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Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3.5 (ZReboot 3.5) recipe. This dish is Italian comfort food. I curl up on sofa with a bowl of this and watch a movie.  You can go totally low-carb with this one and make it without the pasta. Tastes just as good. This also makes a great casserole addition to a pot luck party.

Servings: Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups of pasta, cooked and drained. You choose your favorite. I used penne. It can even be spaghetti if you want, but be careful trying to measure that. 1-1/2 cups of penne is just enough to cover the bottom of the casserole dish when it’s cooked. By using a small amount of pasta you are keeping the carb count low.
• 1 Tbl of olive oil
• 1 pound of loose Italian sausage. You can choose mild or hot. You could also do this with links and just cut them into bite-sized pieces or if your store doesn’t sell loose sausage you can buy the links and just cut open the casing and remove the sausage.
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 cup of chopped mushrooms
• 2 small zucchinis cubed into bite-sized pieces. Cut off stem and discard
• ½ cup of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped. Take them out of the jar and drain off most of the oil and then chop.
• 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
• 1 cup of mascarpone (8 oz tub)
• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (or Italian blend)
• 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (or an Italian blend)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take out a 9” x 13” casserole dish.

In a large saute pan cook the sausage until it begins to brown on the edges. I continuously break it up and toss it around so I have small bits. You can also leave it chunky if you like that better. Just make sure you get it cooked all the way through.

While the sausage is cooking you can make the other elements. In another saute pan add the olive oil and heat. Then put in the onion, zucchini and mushrooms. Saute until they are all loosened and nearly cooked. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and the Italian seasoning. Combine with the cooked sausage.

Next, add the mascarpone cheese and one cup of the mozzarella. Heat until the cheese melts into a wonderful goodness.  If you stir the mixture, the cheese will melt faster.

Take your casserole dish and put the pasta on the bottom. Pour the sausage mixture over the top. You can either stir it up or leave the pasta on the bottom. Then spread the remaining mozzarella over the top and sprinkle on the Parmesan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes to melt the cheese and get a good crust. Should be bubbling. I recommend you let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before cutting so you don’t burn your mouth.

Store leftovers in the fridge. This will transport well and can be reheated in the microwave.

Enjoy!

Cheers,