Italian Sausage Bake

This recipe is an adaptation from one found on the Velveeta box; it turned out great and the kids loved it … well except for one who doesn’t really care for spicy Italian sausage.  We made a deal and he ate half the meat on his plate – made sure his water glass was handy to tame the fiery tongue!

Italian Sausage Bake
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:
16oz. Rigattoni (or other tube shaped) pasta
1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed
16 oz. tomato sauce
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 lb (8 oz.) Velveeta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta as directed.
2. Brown the sausage in a deep skillet over medium heat.  Add tomato sauce and oregano.  Add the Velveeta and stir until thoroughly mixed.
3. In a 13x9 inch pan, mix the pasta and meat mixture together.  Top with parmesan cheese.
4. Bake 20-25 min. or until heated through.

** Serve with a side salad and garlic toast.

--UPDATE--
While the kids and I really liked the spicy flavor (except for the one child, anyway!) we ALL agreed that it was too much Velveeta, especially noticeable on leftovers.  I would cut the amount back to 3/4 cup or even 1/2 cup.

New Cooking Resource … coming soon!

30 Day Gourmet, my source and inspiration for Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) is publishing a new book called 30 Day Gourmet’s BIG Book of Freezer Cooking.  If this is a topic you are at all interested in, check out the link for a 15 page preview of the book.  The preview includes four sample recipes … I’m especially interested in trying the Fried Rice.