Baked Penne Pasta

I think my guilt from not cooking much last week got to me because I tried another new recipe for dinner on Monday night and yet again, it was another success! Seriously, what did we ever do before Pinterest? This was a simple yet tasty pasta dish that could include meat (I used ground turkey) or could be meatless. Although this definitely wasn't low in calories since it included a jar of alfredo sauce, which I think this was the first time I've ever bought some, I tried to even it out with whole wheat penne pasta and the ground turkey.

Source: thecountrycook.net via Jenny on Pinterest

Ingredients

Cooked noodles with alfredo sauce topped with meat mixed with pasta sauce

A little cheese on top before going in the oven

And a delicious meal out of the oven

Yum!

Baked Penne Pasta
Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef
2 cans or jars (26 oz.) pasta sauce
1 jar (16 oz.) alfredo sauce
1 box (1 lb.) penne pasta
½ yellow onion diced (optional)
1 bag (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
3. Prepare pasta according to directions.
4. In a medium sauce pan, brown ground beef with onion (if using). After beef is brown and crumbled, drain excess grease. Put back in pot and pour in one jar of spaghetti sauce. Keep mixture on low until pasta is done.
5. When pasta is finished, drain excess water from pasta. You want the pasta as dry as possible. Put pasta back in large pot (with heat off) and pour in jar of alfredo sauce. Combine until thoroughly coated.
6. Pour pasta mixture into bottom of 9x13 dish.
7. Cover pasta with spaghetti sauce mixture and sprinkle top with mozzarella cheese.
8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
9. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly
10. Let rest for about 5 minutes after taking out of oven and then serve

from The Country Cook