This is a recipe that can be altered depending on you or your guests’ preferences.

More sausage could be added or the spinach could be taken out – it all depends on what hits the taste buds.

Garlic usually leaves a strong smell on your fingers, so I recommend buying already minced garlic in a jar.

But if you really like garlic, you can put in some whole cloves, and I’ll let you in on a secret. Wash your hands with lemon juice after handling garlic and the smell should go away.

This recipe doesn’t look like a lot only using 1 lb. of pasta, but it served my roommates, my sister, and four other people around the dorm.

Cooking in the dorm can be easy. One of my roommates New Year’s resolutions was to learn how to cook. If you’re new at cooking, teach yourself, and if you are confident in your cooking, teach others!

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the pasta and set it aside in a sprayed casserole dish.

Crumble the sausage in a skillet with water covering the bottom of the pan and cook thoroughly.

Transfer the sausage to the casserole dish with the pasta and add ‘frac34; of the mozzarella cheese and mix together.

Heat oil in that same skillet and add garlic. Once the garlic is cooked, add tomatoes, cream, salt and pepper; cook and stir until slightly thickened.

Stir in spinach, beans and pine nuts; cook until heated through.

Pour tomato sauce mixture over pasta and sausage; toss to coat, and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Ingredients:
1 lb italian sausage, casings removed
1 lb rigatoni pasta
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups spinach
1 can (15 oz.) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons pine nuts

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