Baked Penne Lasagna
6-8 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
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For the filling:
1 pound Italian sausage (or hot Italian sausage if you like spicy)
1 pound penne, cooked al dente then purged in ice water, drained and toss with olive oil
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 cups fresh mozzarella, grated on a large-hole box grater or cut into small chunks
1-2 cups finely grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
Brown the sausage in a large skillet until cooked through, breaking the sausage up as it cooks. Add the tomato sauce, heat through, shut off the heat and mix in the cooked pasta.
Stir together the ricotta and heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper.
Begin layering about 1/3 of the ricotta mixture down into a baking dish.
Spoon 1/3 of the pasta down over with the ricotta mixture and top with small handful of grated mozzarella and then parmesan. Repeat the layering until you’ve filled your dish. On the top layer, top with a generous amount of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Cover the baking dish with a sheet of aluminum foil that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the lasagna is bubbling. Let cool slightly before serving.
To Freeze:
Alternatively, you can build the “lasagna,” wrap it in plastic wrap then foil. Label it and freeze it for about 30-60 days!