I love it when I don't need a recipe, and this is one of my favorite non-recipe cooking methods. EVER. Put cooked meat, vegetables, a can of tomatoes, some herbs, and some mostly cooked pasta in a bowl. Stir it together, pour it into a casserole dish, top with cheese, and bake it. Easy, tasty, and a great use for leftovers.

My leftovers? Half a sleeve thing of Italian sausage and half a can of crushed tomatoes. My kitchen staples? Roasted red peppers and frozen spinach. The only pasta I have left in the house because I haven't gone big time grocery shopping in weeks? Whole wheat rotini (that you might recognize from last week).

So I cooked the pasta in salted water for about a minute shy of being done. That way the noodles don't get mushy in the oven. I browned the sausage, cut up a couple of roasted red peppers, and thawed and squeezed out some frozen spinach. Add a small can or half a large can of crushed tomatoes, a good bit of salt and pepper, about a tablespoon of dried oregano (or basil or Italian seasoning or whatever you want), stir, and pour into a casserole dish.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese (parmesan and provolone would be good, too). And sorry about the obvious lighting difference in those two pictures; I was playing around with the white balance on my still-very-new-to-me camera. Bake at 375 for twenty-five minutes or so, until the cheese is melted and the edges are a little bubbly.

Remember, this is a GREAT dinner idea where you can use ANYTHING you have. Have fun with it!