A month of all new recipes part 1: Italian Casserole

After a week of leftovers following Thanksgiving, we decided it was time to focus on entirely new meals, so we've been challenging ourselves to come up with several new recipes a week that we've never tried out before.

In the coming days we've got a huge variety of delicious meals to share with you from those cooking experiments, from the savory two-pot Italian casserole below to a salty brined chicken, a meatball pie, and even a very unique twist on beef stroganoff.

For this easy but super tasty Italian casserole, you will need:

• Store bought penne (or homemade sheets of pasta)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 2 tbsp. of your preferred Italian pasta seasonings + salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound Italian seasoned sausage
• Large, thin sliced pepperoni AND salami (the deli kind, not the pizza topping kind)
• 6 oz. fresh mozzarella (the kind packed in water or dry and pre-packaged from the deli is best)
• 2 - 3 oz. shredded regular mozzarella
• 8 oz. provolone
• As much Parmesan as you can handle!

To start off this dish, cook the sausage over medium heat in a dutch oven (or any pan that can switch from the skillet to oven).

Next we're going to shred and slice each of the types of cheese.

We're going to slice the salami and pepperoni into long strips, but you could also do small squares or even leave them whole in the circles for a twist.

Meanwhile, we're cooking the penne in boiling water in a separate pan. Once it's finished, throw it in the dutch oven with the sausage and then stir in the salami, pepperoni, and each type of cheese.

Next we whip up some homemade sauce by mixing together the canned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasonings, and cayenne in a blender. For a better flavor and thicker consistency, cook this down over medium heat in a covered pan for about 20 minutes. It's an extra step that takes longer, but the results are worth it.

After the sauce is ready, spoon it into the dutch oven and stir together. For a more even mix, you can also add in layers of each ingredient type: pasta, meat, cheese, and then sauce. Repeat with four or five layers for an even distribution.

Next we're going to crank the oven to 400 and cover the pasta casserole in a thick layer of Parmesan to get a good crust on top.

For presentation, we're adding on a final layer of uncut pepperoni. Throw it all in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes.

Here it is, with a bubbly cheese crust and layers of tasty Italian flavor just begging to be eaten!

Spoon out a section and throw it on a plate or bowl and then top with extra Parmesan if you are so inclined. Bon Appétit!

There are plenty of ways to modify this recipe to change things up - add in some fennel for more of a pizza taste, or swap out your meats with any other favorites like ground beef, bacon, chicken, or pancetta. Adding in some cream also takes this up a notch by going from straight tomato sauce to more of an Alfredo style.