Baked Ziti with Chicken Sausage

Here's another Weight Watchers recipe that we tried recently. This is a little different from traditional ziti, but was quite tasty. The original recipe calls for turkey sausage which we couldn't find, so we used chicken sausage  instead. While great right out of the oven, this dish was even better after sitting for a day or two. I love the whole wheat pasta in this as well.
Note: When it says to use a large saucepan, believe it. I didn't read my directions very well and had to switch pans a couple of times. It's much easier to just follow the directions the first time!
Baked Ziti with Chicken Sausage
from: Weight Watchers
Yield: 8 servings

What You Need
3/4 lb. raw chicken sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
10 oz. frozen green peas, thawed
2 Tbsp. canned tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. fennel seed {We left this out.}
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
12 oz. whole wheat ziti, cooked according to package directions
6 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

What To Do
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Crumble the sausage meat into a large saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often, about 4 minutes.
3. Drain off any fat, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, peas, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seed, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the cooked pasta and half the cheese.
5. Spread evenly in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Top evenly with the remaining cheese.
6. Bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into 8 pieces.

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