Pasta and Sausage alla Lasagna

A while back I was cleaning out some closets when I came across a binder filled with cutouts of recipes from magazines I had tried or planned to try. While flipping through it, I found this recipe for "Pasta alla Lasagna". I had made this dish before but had completely forgotten about it. I was so excited to find it again because it's so good and easy (a Chef Mommy theme you might have noticed :)...perfect weeknight food the entire family will love!


Think of this hearty dish as lasagna without the assembly; it contains the same ingredients but is a lot easier to put together.


I love the ricotta mixture on the side! Perfect, built-in portion control!!


Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2 days. Just be sure to store the ricotta mixture and sauced pasta separately.

Ingredients:
2 cups chunky pasta (I used rotini)
1 (2 1/2 ounce) sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
1 cup reduced-sodium marinara
1/2 part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 Italian parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
Pepper

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to package instructions; drain and place in a serving bowl. Keep warm.

Heat a non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Crumble in the sausage and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Drain off any fat and add sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, parsley, Parmesan and pepper in a small bowl.

To assemble, toss the pasta with the sausage and sauce. Top each serving with a dollop of the ricotta mixture.

Makes 4 servings
Per Serving (1 cup pasta w/ sauce + 1 dollop of ricotta mixture)
258 Cal
8g Fat
323 mg. Sodium
3 g Fiber
13 g. Protein

Source: Weight Watchers Magazine