Neb's version of Mostaccioli (Mostacholi)

The other day a coworker at my school brought in some garden fresh vegetables and told us we can take whatever we like. The day was almost over and I decided to stop by and see what was left. After going through the selection I returned to my desk with two green bell peppers and two ripe tomatoes. My first thought was PASTA TIME! So I quickly started thinking of ways to make this pasta dish come alive. I remembered a dish that my Aunt Linda had made once before at one of our huge family get togethers. It was Mostaccioli, I remember there being penne pasta, sausage, green pepper, and tomato sauce, with mozzarella cheese. I thought this was going to be PERFECT!

My mother taught me that you should never try to rush whatever you are cooking, and it's true, the more time you take to prepare your food the better it will taste and turnout. So this recipe is by no means a quick 30 minutes meal recipe. I'm sure there are quicker ways to throw these ingredients together but I decided to take my time and not rush the final product.

Here are the ingredients to my version of Mostaccioli:

4 or 5 Italian Sausages (the kind you can put on the grill)

1 Green bell Pepper

1 Tomato

1 Box Penne Pasta

1 can (26.5 oz) of Hunt's Traditional Pasta Sauce

Shredded Mozzarella

Olive Oil

Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Where to start 1st:

I like to prepare my vegetables first so that when I'm ready to use them they are ready to go. Chop up your pepper and tomato into small pieces, combine in a bowl, and put in the fridge to keep cold until you're ready for them again.

I decided to grill my Italian sausages because I wanted that flavor and texture that you get from grilled sausage. They recommend 8 to 10 minutes on each side of the sausage with a total cooking time of approximately 30-40 minutes. (Once you have cooked these on the grill for the recommended time, slice the sausages into appropriate bite sizes. Even if there is some pink in the middle it will be ok.)

Begin the water for your Penne pasta & follow the directions provided on the box. While that is getting ready you'll want to get a seperate pan/pot and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan/pot. Put the pan/pot with olive oil on medium heat (becareful not to burn the oil). Once the oil has heated you can then add your tomato/green bell pepper into the oil and sauté for about 2-3 minutes on it's own. (After about 3 minutes I then added my Italian Sausage into the pot and covered until all of the Italian Sausage was thouroughly cooked.)

When the Italian Sausage, tomato, & green bell pepper pan/pot is finished drain in a colander, set aside in a large bowl for mixing, and cover to keep hot.

Begin heating up your Hunt's Traditional Pasta Sauce in a pan over low-medium heat (not looking for it to bubble up on you, just to get warm).

When the Penne pasta is ready, drain in a clean colander and then mix into the large bowl with the italian sausage, tomato, & green bell pepper mixture.

Grab an oblong baking dish, use some of your olive oil to coat all sides of the dish to prevent sticking. Add the penne, italian sausage, tomato, & green bell pepper mixture into the oblong dish. (You may have some extra & that's ok.)

Once your pasta sauce is warmed add sauce over the mixture in the oblong dish. Then top with shredded mozzarella. I added crushed red pepper flakes over my mozzarella to add some spice.

Finally put your Mostaccioli into the oven to melt the cheese at 350 F for approximately 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted or golden brown (really up to how you like your cheese).

When you pull it out of the oven, let it cool down a little, and then you can serve it with a nice bottle of red wine if you'd like.

Enjoy! Leave back any feedback if you have made this dish. Let me know what you think of it.