Bake Me a Pasta Dish Tonight!!

"Lazy Man Lasagna"

 My husband absolutely loves any type of baked pasta dish that is out there and Sunday being the day before Valentine''s Day I figured why not make him something that he would really enjoy. (We always go out for Valentine's Day!) I had some Backyard Tomatoes that were good and ripe, Supreme Dairy Ricotta Cheese, and  some of the NEFF Ground Beef in the freezer. Mr. Linny likes to call this dish lazy man lasagna but, there is nothing really lazy about making your sauce from scratch!
 What is so great about baked pasta is that it is flexible. You can change it as much as you want adding and subtracting ingredients making it a little different each time. If you have sausage or turkey instead of beef it works perfectly. You can add chopped spinach, mushrooms, zucchini or any other vegetable to spice it up of in place of the meat for a vegetarian dish. Oh and holy leftovers... We had enough to share the next day with our friends!

Ingredients

What you will need:

 Large Pot (8 quarts)

 Large Baking Dish

 Medium Mixing Bowl 

 Cutting Board & Knife

 Measuring Cups

 Wooden Spoon

Ingredients:

4 Backyard Tomatoes

1 Yellow Onion (diced)

6 Cloves of Garlic (chopped)

2lbs of Ground Beef (defrosted)

1 Egg

1 bag of Supreme Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 container of Supreme Part Skim Ricotta Cheese

1/2 stick of SommerMaid Butter

2 cups Penne Pasta

1/4 cup of chopped Fresh Oregano

1 cup of chopped Fresh Basil 

1 cup Dry Red Wine or Beef Broth

2 tbs. Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

For the Sauce:

 First I boiled a large pot of salted water and when it came to a rolling boil I dropped in the whole tomatoes for about 3 minutes, or until there skin started to slightly peel back. Once this happened I immediately transfered them to a cool stainless bowl and right to the fridge to keep them from cooking. Once they have cooled chop the tomatoes into 1/2 pieces or crush them ( I prefer the crushing method, it is messy but more fun!)

* I used the same water and pot to cook my pasta in effort to save on time and pot usage. Boil the Pasta to an al dente status. That is when the pasta still has a slight hardness to it but is not hard, it will finish cooking in the oven.

After boiling the pasta strain it and set it to the side. Do not rinse the pasta (reserve about 1 cup of pasta water.)

In the same pot you cooked the pasta in add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and warm the pan up over medium high heat. Once the oil is warm (just before it starts to smoke,) add the beef and spread it evenly over the bottom of the pot so it can brown. Allow the beef to brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes, before stirring the beef. Once the beef is browned add the onions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions are clear. 

 At this point you should have a nice brown bottom on the pan. This is flavor so you do not want to waste it. By adding some liquid, in this case wine, you will bring the flavor off the pot and into the food. After adding the wine use your spoon to scrap off the remaining pieces. Once you have scrapped the bottom of the pan add the tomatoes, butter & oregano. Once the butter is melted turn the heat down to simmer and let it cook for 30 minutes covered. Add the reserved pasta water if it thickens to much (or more wine/ broth.) After the thirty minutes turn the heat off the burner.

In a separate bowl combine the ricotta cheese, basil and egg, incorporating the two together. Spoon in the ricotta a little at a time incorporating it into the sauce after each spoon full. Once fully incorporated you can add the pasta to the pot and toss together. Once all the pasta is covered pour the pasta in to a baking dish evenly and cover with the shredded mozzarella. Bake the pasta in the oven  for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve!