Roasted Pepper & Onion Pasta Bake

We'll call this a 'cleaning out the closet' meal. I had some chicken sausage in the freezer that I wanted to use up, so I put together this dish. It was so good and flavorful.

Roasted Pepper & Onion Pasta Bake

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb of elbow macaroni

1 green bell pepper, sliced in chunks

1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced in chunks

1 large onion, cut into chunks

4 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

3 links chicken sausage w/ fennel

2 1/2 tablespoons Italian style tomato paste

1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, with juice

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the peppers and onion in a 9x13 baking dish. Coat the peppers, garlic and onions with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place uncovered baking dish in the oven and roast for 30-40 mins, or until done. Once done, mash the garlic.

Cook the chicken sausage in a pan. Once cooked, slice into half moons.

Cook the macaroni, as directed.

In a large bowl, combine the roasted vegtables, chicken sausage, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Once the macaroni is cooked, drain and add to the sausage mixture.

Coat a 9x9 pan with cooking spray. Pour the pasta mixture into the pan.

In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs with 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter.

Bake until the top is golden brown. About 20-30 mins.