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Baked Pasta with Turkey Sausage


It's been over a week since Nick returned to Japan and I've been fasting...not really. (ha ha)  After all the eating we did, I should be fasting.  I have been conscientious of my eating, however, and last night I made this delicious Weight Watchers recipe.  Lauren and Ari came over for dinner and this time they were not full and bloated afterwards. (Like we have been lately)   We just ate so much when Nick was here with decadent desserts, etc. that this time I wanted to stay more on the healthful side.  This recipe is actually pretty filling without eating that much.  The sausage gives it a bit of zing, along with the funnel seed and there are lots of vegetables in it. I used whole wheat pasta, again more filling, plus the extra fiber.  On Weight Watchers, it is 8 points.  I've made enough of these Weight Watchers recipes to know that their portions are small, but I believe this recipe is pretty close to a normal size.  For dessert, I made my baked apples using organic gala apples.  Instead of ice cream with them (which Bruce wanted) I served them with some low fat creamy vanilla yogurt.  We had a nice salad with the meal and afterwards we all felt just great... not full and bloated.

 Makes 8 servings

 12 oz. uncooked whole wheat pasta such as rotini, ziti, etc
3/4 lb. uncooked turkey sausage (spicy variety, casings removed)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
10 oz. frozen green peas, thawed
1 tsp. dried organo
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
1/2 tsp. salt to taste
1/2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
6 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1.  Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta according to directions.

2.  Crumble the sausage meat into a large saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often, about 4 minutes.


I used Jennie-O Sweet Italian Turkey sausage that had 5 links in a package and I used 3 of the links. 

3.  Drain off any fat, then add the green pepper and onion.  Cook, stirring often until softened, about 3 minutes.


4.  Stir in the tomatoes, peas, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seeds, salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring often.


5.  Stir in cooked pasta and half of the cheese.
If your pan is not oven safe, then spread evenly into a 9 X 13 inch baking pan.  Otherwise, just top evenly with remaining cheese.

6.  Bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 20 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into 8 pieces.  
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