Baked Penne

Well... my camera has gone missing. I used it last week before work to take some pictures of my Christmas cookies in natural light, and the next morning we couldn't find it. It should be in this apartment somewhere, but I've ran out of places to look. Unfortunately, I need those cookie picture for a baking group. Rats... looks like I'll have to make them again :-)

Anyway, all of that was a lead in to the fact that we got a new camera. I had been wanting one anyway as my old one often took fuzzy pictures of my recipes, so we just jumped in and did it. I haven't gotten to use it yet for any food pictures, but I'm excited to try it out!

I found this baked ziti recipe on blogchef.  My experience with baked pasta does not go much beyond lasagna, so I thought this would be nice for a change.

In this case, the change definitely was good. Both the hubby and I really enjoyed this dish. It also helps that it is pretty easy. My only complaint is that my husband bought spaghetti sauce with mushrooms :-( 

My only change was the type of pasta. I used penne pasta instead of ziti because I wanted to use whole wheat pasta. As far as I'm concerned, the shape of the pasta is trivial, but I know that it matters to some. Different strokes for different folks... If you're looking for a good, easy recipe, try this out!

(Printable Recipe)

Baked Whole Wheat Penne

Adapted from blogchef.net

Ingredients:

1 lb. 93% lean ground beef

1 c. onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28 oz) jar meatless spaghetti sauce (or homemade)

1 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 tsp. oregano

1 (16oz) pkg. whole-wheat penne, cooked and drained

2 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 c. grated Parmesean cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, add ground beef, onions, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat stirring frequently until the beef is browned. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, broth, and oregano. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir 1 cup of sauce into the cooked penne noodles. Spoon 1/2 of the pasta mixture into a 13x9" baking dish. Sprinkle with 1-1/2 c. mozzarella cheese and 1/2 c. Parmesean cheese. Top with 2 cups of sauce. Add remaining pasta mixture and top with the remaining sauce.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesean cheeses. Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.