A REAL 30 minute, $10 meal

Monday, May 18, 2009 
This is my favorite quick meal when my commute from work is longer than usual and I am assaulted at the door with " Mommy I am soooo hungry, when's dinner going to be ready?". I made this up one day when I needed a quick item to take to church potluck.   Enjoy.
-Renee

Renee's Italian Pasta Bake- a real 30 minute, $10 meal
2 Lightlife Foods Italian Style Sausage veggie links* (comes as a pack of 4, refrigerated)
1 box whole grain rotini pasta ( I like Barilla, Heartland, Ronzoni Smart Taste)
1 bag steam vegetables, Italian style or baby broccoli
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 8 oz. package Italian blend cheese, shredded
1 clove garlic, grated

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions (usually 8-12 min).
2. Cook microwave steam vegetables according to package directions (usually 6-7 min.).
3. Drain cooked pasta and pour into a 13x9 dish. Stir in Italian cheese into hot pasta.
4. Pour jar of spaghetti sauce over pasta and cheese and stir.
5. Add fresh clove of grated garlic and stir again.
6. Slice 2 of the 4 Lightlife Italian sausage and stir into mixture.
7. Add the steamed vegetables to mixture and stir. Place in oven for 6-8 minutes on 400 degrees while you set the table. ALTERNATELY, you can serve the steamed vegetables as a side dish.
8. This is great served with fresh bread or cornbread if you have some leftover. Serves 4-8 depending on how hungry you are at the time. YUMMY!! My kids had seconds and wanted the leftovers for breakfast.

* Remember Lightlife Foods does NOT use genetically modified soybeans in their products, unlike many other mainstream meat analogs. You can substitute 2 Boca Italian vegetarian sausages that are thawed a bit (it comes frozen) for this recipe. DO NOT use Morningstar Farms Italian Sausage as it has a crumb-like mushy consistency and does not taste nearly as good as the ones by Boca or Lightlife Foods in my family's opinion.

The Take Back is a health ministry of the Philadelphia Seventh Day Adventist Church in Burlington , NC in the United States . E-mail any questions to takebacktour@yahoo.com