RED PEPPER PASTA BRAKE

An easy and quick cheesy macaroni bake that everyone will love!

Remember those Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins that I posted the other week? The batch was 15 muffins. I ate three before the photo shoot but asked Jason to take the rest to school to avoid temptation. When I asked Jason how his friends received his cupcakes, we had the following conversation:

It’s like I am a single parent who is stuck at home all day cooking and doesn’t have any children. It gets even better. He told me later that night that his classmate had a muffin, as well as his prof. If I had known the professor would be eating my baked goods, I would have made a creme brulee/macaron masterpiece! Anyhow, I had to show off my smothering mom qualities.

This is a fun twist on the traditional spaghetti bake. Instead of marinara, I used Red Pepper Sauce, which comes together quickly and easily using my food processor. This cheesy goodness can be made with any protein you like or without – it’s so simple to make that everyone will want seconds!

Ingredients

• 6 ounces of penne pasta
• Roasted red peppers in a 12-ounce jar
• Parmesan cheese, grated, 1/2 cup
• Honey 2 teaspoons
• Add more crushed red pepper to taste. 1/2 teaspoon is enough.
• To taste, add Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
• Divided into three tablespoons of olive oil
• Two cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray an 8×8 baking pan with nonstick spray.
• Cook pasta in a large pot with salted boiling water according to the package directions. Drain well.
• For the red sauce, place red peppers, Parmesan cheese, honey, and red pepper flakes in the bowl. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the motor while it is running. Continue adding until the oil emulsifies. Set aside.
• In a large pan, heat the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Stirring frequently, add the garlic, and cook until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes). Cook sausage until it is browned (about 5 minutes), crumbling the sausage while cooking. Stir pasta into the red pepper mixture and combine well.
• Top with mozzarella. Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted. This should take 5-10 minutes.
• Serve immediately