Italian Sausage Rotini

So I got this recipe from my brother and sister in law who got it from my mother in law. So I guess you can say this is a recipe that has been "passed down". It's easy, pretty quick, kind of fool-proof and uses stuff you may already have in your house (except for the sausage, perhaps) I made it today for a family friend who is battling cancer. I think it's good comfort food too. I actually didn't get to taste it, but Darrin did and said it was good. Plus, I've tasted it when my brother in law made it -- and it was great then too! :) Here we go:


Ingredients:
1 package Italian sausage (hot is best)
1 package Rotini pasta
1 Green bell pepper (or I guess whatever veggies you want to throw in), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
1 Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese (for topping)
Olive Oil (to brown sausage)

Directions:
1. Take sausage out of it's casing
2.. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Add sausage meat, and garlic
3. Put on a big pot of salted water for the pasta
4. Brown garlic and sausage meat (while you're waiting for the water)
5. When the water comes to a boil, put in the pasta
6. After the sausage is about browned (about 5-7 minutes) add in diced veggies, let cook about 2-3 minutes
7. Add in your jar of sauce to the skillet and turn heat down to low
8. Let simmer until veggies are soft
9. When pasta is al dente, drain

From here -- you can either add this all to a 9X13 dish, top with cheese and pop it in a 350 degree over for a couple minutes until the cheese is all melted. This is the best option if you're using an electric skillet. OR, if your skillet is deep enough, add the pasta straight into the sauce/sausage/veggie mix, mix in cheese and cover for a minute or so -- until the cheese is melted. Transfer to a serving dish and top with a little more cheese.


**Healthy Options **
IF you want to make this a little healthier - trade in the regular Italian sausage for JennieO Hot Italian Turkey sausage and make with whole wheat Rotini. These are simple changes and it doesn't alter the taste at all. Still REALLY good. Oh, and don't use as much cheese! :)

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My ideas for with this dish

Although this is a great Italian dish (really good seved wtih garlic bread and ceasar salad), I think I want to try to go Tex-Mex with it. Mix in some red bell pepper, some olives maybe some carrots. Then serve with cornbread. Yummy, right? Maybe use some kind of hotter spaghetti sauce (maybe something that has jalapenos in it). I also feel like you can just have ground turkey or beef and season it with whatever . Hmmmm.....lots of options for this dish and lots of ways you can take it and play with it to make it your own! Let me know if you try it and how you it turns out!