Baked Pasta

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb mild italian sausage (approx. 4-5 links)
• 1 lb mostaccioli pasta (penne) or 1 lb rigatoni pasta
• 1 (16 ounce) jar of prepared spaghetti sauce (see cook's note)
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can italian-style diced tomatoes
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 2 (6 ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1 tablespoon seasoning salt (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 2 heat oil in skillet.
• 3 brown sausage links. (no need to remove casing.).
• 4 while sausage is browning, cook pasta for 10 minutes or until al dente.
• 5 once browned, slice sausage links into 1/4" slices. set aside.
• 6 in large mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozarella cheese, egg, salt, pepper and parsley. mix well. refrigerate but keep handy.
• 7 butter/grease 9"x13" baking dish.
• 8 spread 1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce in bottom of baking dish.
• 9 add 1/2 can tomatoes on top of sauce and spread evenly.
• 10 drain and chop artichoke hearts. set aside.
• 11 combine sausage, cheese mixture and chopped artichoke hearts in a large mixing bowl. add cooked pasta. note: best if done while pasta is hot.).
• 12 fold mixture into baking dish and spread evenly over sauce/tomato mixture.
• 13 empty remaining tomatoes into dish and spread evenly over pasta mixture.
• 14 drizzle remaining spaghetti sauce over pasta mixture.
• 15 top with 1 cup mozarella cheese.
• 16 cook uncovered for one hour or until heated through.
• 17 cook's note: if you want a moister casserole, increase spaghetti sauce to 1 1/2 jars (spread one full jar on bottom of baking dish and drizzle 1/2 jar).