Baked Pasta- Real Easy and Delicious

Here's the recipe I promised you a few days ago. It's so easy to make and a definite crowd pleaser. I made a big batch and split it into 3 and brought to small pans to my sister's and kept one for us. So here's how you do it.

Baked Pasta (serves 8)

Ingredients:

1 box of Catelli Smart Pasta- Rotini

1 lb of extra lean ground beef

4 cups of your favourite spaghetti sauce, homemade or in a jar

1 red pepper cut up into small pieces (you could add many other veggies too)

1 1/2 cups shredded light mozzarella

Directions:

Boil your pasta, and in the meantime, cook your ground beef, you could add some onions, garlic, spices and herbs (oregano, basil) as you cook your meat. Add the vegetables at this point. Once your meat is cooked, drain any fat from the pan and add the sauce and warm it through, about 3-5 minutes.

Cook your pasta al dente, as you will need to bake it later. Drain the pasta and add it back to your pot, then place the meat and sauce mixture on top of that. Mix it all together and place it in your dish (es). This should be an oven proof dish as you will be baking it.

Place in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

Nutritional Information (per portion)

361 calories

51g carbs

14g fat

61g protein

6g fibre

7g sugar

Nice portion served up wtih some fresh little cucumbers on the side.