Philly: Baked Bowtie Pasta Casserole

Okay, I know you're saying, "wait, bowties, aren't you supposed to use ziti for something like this?"

And yes, you amy have a point. Ziti is a sturdier pasta that won't break as easily when mixing such as bowtie (or farfalle) might. But seeing that we had no ziti, and we did have farfalle, I was willing to take the risk.

Personally, I love bowtie pasta. It has a great shape and honestly how fun is it to eat them? Much more fun than boring ziti noodles. That's something we can all agree on.

I wanted to make a substansial baked dish that could be a meal on its own and make great leftovers for packed lunches.

I love sausage, and if you've tried it, you now know that turkey sausage is not a compromise for flavor, especially in things.

This time I used a different brand of Sweet Italian Turkey sausage, Jennie-O's in fact. I usually buy a different version which in my opinion has a stronger "sausage taste” and the skin doesn’t soften as well. Still, Jennie-O's stood up in a dish like this. Good job Jennie, I buy this again.

As for the baked dish, I was craving a baked ziti that my mom makes back home but of course, with a unique twist of my own. I definitely think adding sauteed spinach makes the dish more colorful and of course adds an extra vegatable.

Like most things I make, baked pasta dishes do not have to be fattening to be sastifying. With lowfat cheeses, ricotta, lowfat turkey sausage, spinach, etc. you've got a delicious meal you won't get sick off for leftovers and something you don't feel guilty about eating. So you can have your cheese, and eat it too.

For an extra treat, I made a quick bruschetta with cherry tomatoes to go with the loaf of Italian bread we picked up. Yum. Easy, fresh, and did I say yum?

But now back to the main course:

Baked Bowties: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb.  Farfalle Pasta

2-3 links of turkey sausage, chopped finely

1 ½ jars of your favorite Tomato Sauce

6 oz. of part-skim ricotta

½-3/4 cups of low fat mozzarella

½-3/4 cups of grated Parmesan

1 small-medium onion, chopped

1 egg

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

½ package of fresh Spinach

Pepper

Olive oil

Garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta for about 8 minutes.

Drain water and keep in pot with lid on to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large pan drizzle olive oil and begin to brown 1 clove of minced garlic and onion.

Add sausage and begin to brown.

Add spinach to the pan and sautéed together with garlic salt and pepper.

Once mixture is cooked, mix with noodles.

Mix in 1 jar of tomato sauce stir.

Mix in the egg and ricotta.

Mix in cheese and rest of fresh garlic. Add a little more pepper and garlic salt.

Evenly transfer mixture to a large casserole dish.

Cover with the ½ jar of sauce and bake for 30 minutes.

Once the top is lightly brown and mixture is bubbly, take out of oven.

Top with more parmesan cheese.

Serve with fresh Italian bread (and a salad if you have it.)

This dish is ultimate comfort food for a chilly November day.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner