Italian Sausage and Pasta Casserole

This is a super-easy, super-quick casserole dish that I came up with last week. I used Italian turkey sausage that my husband had grilled while we were barbecuing the day before. I also used wheat rotini pasta, but I think any kind of pasta would work. The rest of the quantities are just estimates ... you could use more or less depending on your tastes. I used whole cumin, fennel, thyme, and rosemary and lightly ground them with a pestle, but you could also use pre-ground. My husband, who is not usually a casserole lover, has been raving about this ever since, and my daughter, who usually hates zucchini, cleaned her plate without even a mention of it.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 13 1⁄2 ounces pasta (any kind)
• 1  lb  sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 1  red bell pepper, chopped
• 1  green bell pepper, chopped
• 1  medium zucchini, sliced thin
• 1  tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1  teaspoon cumin
• 1  teaspoon fennel seed
• 1  teaspoon thyme leaves
• 1  teaspoon dry basil
• 1  teaspoon rosemary
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
•  salt and pepper
• 1  cup feta cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Prepare pasta as directed, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
3. As pasta is cooking, cook Italian sausage as desired. (I like to pre-cook sausages, as they are easier to cut once they are already cooked.).
4. After sausages are cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
5. In a large pan, saute onion, peppers, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil until opaque.
6. Season with cumin, thyme, basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
7. Slice sausages into bite-size pieces, then add sausages, tomatoes, and pasta to the vegetables and stir.
8. Spray large casserole dish with cooking spray and transfer entire mixture into dish.
9. Top with feta cheese.
10. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until cheese starts to melt.