Sausage and Peppers Baked Pasta

About a week ago, one of my readers, Jennifer, told me that she was only 3 weeks away from having her 3rd child! She has twin boys who are 3, so she's going to be very busy!

She asked me if I could maybe blog some quick meals for the busy mom, or even do a whole week of easy meals.

Well I definitely love a challenge in the kitchen, so don't worry, Jennifer, I'm going to be selecting a week pretty soon to make dinners each night that take 20 minutes or less!

As for tonights dinner, this is the kind of meal I normally wouldn't blog because it's not so much a recipe, it's just some stuff thrown together in about 15 minutes! So for the over worked, stressed, and tired readers, here's a quick, healthy meal that can be made in under 20 minutes, or it can sit and stay warm in the oven until your husband gets home from work (as was the case for me tonight!)

I served this with a bag of dole light caesar salad for a complete meal!

Sausage and Peppers Baked Pasta

1/2 lb. short cut pasta

1 red onion, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 orange bell pepper, sliced

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp. dried oregano

salt and pepper

1 15 oz. can crushed tomato sauce

3 links of mozzarella and garlic chicken sausage (from sam's club)

1/2 c. ricotta cheese

1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

1/4 c. grated parmesan

If you're eating this right away, preheat broiler. If you're waiting 30 min - 1 hour, preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Bring pot of water to a boil, salt and drop in pasta. Cook until al dente.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute onions and peppers, season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add in spices, tomato sauce, ricotta and sausage, toss and mix well.

Add drained pasta to a casserole dish, top with peppers and sausage.

Stir well, top with cheeses.

Boil for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted, or bake for 30 minutes to an hour.