Baked Pasta

I have made this baked pasta so many times in the past few months. It's such an easy little meal that provides us with many leftovers and makes a great dinner to give to a friend who might need it.

As I was making it again last week, I decided I should share it with you. I haven't cooked much lately, for a few reasons, and most of my attempts at cooking lately have left a lot to be desired (boring blueberry muffins, not worth sharing!) and this recipe seemed like an fun, quick thing to share.

And then I did that thing I do. I did that thing, where I photograph the whole process. The shredding of the cheeses (mozerella and fontina), the browning of the ground meat (you could use turkey! I used beef) and the boiling of the pasta (but not too much, let the meat do the talking). I even got a shot of the whole thing mixed and piled into a baking dish that was headed for the oven.

Then, then it came out of the oven. It came out, glorious and bubbly. The salads were on the table, the drinks poured and the table set. And so it happened. I plated the pasta and ate a delicious, hearty meal, without ever stopping to photograph the best part, the finished product.

So, I guess you'll just have to make it yourself to see!

Baked Pasta 

serves 4-6
time: 30-45 minutes

ingredients

1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce or homemade sauce if you're fancy like that
1 lb of ground beef (I'm sure turkey would work here too)
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb of pasta (adjust as desired, I prefer less pasta so that my sauce:pasta:meat ratio is where I like it)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I add fontina and parmersan, depending on what I have on hand)

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9x11 pan by coating it with a light spritz of oil.

Cook pasta as usual; in a large pot- boil water, toss in pasta, cook for 8-10 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, drizzle the olive oil in a large pan and toss in the onions once the oil gets warm. Cook the onions for about 5-7 minutes, until they become translucent. Then place the meat in the pan and cook until browned. When the meat is done, pour the marinara sauce over it and let it simmer until the pasta is ready.

Drain the pasta and return it to the large pot, then combine the meat and sauce mixture with the pasta. Stir until evenly distributed and then mix about 1/3 of the cheese in the pasta mixture. Pour into the pan, sprinkling the rest of the cheese on top and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.

Enjoy! (and take a picture for me, would you?)
-m

Easy Ravioli Bake

This is a Wednesday meal.

You know what I mean. Middle of a long week, you just want to throw something easy and hearty into the oven and relax knowing a warm meal is headed your way. Or you come home and open your fridge and snack and nibble on everything in sight. Knowing you have a meal like this in your arsenal could prevent the midweek snack-off. Just a thought.

I heard about this meal in the staff room at work. It sounded so easy and amazing I just had to try it. Here's how it goes:

Grab some tomato sauce/marinara sauce/or something similar. You can use a jar of your favorite stuff, or make a quick tomato sauce. I opted for the quick sauce, threw some herbs and canned diced tomatoes and let it simmer while I made a quick salad.

While the sauce is bubbling away, cook up some ravioli. I was trying to find the least processed ravioli's I could find and these won. As a note, these were the best tasting ravioli I have had in a very, very long time. Holy. Moly.

Old school bake-ware in the house!

After everything is cooked, begin layering it lasagna style. Sauce, ravioli, cheese, sauce, ravioli, cheese- notice the pattern? I'm beginning to realize I'm completely infatuated with patterns.

The last layer should be cheese. Lots of cheese, if you're like me. Then you bake it, at 350 until the top gets all bubbly, golden and delicious. I'm sorry, but I really don't remember how long it took. About 20 minutes I think.. but just don't leave it alone too long.

What a gorgeous mess. Midweek when everyone gets a little cranky, nothing warms someone up like melted cheese and pasta.

Add to that my favorite mixed greens and shallot salad dressing, and you have a fabulous meal!

Enjoy!
-m