Awesome Sauce

This is the first dish I have made from this cookbook and it was delicious, hearty and healthy.  Next time I will double or triple it. The whole wheat pasta adds a nutty flavor and nice texture.

Baked Penne and Sausage Supper

1 -14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 onion, halved and sliced thin

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into matchsticks

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

8 oz hot or sweet Italian turkey sausage, removed from casings

8 oz whole wheat penne

1 cup shredded mozzarella (4oz)

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  Coat 8 inch baking pan with vegetable oil.  Pulse tomatoes in their juice in food processor until mostly smooth (~5 pulses)

2.  Heat oil in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.  Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3.  Stir in sausage and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.  Stir in processed tomatoes and bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 6-8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

4.  Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to a boil; add pasta and 1 tablespoon of salt and cook, stirring often, until almost al dente.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and return to the pot.

5.  Add meat sauce and reserved cooking water to pasta and toss to combine.  Spread half the pasta in the prepared baking dish, sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, then repeat with remaining pasta and 1/2 mozzarella.

6.  Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, about 15 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes then enjoy!

PER 4 INCH SQUARE: 380 calories, 13 g fat, 45 g carbohydrates, 8 g fiber

AND IN OTHER NEWS....

Tonight we went to see Ralphie May at the Laugh Out Loud Club... HYSTERICAL!  He was recommended by a colleague of mine and we watched this clip (circa 2003) on Sunday night.  He was even funnier tonight with new material that will appear in his next Comedy Central special.
We laughed and laughed and laughed... it was fantastic.

[Watch if you enjoy both your pasta cooking water and your comedy pretty salty]