Baked pasta with Vodka Sauce

How Its supposed to Look

Like I said before, I'm a big fan of pasta. Huge fan of it, add some cheese and we're set. That's why I decided to bake some pasta and add my new obsession...Vodka sauce. Oh yes, my friend Nick made some homemade Vodka sauce a few months ago and I've been crazy for the stuff ever since. I thought to myself, I wonder what that tastes like baked, so here it is...

Baked Pasta with Vodka Sauce: Recipe via ehow.com

How mine Looks: Pretty good.

Things You'll Need:

• oven proof baking dish
• 1 lb penne pasta cooked and drained
• small container ricotta (whole milk or part skim will work equally as well)
• small mozzarella (about 8 ounces)shredded
• 1 egg
• 1-2 jars vodka sauce (you can find jars of vodka sauce at your supermarket)
• sliced meatballs, sausage and/or chicken
• grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Cook penne pasta til it's almost done which is considered al dente. Drain and set aside.

2. Step 2

   In a large mixing bowl combine the small container of ricotta and the egg. Mix until the egg is blended into the ricotta.

3. Step 3

   Add the penne pasta to the ricotta mixture and stir until all the ricotta is mixed with the pasta. Sprinkle half of the shredded mozzarella cheese into the pasta and ricotta mix and stir again.

4. Step 4

   Take one jar of vodka sauce and pour into the pasta and ricotta and mix well.

5. Step 5

   If you are adding meatballs and/or sausage and/or chicken to this dish then it all has to be cooked ahead of time. Whatever meat you are adding to this dish slice into bite size pieces and then mix into the pasta and ricotta mixture.

6. Step 6

   Pour into an oven proof baking dish and cover with additional vodka sauce and the rest of the shredded mozzarella.
   
   Bake in a pre-heated oven 350 degrees for about 30 to 45 min or until the mozzarella becomes nice and bubbly on top.

Conclusion:

I really enjoyed eating this. it's probably the best thing I have cooked so far. But that's probably, because I made pasta bake before. It was very good, had the right amount of cheese, etc. I'm VERY VERY PLEASED with it. I do want to work on my presentation, my food isn't as attractive as it tastes. Anyway, I'm deep in thought about my next attempt at cooking...something harder then pasta and rice I think. Meat perhaps? Yea, maybe. Maybe a full meal: Meat, veggies and something to go with it.

Stuffed Shells

How it's supposed to Look:



Things that I am obsessed with...pasta with cheese. In fact people have been known to ask, "do you want some pasta with that Parmesan. I decided to go for the ultimate cheese and pasta dish...pasta that's stuffed with cheese. So I made some stuffed shells, stuffed with not one, not 2, but 3 types of cheeses! Heaven.

Stuffed Shells: Recipe via allrecipes.com
How Mine Looks: It looks bad, but was really really GOOD!
(sorry the pics suck, I took these after my family had already eaten most of them and it was taken with my macbook pro as opposed to my camera which I can not find)

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 (32 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce
• 8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. In a large bowl, mix eggs, ricotta, half the mozzarella, half the Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined. Stuff cooked shells with ricotta mixture and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, stir together pasta sauce, mushrooms and reserved mozzarella and Parmesan. Pour over stuffed shells.
5. Bake in preheated oven 45 to 60 minutes, until edges are bubbly and shells are slightly set.

Conclusion:

In the end I think I should have added a bit more sauce, I used half the bottle, because I wanted to be cheap. I also wish I would have cooked it on the stove less and had it bake less in the oven. Besides that it was really, really good. Instead of straight marinara sauce, I used this four cheese sauce by Bartoloni, I also added this two cheese combo meant for quesadia. I did not have mushrooms, so I just put green pepper in the sauce.