Meaty Pasta Bake

Flavorful ground meat and cheese tossed with tender pasta then baked with a crisp parmesan bread crumb topping!

When I was young, the dinner choices were, well, limited

In fact, if my wife and I sat and compared dinners growing up (I lived in New York City, she lived in Upstate New York), we would be very close.  Recipes back then seem to be more simple

We thought with everything going on these days we could apply that principle to the food we have in the household and build a deliciously filling meal

With any luck (and a little restraint from our teenagers) we might even get a second dinner from it

For this recipe you will also need 1 pound of your favorite pasta cooked according to the package instructions (cooked, drained and set aside). We used mezzi rigatoni

We are starting off with 1 onion and three garlic cloves that we will peel and chop

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan over medium heat

Add in the onions and garlic and sprinkle with kosher salt and ground back pepper

Cook 4-6 minutes until tender stirring occasionally

We were lucky enough to score a family pack of ground turkey (3 pounds)

You can use the ground meat you prefer or even a mix.  If you choose to use ground beef, just drain off the fat once it’s been browned

Add the meat to the pan

Cook 6-8 minutes breaking the meat up as you go

Note:  A potato masher makes this a lot easier with ground meat

Once the meat is browned we will need 1/2 cup of Worcestershire Sauce and 2 tablespoons of Gravy Master

We also have around 4 ounces of chopped baby kale

Add in the Worcestershire Sauce and Gravy Master to the meat

Add in the kale next

Mix to combine and simmer for 3-4 minutes to start wilting the kale and to allow the flavors to meld

Remove from the heat and preheat your oven to 350 F

Now we need some cheese

What cheese you choose is entirely up to you, we went on a refrigerator hunt and decided on 8 ounces of white cheddar, 4 ounces of yellow cheddar and 4 ounces of mozzarella for some stringy goodness

Add the cheese to the pan

Mix to combine

Since the meat is still warm it will help melt the cheese into a sauce

Add the meat mixture into the pot of cooked drained pasta and stir and combine

Pour out the mixture from the pot into a oil sprayed baking dish

Next we will need a crunchy topping just to add more flavor and some texture

In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

We will also need a sprinkle each of kosher salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and parsley

We used dry parsley because we didn’t have any fresh

Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the pasta bake

Into the oven we go

Bake for 10-12 minutes and then broil for 1-2 minutes to brown the top

Remove from the over and allow to  rest a few minutes before serving

We served this in bowls sprinkled with a little crushed red pepper!

Enjoy!!!

Cuisinart Boxed Grater

Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

NuWave Flex Precision Induction Cooktop

Cooks Standard Multi-Ply Clad Stainless Steel Tagine and Extra Glass Lid, 4.5-Quart

ZELITE INFINITY Chef Knife 8 inch

KitchenAid Gourmet Stainless Steel Wire Masher, Black – KN008OHOBA

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