EASY PASTA/BEEF CASSEROLE

 It all started one day when I thought I would make us spaghetti. I had gotten a package of ground beef out of the freezer not sure what I would make but knowing I would come up with something by the time I would be ready to cook it. I thought I would come up with something fabulous but I didn't. 

I came up with something fantastic. And with normal ingredients that I had in the pantry. In fact if you don't count the two extra seasonings I added, I only used three ingredients. I'm almost embarrassed to write it up. BUT it's just a good example of throwing a few ingredients together and coming up with a delicious meal. A meal that lasted us probably 3 or 4 meals.

EASY PASTA/BEEF CASSEROLE

1               lb. ground beef

1-1/2 to 2  cups uncooked pasta (I used a chickpea rotini)

1                24 - ounce bottle of pasta sauce (I used a fresh tomato & basil & onion no-sugar-added pasta sauce)

1                teaspoon basil

1/2             teaspoon minced garlic        

2                cups your favorite shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a casserole dish with a non-sticking cooking spray. (I used a 9-1/2 - inch square casserole dish.)

Cook pasta according to package direction.

Cook ground beef until done. Drain if necessary. Add the pasta sauce to the cooked ground beef.

(I added about a teaspoon basil and some minced garlic.)

I added the pasta to the skillet but

my skillet wasn't really big enough so

I transferred the ingredients to the casserole dish. If you can combine the three ingredients in your skillet, do and then till the casserole dish with about half of the mixture and then add 1 cup of the cheese and stir to combine. Then add the rest of the pasta mixture to the casserole and top with the rest of the cheese. 

Since I couldn't do this I poured everything into the casserole dish and

then added half of the cheese and stirred it well.

Then I sprinkled the rest of the cheese on top.

I heated the casserole in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes.

Serve warm

For leftovers...

Spoon serving into microwavable dish, sprinkle with a little water, and cover. Heat on pasta setting for about 1-1/2 minutes. Then uncover and sprinkle some more shredded cheese on top, cover and return to microwave for about 30 more seconds or until cheese is melted. Taste just like it just came fresh out of the oven.