Penne Pasta Bake

Last night I made the most wonderful pasta dish I have ever tasted. Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. I got the ingredients cheap enough, and it created a huge amount. We’ll have leftovers for lunches and even another dinner. It’s a take on lasagna, but has a much richer flavor. It’s a wonderful recipe to make and immediately freeze half for later.

This is also a nice recipe to make in anticipation of an event where you won’t have time for much cooking. Perhaps you work late one night a week and just need a quick recipe to pop in the oven. Or maybe you’ve got company coming for the holidays and want a meal to fill them up that doesn’t also involve you slaving over the stove all day. This is the recipe for you.

• 16 oz penne pasta
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 (15 oz) jars of spaghetti sauce (any flavor)
• 6 oz sliced provolone cheese
• 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 c. sour cream
• 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.

Parboil the penne pasta in boiling water with one teaspoon salt until it is just softened. Do not overcook. Drain pasta and set aside when complete.
Cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain.

Now it’s time to layer the dish. Take half of the drained, cooked pasta and place at the bottom of the dish. Add all the provolone, layering evenly. Spread the sour cream evenly across the top. Take half the meat mixture and place over top. Add entire jar of the spaghetti sauce. Then add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella cheese, and remaining meat. Empty contents of second jar of spaghetti sauce on top of that. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over all.

Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, until heated through. If you are taking this dish from the freezer, make sure it has time to thaw a bit before placing in oven. Then cook for slightly longer, about 45 minutes.

Image: sxc.hu.