Italian Penne Pasta Bake

Y'all know I'm always on the hunt for yummy, easy and hearty weeknight meals and the one I'm going to share today fits the bill.  I found the original recipe  here and was hopeful because we pretty much always have smoked sausage on hand and my kids love it.  I used the turkey kind and  love it because I keep it in the freezer and can pull it out and put it in the fridge in the morning and it's always ready to use by the time I get home.  

This meal was easy, one pot and my entire family loved it.  The cheese sauce came together quickly and the leftovers filled Luke's thermos the next day :)

Here's What You'll Need

- 3 cups uncooked penne

- 1/4 cup butter or margarine

- 1/3 cup flour

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (plus a bit more)

- 1/4 teaspoon pepper

- 2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced

- 3 cups milk

- 2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese

- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 8 oz smoked sausage

ignore the sour cream in this picture... I really have no idea why I had it out! ;)

Here's What You'll Do

Step 1) Heat the oven to 350 degrees, cook the 3 cups of pasta and slice the sausage.

Step 2) Melt butter over low heat and stir in flour, salt, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, pepper and garlic.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until combined.

I felt like it looked SUPER weird at this point.  I was thinking it would look more like a roux and it was more doughy than I anticipated.   I wasn't super hopeful at this point - but it ended well!

Step 3) Pour in the milk and stir like crazy.  It would have been helpful if I had had a silicone whisk, but since the only whisk I had was metal and I was using my dutch oven I had to make due with a wooden spoon.  Make sure you get rid of all the flour mixture lumps.  Heat the mixture to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir 1 minute then remove from the heat and stir in the Italian cheese and the 1/4 cup parmesan cheese until melted.

Step 4) Dump in the cooked pasta and sausage and stir until everything is coated.  At this point you'll want to pour it into a casserole dish OR if you're using a dutch oven like me you can just leave it!  Top it with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and sprinkle on some Italian seasoning.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until it's bubbly.  

Done!!!

This was so quick and easy and will be on rotation a lot this Fall and Winter!  

Happy Thursday, friends!