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 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (8 ounce) 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. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting any salt or oil. Drain and set aside.
3. In a very large skillet cook sausage, eggplant, mushrooms, sweet pepper, onion and garlic over medium heat until sausage is browned and vegetables are just tender, stirring to break up sausage as it cooks.
4. Drain off any fat and discard, then add tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil, dried oregano, salt and black pepper.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.
6. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in fresh basil and fresh oregano.
7. In a very large bowl stir together pasta and sausage mixture, and spoon mixture into a buttered 3-quart baking dish.
8. Bake, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through.
9. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.