Skinny Baked Ziti

Skinny Baked Ziti with Sausage & 'Shrooms

Servings: 8

Time it'll take: about 1 hr & 10 mins

What you'll need:

• 12 oz. box Whole Wheat Ziti or Penne
• 12 oz. Jenni-O Lean Italian Turkey Sausage Links (Sweet or Hot, about 4 links)
• 1 5 oz. pkg. Sliced Mushrooms
• 1 tsp. Smart Balance Light butter spread
• 1 14 oz. can Diced Tomatoes w/ Basil, Garlic & Oregano
• 15 oz. Ragu Chunky Garden Tomato & Garlic Pasta Sauce
• 1 tsp. dried Thyme
• 1 tsp. dried Rosemary
• 3/4 cup low-fat Ricotta Cheese
• 1 1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella (part-skim)
• 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, divided

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Boil a medium pot of water, and cook Ziti until al dente (cooked through but firm to the bite). Drain and set aside.
• While the pasta cooks, cook Sausages over medium heat until cooked through.
• In a separate, small saucepan, heat the butter spread until melted, then sauté the Mushrooms, stirring constantly, until soft (about 10 minutes).
• Remove both from heat.  Once cooled, cut the sausages into slices, and combine with mushrooms and set aside.
• In the larger saucepan, add Diced Tomatoes, Pasta Sauce, Thyme & Rosemary, and simmer over medium heat for about 5 mins.  (Cover if you don't want to get red sauce all over your kitchen. :)  Remove from heat, and combine with sausage & 'shrooms.
• In a medium bowl, combine Ricotta, Mozzarella, Garlic Powder & half of Parmesan.  Mix well.
• Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray, and layer ingredients one by one -- Sauce/Sausage mixture, then Ziti, then Cheese mixture.  Repeat layers until all ingredients are used.  
• Lastly, sprinkle remaining Parmesan evenly across top.
• Cover with foil, and bake 25 mins.  Remove foil and bake 10-15 additional mins -- until its bubbly-deliciousness! 

Serve with a simple salad, like the LMS Favorite Salad!


ENJOY!

Nutrition Information (per serving):

380 calories, 13g Fat, 43g Carbs, 5g Fiber & 21g Protein