Spinach-Sausage Pasta Bake, from Charity

Ingredients: 4 garlic cloves (minced) 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 pound rigatoni (ziti or penne would work well, too) 10 ounces Baby Spinach or chopped spinach 1 package of Italian sausage, we like Hot but mild or sweet would work as well 8-10 ounces Mozzarella cheese (6 ozs will be cubed and 2-4 ozs shredded to cover pasta) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese __________________________________________________________ Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Brown the Italian sausage and then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more. (Mince your garlic first) Cook pasta according to directions until al dente. Go ahead and preheat the over to 400 degrees now too. Back to the pan, add the crushed tomatoes and oregano to the meat and garlic and cook for a about 5 minutes. Then add the cream and cook until warmed through, another 5 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper. When the pasta is a minute or under from being done, put all the spinach in the water too and push it down into the water. Let it cook with the pasta until just wilted. Drain everything in one strainer and return it to the pasta pot. 6 ozs of Mozzarella cheese (cube it first) and the tomato sauce to the pot as well and stir it all together. You'll need to break up some of the spinach to get it more evenly distributed. Pour it all into baking dishes. I can get mine into one 3 qt rectangular Pyrex casserole dish. Top with the grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until browned and edges are crisp, 20-30 minutes.