Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Cheesy Spinach Pasta Bake

I'd picked up a large box of fresh baby spinach at the CostCo and wanted to use it up by it "Best Before" date so I was thinking veggie lasagna. When I checked I was low on lasagna noodles but had tons of these wonderful ziti noodles. Hmmm, baked ziti is one of my favorites of all times. This is a healthy variation on the dish. It's a bit time consuming making it a perfect weekend meal with lots of leftovers for lunches, another weeknight meal or the freezer.
Cheesy Spinach Pasta Bake

Serves 8-10


Ingredients:


  • 1 lb/454 g dried ziti or tube type pasta

  • olive oil

  • 1 onion, diced

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 28 oz/798 ml can diced tomatoes, no salt added

  • 2 tsp dried oregano

  • 6-8 cups fresh spinach, chopped or 2 packs frozen, drained

  • 500ml container low fat cottage cheese

  • 3 cups shredded part skim mozzarella

  • 1.5 cups shredded parmesan

  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:


  1. Cook the pasta as directed on the package but pull it from the water about 2 minutes before the recommended cooking time (it will absorb more fluid while baking in the oven) and drain

  2. Heat a large pot over medium high with a drizzle of olive oil

  3. Saute the onions until soft.

  4. Add in the garlic, tomatoes and oregano, simmer for 5 minutes

  5. Add in the spinach and stir until just wilted

  6. Remove from the heat and stir in the cottage cheese, 2 cups of the mozza and 1 cup of the parmesan.

  7. Add in the pasta.

  8. Pour the mix into a 9 X 13 baking pan (lasagna pan)

  9. Top with the remaining cheese.

  10. Bake at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes until the dish is bubbly and brown.

Enjoy! (This one is nice for a make ahead dish for entertaining!)

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