excess fat. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in fresh basil and oregano.
4. Assemble: Combine pasta and sausage mixture in a large bowl. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish.
5. Bake: Cover and bake 35-40 minutes until heated through.
6. Finish: Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake 5 minutes more until cheese is melted.

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