Hey guys! Hope everyone is having a great start to the week. Not a lot of stuff going on here. The girls are going to art camp this week and having a blast! Yesterday I picked them up and we hung out at the pool for a while, not a surprise 😉 The next few days we will be doing pretty much the same thing with maybe a little fun outings mixed in depending on the weather.
I went to the store to pick up some things for dinner. I decided to make a baked pasta of some sort and garlic bread. On the blog I have made so many different baked pastas- some the easy way (jarred sauce) and some the from scratch way. This time I did a mix of both.
Cheesy Baked Pasta with Semi-homemade Sauce
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 box tube shaped pasta; I used Rigatoni, but Ziti or Penne would be fine.
1 jars of your favorite pasta sauce- I used Bertoli- Tomato Basil
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
2 med. bags or 1 large bag of mozzarella or Italian Cheese Blend
1 handful of fresh herbs (oregano, marjarum, thyme, rosmary and sage, finely chopped)- You can also use 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning if you don’t have fresh herbs.
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 container of mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large dutch oven or pan, brown your meat with your onions in a tablespoon of olive oil on high heat, about 5 minutes.
Add in your mushrooms and garlic. Cook down together, about 5 minutes.
Add in the tomato paste. Cook down for 3-4 minutes. It will turn a rust color and when you smell it it will have an intense tomato aroma. Add in your Worcestershire Sauce, can of tomato puree, and container of marinara. Stir well and add in your fresh herbs. Let it simmer together while you cook your pasta
Assemble in a large casserole pan layering sauce, pasta, meat, and cheese.
Cook for about 30-45 minutes or until cheese is melting and turning that yummy brown color.
Serve with some garlic bread and a side salad! 



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