Settling in for the “winter”…

…Or is it the long recession?

In any case, people are not going out as much as they used to.  They’re not spending as much as they used to on goods.  People are discovering the joys of cooking at home again.  Including me!

I cooked over the weekend.  I had chicken bones in the freezer, which I used to make a stock on Sunday night.  I also made a pasta bake; these would get me through a week of grad school without cooking.  Add a salad, maybe a glass of wine and you’re done!  (Matt made fun of my and my large amounts of pasta in the freezer when he first moved in with me.)  The pasta was a complete hit with Matt; he never eats tomato sauce and he willingly did with this.  The secret was to mix in some ricotta cheese.  I also added fresh sauteed spinach and mushrooms to the mix.  It keeps well in the fridge and can be frozen and microwaved for a quick meal.

Here’s the recipe:

1 lb. pasta, such as bow-tie, wagon wheels, or rigatoni

2 cups pasta sauce (I used jarred, because I had none made); if you like extra sauce, add more

1 container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 package hot turkey Italian sausage

8-10 oz fresh baby spinach

8 oz. fresh cremini mushrooms

1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the pasta until slightly firm; you do not want to go completely to al dente.  Drain. 

While the pasta is cooking, mix the sauce and ricotta together and let warm on the stovetop.  If the sausage is in casings, remove the casings; cook until no longer pink.  Drain and add to the sauce.  Saute the spinach; add to the sauce.  Saute the mushrooms; add to the sauce.  Stir the pasta into the sauce and pour into a baking dish; I use a 9×13″ Pyrex dish.  Place the slices of mozzarella on top. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and browned.  Let sit for 10 minutes, cut into slices and serve, topped with pasta sauce if desired.  Makes 8-10 servings.

My problem is that I like to pick the melted mozzarella off the top, so it looks worse when I heat it up.  It’s healthier than getting a big plate of lasagna (no vast amounts of cheese and fatty sausage), and a small slice usually fills me up.  Whole-wheat pasta would be a great addition.  I like the turkey sausage, but chicken sausage would be really good in this, too.  I think next time I’m going to add broccoli to it, and possibly zucchini and peppers.  There are lots of possibilities to this dish, and you can really load it up with fresh veggies so it’s healthier.  Plus, by using fresh mozzarella and ricotta, you limit your salt content (I find the shredded mozzarella tastes salty).  And if you get a dried-out piece, you can add a little extra sauce on top and get the feeling of eating a big slice of Nonna’s famous lasagna.  (I never had an Italian grandmother, so I’m completely guessing here; both my grandmothers are Irish.)