Sausage and Peppers

"This is my lightened version of a favorite dish. I usually have all of these ingredients on hand, and I can make the entire dish in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta." --CL Reader

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 6  (4-ounce) links turkey Italian sausage
• 2  cups  (1/4-inch strips) green bell pepper
• 1  cup  (1/4-inch strips) red bell pepper
• 1  cup  (1/4-inch strips) yellow bell pepper
• 6  garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1  (26-ounce) bottle fat-free pasta sauce (such as Healthy Choice)
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 6  cups  hot cooked penne (about 3/4 pound uncooked tube-shaped pasta)
• 2  tablespoons  grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan; cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Remove from pan; cool slightly. Cut sausage into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Wipe pan with paper towels; recoat with cooking spray. Place pan over medium-high heat. Add peppers; sauté 6 minutes. Add sausage; sauté 2 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add sauce; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Add mozzarella, stirring until melted. Place 1 cup pasta in each of 6 shallow bowls; spoon about 1 cup sausage mixture over each serving. Sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon Parmesan.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

483 (26% from fat)

Fat:

13.9g (sat 4.8g,mono 3.2g,poly 3.7g)

Protein:

33g

Carbohydrate:

55.7g

Fiber:

5g

Cholesterol:

102mg

Iron:

3.4mg

Sodium:

1150mg

Calcium:

158mg