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| Easy Baked Pasta |
My husband doesn't really like pasta. I know, I know. Sad, isn't it? He blames his aversion to this fabulous food staple on his mother feeding him canned ravioli as a kid. So, I guess you can't really blame him. He WILL eat spaghetti on occasion; but it's on evenings that he is gone (like tonight he's at class) that I will make pasta for me and my son Ezra, aka My Eating Buddy. I came up with this little ditty on the fly one night, and Ezra said it was his favorite pasta ever. I quite liked it myself. I really got the idea for it from my husband's Aunt Willa, who makes this heart-warming crock pot pizza, which I'll have to post some time as well. This recipe is so easy, I hadn't really thought to post it, but I have time and light this evening, so here it goes.
Since I make this for just me and Ezra, it's not a lot. It's enough for us and for me to have some for lunch the next day. The recipe is easily doubled
Easy Baked Pasta
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 jar (about 7 oz.) pizza sauce (I use Ragu Traditional Pizza Quick)
- 2 cups dry mini pasta (I use Barilla Piccolini Mini Farfalle)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
- salted water for boiling pasta
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brown ground beef in a medium pan. Drain fat, if necessary. Pour in pizza sauce. I add a little water if it seems too thick/dry. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large-ish pot of water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and boil for one minute less than the package directions. Drain pasta and add to the meaty sauce.
Pour into a medium sized baking dish. Top evenly with cheese. Place in the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is just melty. Don't let it go so long that the cheese browns. It doesn't taste as good when it goes that far.
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| Baby bow-tie pasta |