Pesto Pasta Bake

1 box whole wheat Penne pasta
1 cup store bought or home made Pesto
1 jar Spaghetti Sause
1 lb ground Italian Turkey Sausage, browned
1 cup Mozzella cheese.

• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
• Cook pasta according to package directions
• Brown sausage in a large skillet, once brown add sause and warm
• Drain pasta and return to pan, mix pesto with pasta
• Pour pasta pesto into large baking dish then pour sauce mixture over pasta
• Sprinkle with choice of cheese
• Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated through

Words to the Wise:

I love this dish and so do my kids. It is just so easy and quick to make. It is perfect for a busy night because it comes together in a matter of minutes.
I sometime will add a layer of Ricotta cheese on top of the pasta pesto mixture and then pour the meat sauce on top of that. I have also added some frozen spinach to the pasta and pesto mixture just to bump up the veggie factor. This dish is a Jen orginal.

Rachael Rays' Fake-Baked Ziti

* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan
* 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes (recommended: San Marzano)
* 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, (recommended: San Marzano)* If San Marzanos are not available, add a teaspoon sugar to your sauce, optional
* Coarse salt
* A handful fresh basil leaves, torn
* 1 pound ziti rigate, with ridges
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* Freshly ground black pepper
* A generous grating nutmeg
* 2 cups whole milk
* 1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
* 1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
* 1 cup sliced fresh mozzarella
* Crusty bread, to pass at table

Directions

Put pasta water on to boil.

In a medium sauce pot over medium heat, saute garlic in extra-virgin olive oil. Chop whole tomatoes and add them to the pan. Add crushed tomatoes and salt and simmer 10 minutes, add basil and simmer over low heat 10 minutes more.

Add salt and pasta to boiling water and cook 6 minutes, leaving pasta a little chewy.

While pasta cooks, melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour, then cook 1 minute, adding salt and pepper and nutmeg to flour. Add milk and bring sauce to a bubble. Reduce 5 minutes.

Drain pasta and transfer to a large casserole dish. Pour the tomato and basil sauce over the pasta and turn to coat the pasta. Pour the bechamel over the already coated pasta. Cover the top of the pasta with Asiago, Parmesan and mozzarella. Place the casserole under hot broiler and melt the 3 cheeses until brown and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately with Spinach and Artichoke Salad and bread.

Word to the Wise:
This recipe is really good and simple but sometimes to simplify things even more, I will use a store bought Spaghetti sauce instead of making one. I usaully skip all the fancy cheese like fresh mozzarella and asiago and just use shredded mozzarella. I have also been known to add meat to the sauce like ground turkey, Italian sausage or hamburger.

Ravioli Lasagna

1 jar Spaghetti sauce
1 family size package (20 oz) of Cheese or Meat Ravioli, thawed (if using frozen)
2 cups Mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded red peppers
1 cup thinly sliced turkey sausage or meat of you choice or no meat if you choose.

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Coat baking dish with cooking spray, along with one side of foil used for topping dish later.
  
• Spread a few spoon fulls of sauce on bottom of pan
• Top with layer of ravioli, careful not to overlap
• Sprinkle with veggies, meat, cheese and spread more sauce on top
  
• Repeat layers (ravioli, veggies, meat, cheese, sauce) until all ingredients are gone, ending with cheese
• Cover with foil, greased side down, and cook for 1 hour, removing foil for last 5 minutes

Words to the Wise:
This is a very fun recipe to have kids help with. Hayden loves to help me with the layering. I first learned of this recipe at Mama's Losin' It. Check out the link for a full demonstration.

Baked Pasta Casserole

1lb pasta, penne or rotini
1lb ground meat, I usually use ground turkey
1 green pepper
1 small onion
1 jar Spaghetti sauce
1 can condensed cheese soup
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Mozzarella Cheese

• Heat oven to 350°F
• Cook pasta according to package and again, if you have not noticed I use whole wheat pasta
• Cook meat with peppers and onions until meat is no longer pink
• Stir in sauce, soup and seasoning along with some pepper to taste
• Drain pasta, return to pan and then mix with sauce
• Put mixture in a greased baking dish (9 x 13 works best) and sprinkle cheese on top.
• Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Words to the Wise:
A super easy meal that can be made in advance. This also freezes very well. If going to freeze, just double the recipe. Yet another kid pleaser. My kids have not met a pasta dish that they don't like.
This recipe is from the Taste of Home magazine.

Penne with Roasted Vegetables

Eggplant
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Mushrooms
Onion
Red Pepper
Frozen Peas, thawed
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb whole wheat penne pasta
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella Cheese

• Heat oven to 400°F
• Chop all vegetables into 1 inch pieces
  
• Place on a large baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. You want the veggies coated so that they won't stick but not dripping in oil.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until tender. Let cool.
  
• Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and return to pot
  
• Pour sauce over pasta and stir in vegetables along with peas. I use about half of a bag (if you forget to thaw them, no big deal just toss them in).
• Mix everything together. Once combined but in a baking dish. (For my family I use 2 smaller baking dishes because this freezes so well and then I can get 2 meals out of it.)
• Sprinkle with cheeses and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated through

Words to the Wise
My kids love this dish and it is a great way to get them to eat vegetables. The don't even know that they are eating veggies because they are covered in sauce and cheese.
Also you can really use any veggies that you want in this dish. If you don't like one on the list then skip it and use your favorites. There is not a right or wrong amount either. The more you use the bigger the dish and the more for freezing or left-overs.
And if you want to know, if is an original creation made by me.

Spaghetti Bake

1lb cook whole wheat Spaghetti, cooked
8 oz 2% Velveeta Cheese, cubed
2 cans tuna
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Parmesan Cheese

• Heat oven to 400°F
• Cook pasta according to package
• Once pasta is cooked, drain and let cool
• Add sauce, cheese and tuna to a zip lock bag, once cool add pasta
• Mix all ingredients together in bag
  
• Poor mixture into a grease baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 20 minutes or cheese is melted and heated through.

Words to the Wise:
This is a very good recipe. The kids really liked it. But the whole putting everything in a bag and mixing it together is not such a good idea, especially of the pasta is not completely cool. I say just leave the pasta in the pot and mix all the indigents together. It is much cleaner that way.

Live and learn, right?

This recipe was based on a recipe that was featured in Kraft Food and Family.

Three Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

1lb whole wheat penne
1 package frozen spinach, defrosted.
3 boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can (14 oz) dice tomatoes
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup Mozzarella
Grated Parmesan Cheese

• Heat oven to 375 °F.
• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• Sprinkle chicken cubes with Italian seasoning and then brown in large skillet that has been coated with olive oil. Cook about 3 minutes
• Add sauce and tomatoes and bring to a boil
• Simmer another 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked
• Add cream cheese and spinach (makes sure that all the water is squeezed out of the spinach, easiest way is to ring it out in a clean kitchen towel).
• Drain pasta; return to pan and the combine with chicken and sauce mixture
• Stir in Mozzarella cheese
• Poor into grease baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 20 minute or until cheese is melted and dish is heated through.

Words to the Wise:
This was a real winner. It was so good and creamy. The kids ate it up, even the spinach. This recipe was found in Kraft Food and Family magazine