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1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Prepare macaroni, or other pasta of your choice, according to package instructions.
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Add ricotta cheese, egg, salt and pepper to the casserole dish and mix well.
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You may also add some herbs of your choice to the ricotta mixture.
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Spread evenly in the bottom of the dish.
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(I like a lot of black pepper here.
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Thats sorta my secret to yumminess.)
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You can go a couple of way with the sauce.
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First, you can buy a jar of prepared sauce.
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You can also get can of seasoned crushed tomatoes and use that with absolutely no dressing up.
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OR, you can use a large can of plain crushed tomatoes dressed up to your liking.
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Heres what I suggest...
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Saute some chopped onion and garlic in a large skillet.
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Deglaze the pan with a little red wine if you have it (totally optional...I just like the way it smells!)
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Add the can of crushed tomatoes*, season with a little basil, oregano, salt and pepper, and there you are!
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The sauce shouldnt take more than 7 minutes.
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To health it up, add spinach, beet greens, swiss chard (just a little, this is really earthy tasting) to the sauce.
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Not even picky kids will notice.
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Drain the pasta and toss with sauce.
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Pour over the ricotta mixture in the casserole dish.
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Cover with mozzeralla (1 to 2 cups as needed to cover all the pasta).
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Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
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Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
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*A note on crushed tomatoes...read the can.
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Make sure the #1 ingredient is crushed tomatoes.
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Its better that way.
