Cheesy Baked Pasta

Meet Chef Maci, my 8 year old daughter.  She wants to be a baker when she grows up.  We are making an easy baked pasta dish.  I normally make this with Ziti or Penne, but I just had Macaroni on hand. 

Here's the recipe:

Cheesy Baked Pasta

1 lb of ground beef
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder or fresh garlic clove (2 cloves)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce

2 cups cottage cheese or ricotta
1 egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated or freshly grated)
1 tsp italian seasoning or oregano
1 tsp garlic powder

 8 oz. Mozzarella Cheese, slices or shredded


1 pound of pasta, cooked, drained.

Brown the meat, add salt, pepper, garlic powder.
Add the spaghetti sauce, simmer on low for 10-20 minutes.

Mix the cottage cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, italian seasoning and garlic powder, set aside.

Cook pasta, drain and rinse.

Use a 9 x 13 pan, ungreased, layer sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, keep layering until it's done, top with mozzarella cheese.  Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. 

Serve with steamed brocoli and garlic toast.


Picture tutorial:

Gather all the ingredients

Brown the hamburger

Add the spices

Continue browning the hamburger

Add the spaghetti sauce to browned meat, simmer for 20 minutes or so.

In a bowl, add cottage cheese

grate the parmesan

about 1/2 cup

One egg

Spices

Combine cottage cheese and parmesan

Add spices

Add egg

Stir

Until well combined, set aside

Cook up some pasta

drain and rinse pasta

Start by layering some sauce, then add noodles, about 1/3 of each.

Add 1/3 of the cheese mixture

Spread the cheese mixture evenly

Another layer and then another.

Top with mozzarella cheese, slices or shredded.

Cover the entire top

Bake 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  I wish you had smellavision, it smells so good in here!