Creamy Tomato Pasta Casserole (Gluten-Free)

My Dad makes a version of this dish, but I changed it up to suit my tastes and dietary needs. Comfort food at its finest, especially if you like tomatoes! This recipe is very open to substitutions. You could use regular pasta, of course, and it can easily be made vegetarian by leaving out the meat, and perhaps increasing the mozzerella cheese. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 3-4
• Yields: 1 loaf pan

Ingredients

• 8  ounces  brown rice pasta, fusilli, cooked al dente
• 1⁄2 cup  steak, chopped
• 3  links Italian sausage
• 0.5 (14 1/2ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1⁄4 large green pepper, diced
• 1⁄2 medium onion, diced
• 0.5 (24 ounce) jar  marinara sauce
• 1  small  summer squash, peeled and diced
• 1  teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon oregano
• 1⁄4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (optional)
• 3  tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup plain yogurt
• 3  tablespoons half-and-half
• 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in pan at medium heat.
3. Saute sausage and steak in pan until brown, seasoning with half of the oregano.
4. Remove sauted meats to a plate covered with a few paper towels, leaving the juices and oil in the pan.
5. Put chopped green pepper, onion, and minced garlic in pan and saute in meat juices for about five minutes, or until the onion starts to turn clear.
6. Turn off heat, but leave onion and peppers in pan to keep warm.
7. Combine yogurt, half and half, garlic power, and onion powder. It should be a pourable, but still thick, consistency.
8. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil on bottom of loaf pan.
9. Spread half of the spaghetti sauce in pan.
10. Top with half of meat mixture, then half of the diced summer squash, half of the diced tomatoes, and half of the green pepper/onion mixture.
11. Finish with half of the yogurt mixture.
12. Repeat layers, but after the yogurt layer, sprinkle with mozzerella cheese.
13. Drizzle with final tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with italian seasoning.
14. Cover pan with aluminum foil, place in oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
15. Options: you can substitute sour cream for the yogurt. You can also substitute soy or goat yogurt and eliminate the mozzerella to make this dairy-free.