T’s Baked Pasta with Chicken Italian Sausage, Spinach, and Mushrooms

 Ingredients:

1 package Publix Green Wise Chicken Italian Sausage Links, skin removed and broken into pieces

1-pound Fusilli or Penne Pasta

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/2 Yellow Onion Minced

2 cloves garlic, grated 

1 small package sliced baby portabella mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes or to taste 

2 cups heavy cream

5 ounces baby spinach, chopped

1 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese or cheese of choice

 Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the penne pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water! While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the Chicken Italian sausage along with the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes, until the sausage is no longer pink and nicely browned. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.  Turn the heat to low and add the cream to the skillet, along with the spinach, and cook, stirring for about 2-3 minutes just until the spinach is wilted. Remove pan from the heat, stir in the cooked pasta and parmesan cheese. If pasta is not nice and wet stir in some of the reserved pasta water and then spoon the pasta into a baking dish and bake for 15- 20 minutes, just until pasta is bubbling hot. Serve immediately.

*If you make this ahead of time and the mixture is cold you will need to bake it for 30 - 40 minutes. If you don't like mushrooms, just leave them out!