Right now I am loving this time of year.  Do I love the cooler temperatures?  Honestly, No.
Do I love working and hustling with kids back in school?  Honestly, No.
Do I love that it's getting dark earlier and earlier?  Honestly, No.
Do I love... ok, ok.  You get the idea.
At this time of year, I'm loving eating!


This is the second fall now that I have decided to run the Toronto Marathon.  Full disclosure here:  I'm not running the full 42 km marathon ok?  I'm running the half, 21.1 km (yeah that extra .1 is definitely worth writing - trust me.  By the time you get to that point in the race you are totally feeling that stupid .1) However, despite not training for the full monty I DO get to train.  Right now I could probably eat just about anything and at the worst not gain any weight and at best, keep right on burning stupid amounts of calories.  The training has been ramping up since the middle of August for me but it's only the last 4 weeks that have gotten intense enough to really make a difference in my metabolism.  In truth, I don't take advantage of it as much as I could/should... whatever but I ran 20 k today.  It's my last long run before the race and I came home ready to eat.
Nothing was made though so I hustled through showering and stuff and got this pasta readied as quickly as possible.

As long as you have the ingredients, this is honestly quite easy.  It won't take you forever and is hearty and satisfying.  However, I love creamy, baked pastas.  I love hot italian sausage and I love it even more when combined with chard for some reason.


Baked Pasta with Sausage and Chard
serves 6

5 cups al dente pasta (rotini or penne work best)
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 small green, red or yellow pepper, sliced thin
1 small zucchini, halved and sliced thin
1 bunch of chard (about 4 cups), stems removed and coarsely chopped
2 lbs of hot italian sausage, casings removed and cut into large chunks
1 450ml container of ricotta
1/2 cup parmesan - plus extra for topping
1 vegetable bouillion cube
juice and zest of half a lemon
3 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar
dash of pepper sauce
1/2 cup herbs, diced (parsley, basil, oregano, chive, rosemary - mix it up)
1/2 cup goat cheese, in large chunks

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large, heated pot/dutch oven, add some oil and cook the onion, pepper, zucchini (and garlic if you want to throw some in) until wilted.  Add in the chard and cook until the chard wilts and reduces.  Add in the italian sausage and let it cook with the veggies.  Once the sausage looks cooked through (a few minutes) add in the bouillion cube to dissolve in the juices.  Add in the ricotta and mix well.  Add in the Parmesan, lemon juice and zest, salt, sugar, herbs and pepper sauce and mix well.  Check the tastes and adjust if needed.


In a large baking dish pour in the cooked pasta and the cubed goat cheese and mix up.  Add in the chard sauce and mix well.  Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the top and bake for about 20 - 25 min.