Baked Ziti with Sweet Turkey Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 pound ziti noodles
• 1 pound sweet turkey sausage, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• 2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with seasonings (green pepper and onion or garlic and oregano, or any flavor you want)
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1 (15-ounce) container regular or part-skim ricotta cheese
• 4 cups grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, reserve 1 cup, for topping
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a hot skillet over medium heat until golden brown on all sides. Add tomatoes, thyme and rosemary and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and garlic powder and mix well. Spoon 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 4-quart casserole dish. Top with half of the cooked ziti. Top with half of the cheese mixture. Top with 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Repeat layers (remaining ziti and remaining cheese mixture). Top with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over top. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.