Baked Ziti gone AWESOME!

So Baked Ziti is known for being tasty, comforting and PACKED full of calories.  This is just a healthy take on it...

Here is what you will need:
Penne pasta, cooked with a little bit of olive oil (to keep it from sticking together)
Classico spicy tomato pasta sauce
one medium yellow squash and one medium zucchini
pepper
crushed red pepper
canned mushrooms, drained
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
basil leaves chopped
spicy sausage, oven baked

Ziti is pretty straight-forward....I just really, really like this combination and my husband raves over it.  I think this is the best combination that I've done to date.

While I'm cooking the pasta and baking the sausages, I sliced the squash and zucchini in quarter inch slices and then halved them. I sauteed them on med/high in olive oil until soft and slightly browned.  Add some pepper and crushed red pepper (not too much!) and add the drained mushrooms. Cover and turn to low heat.  Be careful to not burn them!

Once the pasta is done, I add a little olive oil to keep it from sticking, then drain and transfer to an oven-safe glass dish. I don't ever measure out how  much pasta I make...I just make as much as we want for a couple nights of dinner. Put the pasta in the dish, add the spicy tomato pasta sauce, stir together.  Add a bit of crushed red pepper.  I love spicy food and my husband is learning to tolerate it....the more I sweat, the better it is.

Now the sausage should be done baking.  Pull it out and slice it up. Usually, I cut it just like I did for the squash: cut it into 1/4 inch slices, then halved.  Add this to the pasta and add the squash and mushroom blend as well.  I put in a few leaves of basil chopped up to add some extra flavor. 

Cover the pasta blend with the mozzarella cheese and top with the parmesan cheese.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes on 350 degrees or until the cheese is starting to brown and bubbling.  I assure you that you will like this blend.  One or two spoonfuls of this ziti and you will be F-U-L-L.

Best part is, stick the left overs in the oven tomorrow night on 350 and it will taste just as good as it did the night before.

Enjoy all!  Your husbands and kids will thank you!