Baked Penne with Spinach and Turkey Italian Sausage

One of my go-to dinners is a baked Italian-style casserole. Usually I make it with ground turkey and lots of peppers and mushrooms. Last night, I felt like mixing it up and using turkey Italian sausage and spinach. It was so good!

I asked Sage if he'd rather big pieces of sausage or for me to take the casings off and have the meat crumbled throughout. He said big pieces, but we both decided afterwards, we'd rather have had it the other way, since you didn't get the sausage in every bite. Plus it would be easier to cook. This makes a lot, but in my opinion, these types of dishes are even better the next day!

1/2 of a 14 oz box of multi-grain Penne (or Rotini or Ziti)

1 lb. (4 links) of Hot Italian Turkey Sausage

1 (10 oz.) pkg. of frozen spinach

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 small onion, chopped

1 (8 oz.) pkg. of sliced mushrooms

1 (15 oz) can of Italian style tomatoes, with juice

1/2 of a 6 oz. can of tomato paste

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella

Parmesan, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook pasta according to package dirrections.

3. In a large saute pan over medium high heat, brown sausages on all sides, adding just enough water to pan to keep sausages from sticking. Once browned, remove from pan. (Or remove from casings and cook until no longer pink.)

4. Meanwhile, remove spinach from package, and microwave in a bowl for 4 minutes or until no longer icy. Drain well.

5. To saute pan, add a few tablespoons of water to deglaze any stuck-on bits. Add garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Cut sausages into 1/2 inch pieces and return to pan. Rinse mushrooms and add to pan. Stir frequently until sausage pieces are no longer pink. Drain liquid from pan.

7. Reduce heat, and add spinach, canned tomatoes, paste, tomato sauce, and spices. Mix well.

8. In 9 x 13 glass baking dish, place drained pasta. Top with sausage mixture and stir gently to combine. Top evenly with shredded cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated throughout.

9. Serve with grated/shredded parmesan.