Baked pasta with as little work as possible

[tephra]

All ingredients up for personal choice, tonight's choice in parenthesis.

Required:
1 pound dried pasta (radiatori)
1 26oz jar pasta sauce (Ragu Super Chunk Mushroom)
1 jar of water
2 cups shredded cheese (Italian 4 cheese - mozzarella, provolone, romano, asiago)

Optional (I never make it without meat of some sort)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 bag frozen onions and peppers
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained

Brown up the beef, onions, and peppers; drain excess fat.

In a 13x9x2" pan mix the dried pasta, sauce, and one full sauce jar of water. Sprinkle meat and veggies on top and cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes. Remove foil and stir, checking that the pasta is al dente (if not add a bit more water if it looks like it needs it and bake some more). Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and perhaps lightly browned.

Comments

[morganalilith.livejournal.com]

sounds yummy :-)

[tephra]

It turned out quite well. We'll probably be eating it for a few days since one pound of dried pasta is a lot of pasta. :D

[watanukisuki.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I've made baked pasta before, but never with uncooked pasta. This sure sounds like a time-saver! Yum, yum, yum. Just thinking about this is making me hungry.

You've just given me a meal idea for the week. Thank you! :D

[tephra]

I used to love the Prego Pasta Bake sauces that they made for a short while several years back. Part of that was the fact you didn't need to precook the pasta. I figured, well why not try it with regular pasta sauces?

I might add a can of diced tomatoes (or stewed) next time, for a smidge more moisture and tomato-y goodness.

upscale version of your recipe

[(Anonymous)]

Check out my post titled "super bowl, super pasta" at www.aldentecanoodler.com for a similar recipe using artisinal products, yet is still extremely affordable and will feed a crowd. One of my best and easiest recipes

Re: upscale version of your recipe

[tephra]

There are some interesting recipes there, but that one in particular kind of misses the point of not having to precook the pasta. :D