I woke up this morning feeling mostly tired, but I was also ready to tackle the day. Sunday mornings (during the winter) are usually when I head to the gym to squeeze in a morning run. My runs during the winter feel much tougher than my runs during the spring or summer. For some reason, I feel especially energized during the spring and summer to work out, but I have the complete opposite feelings during the winter. Winter makes me want to curl up with a fleece blanket into my favorite corner of my couch, watch movies, and veg out. Cooking, baking and the occasional bathroom break are the only activities which keep me from sitting in my corner of the couch all day long. When I lived in New York, I craved Italian food all the time. Pasta and pizza are my two favorite dishes to order at any Italian restaurant I went to. Out of all of the pasta dishes, baked ziti is probably my favorite. I love baked ziti with tons of ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and browned sausage tucked into each layer of the baked ziti. Today, I had a craving for baked ziti, but I wanted to make a lighter, healthier version using more vegetables and less cheese. I made broccoli and sausage baked penne and packed the pasta with tons of broccoli, a handful of spinach, some browned breakfast sausage (Kevin’s favorite), a couple ounces of Pecorino Romano cheese and mozzarella cheese. I tossed the cooked penne, browned meat, and sautéed vegetables in a tomato paste based pasta sauce, added in some cheese, poured all of the contents into a casserole dish, and popped the casserole dish into the oven. In under 30 minutes, I had the most delightful, lighter baked pasta. I was happy with satisfying my pasta craving. Kevin was happy with the browned sausage packed into the pasta.
Broccoli and Sausage Baked Penne:
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ package dried penne pasta
· ½ pound breakfast sausage
· 1 crown broccoli, cut into florets
· ½ can whole tomatoes, hand crushed
· 1 small (6 ounce) can of tomato paste
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ¼ teaspoon dried basil
· ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
· ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
· ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
· 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
· ½ cup loosely packed spinach
· 2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, divided
· 2 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
Directions:
1) Heat a pot of water on medium high heat until it starts to boil. Add a teaspoon of kosher salt. Pour in the dried penne pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions two minutes short of the cook time listed on the package instructions. When time is up, remove the pot from the heat. Reserve about ¼ cup of pasta water. Drain the rest of the water from the pasta. Set aside.
2) Preheat oven to 375°F. Set aside a casserole dish.
3) Heat a skillet on medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the breakfast sausage. Use a spatula to break up the breakfast sausage. Cook the sausage until it begins to brown and develop crispy brown bits, about 5-7 minutes. Add the broccoli florets. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the pasta water, hand crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and sugar. Stir to combine. Drizzle in the olive oil and spinach. Cook for about a minute until the spinach starts to wilt. Add in half of the Pecorino Romano cheese. Toss in the undercooked penne pasta.
4) Pour half of the pasta into the casserole dish. Add about a third of the remaining half of Pecorino Romano cheese. Add a few cubes of mozzarella cheese. Pour the remaining half of pasta into the casserole dish. Top with the remaining Pecorino Romano cheese and mozzarella cheese.
5) Place the casserole dish into the preheated oven. Bake the pasta for 25-30 minutes.
Takeaways: The baked penne dish is very versatile. You can add in any meat, cheese, and vegetables of your choice. Instead of Pecorino Romano cheese, you can use Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. You can also add in sautéed Kale, green peppers, red peppers, and onions. The choices are endless.