Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Cheesy Pasta Bake

My friends Carole and Jason who live in our same building and attend our ward just had a new baby girl. I made the crochet edge baby blanket for their baby Tori Jane and on a whim decided to also make them dinner.

Since I hadn't planned to make them dinner, I ended up making one of my quick go-to dinners which is actually super yummy and super easy.

IMG_1583
Ingredients:

1 lb Pasta
1 Can or Jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 small can Tomato Paste
1 Med Onion
1 lb Hamburger or shredded Chicken
2 cups Shredded Cheese

Seasonings (to taste):
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning
Red Chili Pepper or Taco Seasoning
Sugar

Yield: 12 servings

Sommer's Secret: This recipe makes about 2  standard cake pan (9 1/2 X 11 X 2") casseroles. I usually make a full recipe and freeze one for another day or put it all in my big lasagna pan if I'm having company over. It's a big hit every time I make it.

Directions:

1. Set water to boil to cook pasta.
2. Brown Ground Beef and chopped onion in a skillet. (Salt and Pepper to taste).
3. Drain the oil from the meat.
4. Add Spaghetti Sauce and Tomato Paste.(one day I'll learn to make a good sauce from scratch!)
5. Stir in seasonings.




Sommer's Secret: I always jazz up cheap ready made spaghetti sauce with herbs and spices.It might be the Southwest in me, but  like my sauce to have just a tiny kick by adding a little cayenne pepper or in this case Taco Seasoning mix. My favorite to use is the Chipotle seasoning mix.  I also add about a teaspoon of sugar as it seems to really tone down the acid of the tomatoes and "marries" the seasonings.

IMG_1625

6. Boil pasta until "al dente" - where the pasta is soft but firm. Drain.

IMG_1624

7.  Pour sauce mixture over pasta and fold to combine.
8. Pour mixture into baking dish(es).
9. Sprinkle cheese on top.
11. Bake 15- 20 minutes until bubbly.

Sommer's Secret: Drizzle the top with olive oil and Broil 3-5 minutes until top is brown and crispy.

IMG_1582

Sommer's Suggestions: Add veggies! Since I was using what we had at home, I didn't have any extras to add in...Bell peppers, black olives, mushrooms would  make this even more amazing. Add or substitute  Pepperoni or Italian sausage instead of beef or chicken....yum!

I served my pasta bake with a garden salad and homemade bread sticks.


1. Make 1 batch Pizza Dough Recipe.
2. Pat out onto a pizza dough pan.
3. Brush with butter and garlic mixture. (2 TBSbutter to 1 TBS garlic powder 1 tsp Parsley)
4. Sprinkle with with cheese (I used the Mozzarella, Provolone, Cheddar blend and Parmesan)
5. Bake 8-12 minutes until brown and bubbly.
6. Cut into strips with pizza cutter.

(As you can see my oven doesn't bake evenly and I ended up with one dark and one light cheesy bread sticks...but they were both just as delicious.)