It’s Friday, and we want comfort food. My husband submitted his request for some baked spaghetti and I was happy to oblige, only that when I checked the pantry I discovered we somehow ran out of spaghetti noodles without anyone noticing. Luckily we had half a box of leftover pasta shells and a half box of leftover macaroni. Putting the two together made a pretty happy, tasty mixture. Here’s a rough sketch of how I made the baked pasta:
Ingredients
1/2 box of pasta shells
1/2 box of macaroni
1/2 bag of veggie meat crumbles (optional)
1 jar of pasta sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Basil Marinara)
Extra garlic powder, minced garlic, basil, oregano, and wine as desired.
Bag of shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Method
1. Cook pasta according to directions and drain.
2. Cook pasta sauce in sauce pot with additional desired ingredients and veggie meat crumbles. If you’re not adding any additional flavors or “meat”, no cooking is necessary. Pour a little bit of the sauce in the bottom of a lasagna pan to prevent sticking.
3. Layer pasta in lasagna pan and pour sauce/meat mixture over top. Mix up a little bit and then pour Mozzarella on top, creating one layer.
4. Sprinkle a little bit of parmesan on top, if desired, and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, or until cheese starts to get brown and bubbly – what I like to call “yum grub time”.
I served this up with some garlic toast (I just buttered some regular sandwich bread and sprinkled some garlic powder on top and threw it in the toaster oven). Perfect meal for lounging on the couch in a food coma.
Tip: I don’t know this to be scientifically valid, but if red sauce tends to give you acid reflux, I’ve found that baking it helps with the acidity.
Linny V 