This morning, I was craving pasta. So, what did I do? I made a baked pasta, for breakfast! If people can have breakfast for dinner, I can have dinner for breakfast. Am I right? Maybe this will become a thing…
I whipped up this pretty quick pasta dish leftovers from a pizza party. Spicy and cheesy carbs, yes please!!
Peace and Java
INGREDIENTS
1 cup medium shell pasta
1 cup elbow macaroni pasta
1 pound Italian Sausage
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup almond milk
1 cup harvarti with dill, grated
1 cup mozzarella
1 heaping tablespoon diced green chilies
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to season pasta water
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian Season
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1. Bring a large part of covered water to a boil.Once the water is boiling, add some salt to the water to season the pasta. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook 1-2 minutes shy of the package directions, so that it is slightly undercooked. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven.
2. Brown the ground Italian Sausage in a large pan, breaking the sausage into bite-size chunks as it cooks. Drain any excess grease from the sausage.
3. Add the peppers and onions to the sausage. Sauté until browned and softened. Turn off the heat and set the mixture aside.
4. Add butter to a medium sauce pan and melt of medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour. Stir until no visible flour can be seen and the roux is a thick and bubbly. Add the almond milk and stir until the mixture is thickened and coasts the back of your spoon, abou 10-15 minutes.
5. Add the havarati cheese and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese the the milk mixture. Stirring until all melted to create the cheese sauce.
6. Stir in green chilies into the cheese sauce. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Add the Italian Sausage mixture and pasta and combine.
7. Place the pasta in a medium baking dish. Top with the remaining mozzarella. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
NOTES, TIPS & TRICKS: use your favorite cheeses or ground meat to create your signature baked pasta dish.
Ginger & Java 