Baked Pasta

I love pasta of all shapes and forms. I sometimes even make it from scratch. During college, I made spaghetti like once a week, and somehow never got tired of it. The hubby, however, has gotten bored of the more traditional recipe, so I try to make baked spaghetti or some kind of baked pasta on a regular basis. And I must say, there is nothing quite like the bubbly, gooey goodness of melted cheese.

This recipe is a fairly basic baked pasta recipe. It can be modified to suit a number of different ingredients, which is great. If I don't have spaghetti on hand, I'll use penne or ziti, or some other pasta. I've used thawed out frozen spinach in it, diced zucchini, shredded carrots, cream cheese, cottage cheese, etc. It's a very versatile recipe. Feel free to mix in some of your favorites, too!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. spaghetti (or other pasta)
1-2 tsp. Olive oil
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used mushroom)
1 onion, diced
4 mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp. diced/crushed garlic (I used the stuff from a jar, but fresh is better)
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Basil/Italian seasoning (optional)
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Shredded parmesan cheese
1 bag Italian Cheese blend (or Mozzarella cheese)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Begin by browning the ground beef and boiling your spaghetti noodles. While the meat is browning, dice the onion and slice the mushrooms. If using fresh garlic, dice your fresh garlic now, too. Drain the hamburger and set aside. Sauté the onions in olive oil. When the onions become translucent, add the mushrooms and garlic. Continue sautéing until the mushrooms are tender. Season the mushroom/onion mix with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

After draining the spaghetti noodles, return them to the pot you used to boil them and add the jar of spaghetti sauce. Mix until the sauce has thoroughly coated the noodles. Add the hamburger and mushroom/onion mix to the spaghetti, combining all of the ingredients together. At the time, add about half of the cheese to the spaghetti. (Cottage or ricotta cheese would make a delicious addition. I would have added it during this step, if I had any.) Also, if using any crushed red pepper flakes or Italian seasoning, add them in now, before transferring the mixture to a baking dish. Spray a baking dish (9x13) with Pam and then add the spaghetti mixture. Spread it out evenly in the pan and then top with the remainder of the shredded cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or however long it takes for the cheese to melt and brown a little.

If you have leftovers, try putting some in the freezer! I've put individual portions in the freezer and taken them to lunch a week later. If you put it in your lunch box at night or first thing in the morning, it is usually thawed out by lunch time and ready to microwave.

Enjoy!
-Deb