Penne Bake, With Chicken-sausage Meatballs

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 -3 medium zucchini, trimmed & halved lengthwise (use more or less as desired. i like a little more, but some like a little less!)
• 1 sweet red pepper
• 7 ounces sweet corn (canned)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 lb sweet lamb sausage, casings removed (if you would like to have more meat in your dish, you can add more; the same goes for the ground chi)
• 1/2 lb ground chicken
• 1 egg
• italian breadcrumbs (amount will depend on moisture in meat and size of egg)
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 lb grated fontina cheese
• 1/2 lb penne pasta
• 1 teaspoon oregano (optional)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• 2 grease 2 1/2 quart casserole.
• 3 cut zucchini squash halves into thirds lengthwise, then crosswise into 1 1/2 inch pieces, and cut pepper into 1-2 inch thin/med sized slices.
• 4 (if the pepper is large, you may not want to add whole pepper… it depends on your taste).
• 5 after you have removed sausage from casing, put into a medium sized bowl.
• 6 add the ground chicken and egg, and mix using your hands until the egg is completely mixed into the meat.
• 7 take 1/3 of your onion and chop it very fine.
• 8 add to meat/egg mixture.
• 9 then add a small amount of breadcrumbs, and mix with hands again.
• 10 continue adding a little bit of bread crumbs at a time, until it is the right consistency to form 1 inch round balls with meat.
• 11 do not get carried away with the breadcrumbs, but do make sure to add enough so that they will stay in ball form.
• 12 roll into balls.
• 13 heat oil in large skillet over medium heat (if you find that there is not enough oil[especially if you add more meat], don’t be afraid to add a little more; just don’t get carried away!).
• 14 add meatballs; cook thoroughly.
• 15 transfer to bowl using slotted spoon (to drain oil).
• 16 chop up the rest of the onion (this time not very fine) and add to skillet; cook 5 minutes.
• 17 add zucchini squash and sweet red pepper slices, minced garlic (if you choose) and corn.
• 18 season and cook 8 minutes.
• 19 return meat to skillet.
• 20 add cream and oregano.
• 21 bring to a boil.
• 22 add half the fontina and stir until melted.
• 23 cook penne al dente, drain and return to pot.
• 24 add sauce and toss through to coat.
• 25 transfer to casserole and top with remaining fontina.
• 26 bake until heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• 27 enjoy!