White Cheese and Sausage Pasta
Best. Baked ziti. Ever.
(I use vegetarian sweet Italian sausage in this, but you can substitute mild Italian turkey sausage if you want meat.)
White Cheese and Sausage Pasta
1/2 pound vegetarian sweet Italian sausage
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% skim milk
6 cups hot cooked ziti (about 4 cups uncooked short tube-shaped pasta)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 400°.
Chop sausage. Place a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat; cook sausage until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; set aside. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel.
Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add flour; stir with a whisk. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Cook until thick (about 8 minutes); remove from heat. Combine sauce, sausage, pasta, Parmesan, and salt in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Serves four.
Nutrition info per 1 1/2 cup serving:
577 calories; 18 grams fat; 31 grams protein; 71.5 grams carbohydrate