Three-Cheese Baked Penne

This was really good. No clue about easiness. D made it while I was learning to change bike tires.

Three-Cheese Baked Penne

2 1/2 cups uncooked whole wheat penne (about 8 ounces tube-shaped pasta)
Cooking spray
2 (4-ounce) links sweet turkey Italian sausage (used regular sausage)
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
10 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (we didn't use)
1 garlic clove, minced
Dash of salt
1 (8-ounce) can garlic-and-herb tomato sauce
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper and next 6 ingredients (through salt) to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until bell pepper is tender. Stir in tomato sauce. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta to pan, tossing gently to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Stir in mozzarella and goat cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes or until bubbly and top is browned.

Wine note: I find whole wheat pasta often tastes best with red wine, which underscores the earthiness of the hearty pasta. And, of course, red wine and sausage is a match made in heaven. Try a Tuscan red: Villa Antinori Toscana. It's a little richer and fuller than Chianti; the 2004 is $23. —Karen MacNeil

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

CALORIES 326 (30% from fat); FAT 10.9g (sat 5.8g,mono 2.9g,poly 1g); IRON 3mg; CHOLESTEROL 47mg; CALCIUM 211mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.9g; SODIUM 641mg; PROTEIN 20.8g; FIBER 4.9g

Cooking Light, MAY 2008