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Jefferson County Recipe of the Day: Italian Sausage Rigatoni Bake

The fresh mozzarella cheese on the top of this Italian dish will pull all the flavors together in a beautiful way!

Ingredients

1 package (16 ounces) rigatoni
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
5 cups marinara sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons half-and-half cream
1 pound sliced part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375°. Cook rigatoni according to package directions; drain.

-In a large skillet, cook sausage, mushrooms and pepper over medium-high heat until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, breaking up sausage into crumbles, 8-10 minutes; drain. Stir in marinara sauce, Parmesan cheese and cream. Add rigatoni and toss to coat.

-In each of 2 greased 8-in. square baking dishes, layer one-fourth of the rigatoni mixture and one-fourth of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, until heated through and cheese is melted, 25-35 minutes. (Cover loosely with foil if tops brown too quickly.)