Baked Penne with Chicken Sausage

This pasta bake is one of my favorite meals. It's easy, nutritious, and very versatile. I've made it many different ways just using whatever I have available in my pantry. It is a little heavier than some of my other posts because it's a pasta dish. To help balance out the meal you can use vegetable or wheat penne, as well as adding plenty of veggies, or using Greek yogurt and tomato sauce.

One serving is approx. 1 1/4  cup and is about 15 points on the Weight Watchers program. To reduce the points use less cheese, or none at all. You can even prepare it as a vegetarian dish. Hope you enjoy this flavorful meal as much as I do. That's what's on my table tonight!

Baked Penne with Chicken Sausage :

Serves about 5
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Total cook time: 55-60 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz. Barilla veggie or wheat penne pasta
• 1 lb chicken sausage
• 1 5-6 oz. bag baby spinach
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup prepared tomato sauce (preferred Prego roasted garlic and herb)
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup milk (can use skim to reduce the calories in the meal)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (more or less if desired)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional: for spiciness)
• Olive Oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
3. Spray a small frying pan with cooking spray. Put chicken sausage over medium heat for 12-14 minutes, or until browned. When almost done, add in garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Turn off heat and remove sausage. Slice into bite-sized pieces.
4. Place the spinach in the bottom of your pasta strainer. When pasta is done, pour pasta and pasta water over the spinach into the strainer, allowing the spinach to wilt slightly.
5. Pour pasta, sausage, spinach, and tomatoes into bowl with garlic.
6. Add tomato sauce, yogurt, milk, 1 cup of the cheese, and spices to bowl. Mix very well. Pour into casserole dish. Cover dish with foil.
7. Cook for 35 minutes covered. Remove foil, cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add additional cheese if desired.