Baked Penne with Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce

I was really happy with how this recipe turned out.  I can't believe I have never cooked with Italian Sausage before!  The Mister loves Italian Sausage on pizza, but it's never been high on my list of favorite foods.  However, I was interested in seeing what it could do with the tomato sauce and I was not disappointed!  This recipe was easy and yummy - perfect combo for this week of getting back into the swing of things.

**Please note that this picture shows tomato paste, but you don't need the paste, only the tomato sauce (I figured this out later on and didn't want to reshoot :)

For this recipe, you'll need:

• 1/2 lb Italian Sausage
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (ended up being about half of the onion)
• 2 tsp minced garlic (I used two cloves of fresh garlic)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp Italian Seasoning Mix (original recipe called for this, I used Italian Seasoning Grinder, see below)
• 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz) can Spanish style tomato sauce (I used tomato sauce with basil, oregano, and onion)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 (16 oz.) package ziti pasta (I couldn't find ziti, so used penne instead ;)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

This recipe came from this magazine - SOOOOO many awesome recipes I can't wait to try!!  Perfect for the fall!!  Back to the recipe...

Cook sausage over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking sausage into pieces (not pretty in the picture, my apologies :)  I added a little oil here so as not to completely burn my sausage. Drain; return sausage to the pan.

Saute onion and garlic in hot oil in saucepan over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until tender.  This part smelled divine!!

Now, you could add 1 1/2 tbsp Italian Season Mix here (1/2 cup dried basil, 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp dried oregano, 4 tsp dried crushed red pepper, 2 tsp whole black peppercorns.  Process in food processor 1 minute or until mixture is fine powder.  Store in airtight container up to 4 months)  OR you can do what I did...

Use this!!  Super easy and on sale at Alberston's this week for $1!!  All the same ingredients, already in a grinder - Score!  (Sorry, sometimes the silliest things get me super excited)  I just used this and seasoned my sauce to taste.  Mix and cook 1 minute.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and 1 cup water bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to low; simmer 40-45 minutes or until slightly thickened.

It was at this point during the process, I realized I should've used a different pan.  Learn from my mistakes, friends, use a bigger pan.  (Becky, this is for you!! :)

After simmering, stir in salt and honey.  Yes, honey!  It sounds weird, but works well.  Then, mix in 1/2 cup mozzarella with drained noodles and sauce.

Put in lightly greased pan, top with remaining mozzarella (original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but we like cheese around here so remaining 1 and 1/2 cups of cheese was used :)

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!  This was enjoyed by all members of the family - easy and yummy!