Sausage And Roasted Peppers Pasta Bake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 1/3 cups uncooked ziti pasta noodles (about 5 servings)
1/2 lb crumbled sausage (I used 3 Johnsonville HOT sausage brats, casings removed)
1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (26 1/2 ounce) can hunts traditional spaghetti sauce (or your favorite tomato-based sauce)
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
2 jalapeno peppers
2 poblano peppers
1 medium red pepper
1 medium yellow pepper
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
2 wedges of the Laughing Cow cheese, light french onion flavor
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook noodles in salted, boiling water, about 8 minutes. Be sure to slightly undercook noodles. Drain and set aside.
Make tomato meat sauce: saute chopped onion for 5 minutes; add mushrooms and garlic, saute another 5 minutes. To onion mixture, add crumbled sausage and saute until sausage is no longer pink. Add tomato paste to sausage mixture, saute 1 minute. Add spaghetti sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, basil and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Cook sauce at least 20 minutes.
Roast the pepper medley: Using a broiler, char peppers (jalapenos, poblanos, red and yellow peppers) on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. When skins have blackened, place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow peppers to steam and cool. When cool enough to handle, remove skins from the peppers (skins should peel off easily with a paper towel or your hands). Remove stems, seed and chop peppers. Mix chopped peppers together in a bowl and set aside.
Prepare cheese layer: In a bowl, combine softened cream cheese, flavored cheese wedges, sour cream, parsley, spinach and 1/2 cup of mozarella cheese. Stir in 1 teaspoon each salt and garlic powder.
In a 9 x 13 inch pan, layer 1/3 of meat sauce, 1/2 of the noodles, all of the peppers and all of the cream cheese mixture. Top with 1/3 of meat sauce, 1/2 of the noodles. Cover the noodles with the remaining 1/3 of meat sauce and the remaining 1 1/2 cups of mozarella cheese. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of grated parmesan.
Bake at 375 for 55 minutes for a very well-done cheesy crust.
Let sit for 10-15 minutes prior to serving. Makes 8-12 servings.