Lasagna Penne Pasta Casserole Recipe

Instructions

Cook pasta al dente (almost done but not super soft); drain. Using a large skillet, brown the ground beef and the onion. Season with garlic powder, Italian seasonings, salt & pepper to taste. Either in a separate pot, or if your skillet is big/deep enough, stir the spaghetti sauce in with the ground beef. Add the cottage cheese and the the almost cooked pasta.Using three 9x13 baking dishes, divide the mixture into the three dishes. Add 1/3 c. water to each casserole. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over each casserole. Top two of the casseroles with 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese each. Cover these two casseroles with a freezer proof lid (they make baking dishes for this). Pop into the freezer. Take your last casserole with no cheese on top and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour. Remove from the oven, top with the Mozzarella cheese and return it to the oven for 10-15 minutes to melt and brown the cheese. Yum! Freezer Cooked Casserole: Remove from the freezer and remove the lid while you wait for the oven to preheat. When you're ready to cook it, cover the dish with tin foil, and place the casserole in your preheated 375 degree oven for about 45-55 minutes. Pull it out and check it. Remove tinfoil and continue cooking about 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.

• pasta Notes: 16 ounces, penne style
• ground beef Notes: 1 pounds
• onion Notes: 1/4 cup, chopped, to taste

  Optional
• cottage cheese Notes: 1 cup
• pasta sauce Notes: 15 ounces, we use tomato sauce, it's cheaper & I season it with my own herbs & spices
• mozzarella cheese Notes: 1 1/2 cup, shredded
• water Notes: 1/2 cup
• parmesan cheese Notes: 1/2 cup
• seasonings) Notes: to taste (see recipe

  Optional