Zucchini, Chicken Sausage and Casserole

I prepped this meal on Monday since we were only having garden burgers and there really wasn't any effort involved. I think that all casserole type meals taste better after the ingredients have had a chance to develop. So letting it sit in the fridge for 24 hours was a bonus. I was impressed with this simple weeknight recipe. Since I used an entire box of pasta I divided this into two casseroles and froze one for another time. You really need to make sure that you under cook the noodles. And if you are looking for a saucy casserole you won't find it here. I adjusted the liquids a bit but really wanted to highlight the light, summery and simple tastes. If you don't have feta on hand then skip it, this isn't a must have ingredient. I would even add either a touch of lemon juice or even a bit of zest to bring out the freshness in the end product. The Chicken Sausage are really quite good. If your local Costco has these put them in your basket. The ingredient list is short and legible (meaning so "foreign" unpronounceable names). I forgot to take a picture of this but hopefully you are still inclined to give this a try!

Zucchini, Chicken Sausage Casserole
1 box Rigatoni pasta
5 chicken sausage (I used chicken, artichoke and mozzarella cheese sausage from Costco)
1 t evoo
2 medium zucchini sliced (I used yellow and green)
1/2 a large onion sliced
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 C chicken broth
1 C reserved pasta water
2 T all-purpose flour
1/4 C crumbled feta cheese
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400°. Cook pasta in boiling salted water about 6-7 minutes. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add evoo. Add sausage to pan; cook until browned, remove from pan. Add zucchini, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and zucchini begins to brown, stirring occasionally. Combine broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture to pan; cook 1 minute. Drain pasta, reserving about a cup water. Use the pasta water to adjust the thickness of the sauce. (I used about 3/4 C.) Combine zucchini mixture, pasta, sausage, and feta cheese and toss to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Adapted from Cooking Light, JULY 2007