One-Pot Cheesy Pasta Bake

This was a good dish.  Except it was missing a key ingredient...garlic. So D added it in.  I liked it better as a left over but overall I'd have it again.

One-Pot Cheesy Pasta Bake

Photo by ALB

This easy skillet pasta bake is a surefire family hit. Pasta and meat sauce topped with mozzarella cheese will make everyone at the table happy, and the all-in-one-pot technique will have the cook smiling pretty. Cooking the pasta in the meat sauce not only lessens the amount of dishes you have to do and the time it takes to get dinner done, but the starches in the pasta thicken the sauce—without you having to do a single extra thing.

Yield: Serves 4 (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
Add garlic
8 ounces 90% lean ground beef
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/4 cups unsalted chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups unsalted crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
8 ounces uncooked whole-grain penne pasta
5 ounces fresh baby spinach
4 ounces preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)

Preparation
1. Preheat broiler to high. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Add onion (and garlic); sauté 2 minutes. Add beef and oregano; cook 3 minutes, stirring to crumble.

2. Add stock, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and pasta; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12 to 13 minutes or until pasta is done. Stir in spinach.

3. Sprinkle cheese over pasta mixture. Place pan in oven; broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 457; Fat: 16.6 g; Sat fat: 5.9 g; Mono fat: 6.3 g; Poly fat: 0.8 g; Protein: 31 g; Carbohydrate: 52 g; Fiber: 9 g; Cholesterol: 52 mg; Iron: 7 mg; Sodium: 598 mg; Calcium: 281 mg; Sugars: 8 g; Est. Added Sugars: 0 g

Cooking Light, September 2016