Baked Pasta

My lovely cousin Christine, who was a lovely bridesmaid in my wedding (far left):



started her own cooking blog, Steen's Cuisine, and the timing could not be better. I asked the hubs what he wanted to eat this weekend, and he said something mostacholi-like. The Baked Pasta from BHG listed on her blog sounded delicious, and it was, as well as very simple! As we were eating, Kevin said, "You can make this again." LOL...he has also demanded credit for picking the pasta sauce, Ragu Roasted Garlic. That is his highly recommended sauce for this dish :)

I used grated Parmesan cheese, which meant that there was a lot more Parmesan than mozzarella in the dish. I thought it tasted GREAT, but when putting the final layer of cheese on the dish, I added more mozzarella.

On another note...being the cooking neophyte that I am, I am always excited to share a new tip, no matter how simple. I have a garlic chopper, and I used to just put the garlic in the chopper, papery shells on, and then pick them out. THEN I was reading a Rachel Ray cookbook and one of her tips was to lay the garlic buds on a cutting board, put the flat part of a large knife over them, and then hit them with the flat of your hand to "pop" the shells off, like so:



So it may be one of those things like "tongs" that everyone else already knew about, but I like to pretend I am spreading knowledge :)

Baked Pasta

8 ounces of dried pasta (I used mini penne, but just about anything would work)
16 ounces of Italian sausage or ground beef (I used 4 Jennie-O sweet Italian sausage links, squeezed out of their skin)
3/4 cup of chopped onion (1 medium onion)
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 26 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 and 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (combine the cheeses)
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper (I used 1/2 because I LOOOOOVE pepper)
Fresh chopped parsley to taste


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil water and prepare pasta. While the pasta is cooking, cook sausage, onions, and garlic in a skillet until meat is done and onions are tender. Drain the meat and pasta.

2. In a 3 quart casserole dish, combine the pasta, meat, 1 cup of the cheese mixture, and black pepper. Stir gently to combine.

3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and parsley. Bake another 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!