Baked Penne
If you search the archives, you’ll find recipes for baked spaghetti with mushrooms, easy baked macaroni, and baked spaghetti alfredo w/ mushrooms & capers. The same idea, same concept, and same steps, different kind of pasta and sauce for variety’s sake. I’m adding baked penne in the archives. The end result is the same delicious pasta dinner that the whole family loves.
Baked Penne
Ingredients
- 1 box penne pasta, cooked al dente
- 1-2 pounds ground beef
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce
- a sprinkle of Italian seasoning (or dried oregano and basil)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to its box. Al dente is good.
- While the pasta cooks, brown the ground beef in a pan. Drain the oil. Add the spaghetti sauce, 2 tbsp of sugar and sprinkle of Italian seasoning. Stir everything together. Cover and simmer, opening it occasionally to stir. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes or so.
- Preheat the oven to 365°.
- Transfer the cooked penne(sans the water) into the pasta sauce pan. Stir, then add 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Incorporate the cheese by stirring it again. Transfer the whole thing into a baking pan. Top it with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese, evenly.
- Stick it in the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Let it sit in the counter for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Serve with green salad and cheesy garlic bread on the side.
