Rigatoni Florentine

It feels like forever since I've posted anything to my blog. The status at our house is "back-to-normal" crazy with school back in session, soccer games and of course, a bout with the flu for me.

If you've followed my blog during the previous school years, you know that I'm all about quick and easy dinners that gets our family to the dinner table to eat together, no matter what's going on in our schedules. My recipe for Rigatoni Florentine a simple, colorful pasta dish that packs a whollop of flavors.

Rigatoni Florentine
1 lb box of rigatoni, cooked al dente
8 oz fresh button mushrooms, sliced
8 oz frozen spinach, thawed
1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained and sliced into small strips
1 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 lb hot sausage - I had to use link
hot sausage and remove it from the casings
1 container of Philadelphia Italian Cheese
Herb Cooking Creme
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350*

Cook rigatoni as directed on the box, drain and set aside.

In a large frying pan, saute button mushrooms in olive oil for 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and roasted red pepper strips. Continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Stir in minced garlic and Italian seasonings. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover to keep warm.

In the same frying pan, brown hot sausage in more olive oil. Drain off any grease, if necessary. Add the hot sausage back into the pan, along with the spinach mixture. Stir in the Italian Cheese & Herb Cooking Creme. Mix well.

If your frying pan is big enough to hold all of it, mix together the rigatoni and Florentine cheese sauce. If not, use a large bowl to mix all of it.

Layer half of the rigatoni mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Spoon on the remaining rigatoni and top with the remaining cup of cheese.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 10 minutes.

Serve with garlic cheese bread.