Sausage Pastiera Gone Wrong (Florida, 1991, adapted)

Sausage Pastiera is a quick-and-dirty pasta casserole that’s kid friendly and suitable for a weeknight pantry meal.   The original recipe comes from the 1991 cookbook Preserving Our Italian Heritage, a community cookbook compiled by the Sons of Italy Florida Foundation.  The first recipe I tried from this cookbook was a swing and a miss, which……