Clean Pantry Pasta Bake

Daddy Rating: 4



My hubs was hungry and I wasn't fast enough to take a picture...it was that good!

 I have a small kitchen....tiny, really. I have no idea how the woman who cooked in it before me fed SEVEN children there. I have no pantry space so I usually wind up keeping crackers in the 'fridge just because there is more room. So, last week I went through the pantry to make room for more groceries. Going through the food I realized I may have the ingredients for something yummy - so I tried it...and it worked. Below ingredients are just suggestions, go through your pantry and you may find a different yummy twist - think of it as a challenge. Or as we call it in my house "Adventures in Eating"

I used:
1 Package bow tie pasta
1 Jar pasta sauce
1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 Jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1lb Italian sausage,
1/2 an onion, chopped
1.5 cups Italian shredded cheese
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil

Boil water for the pasta. In another pan, cook the sausage. Once sausage is mostly cooked add onion and garlic (add a little olive oil, too, if the pan is dry) and cook until translucent. Add tomatoes and break apart with a spoon, then add basil, roasted red peppers, pasta sauce, capers and let simmer.

While the sauce is filling the house with great smells, cook the pasta and drain. Combine pasta, sauce and a little cheese in the pasta pot, put into a glass baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.

I covered this with saran wrap in the 'fridge and cooked it a few nights later. Heat oven to 350* and cook for 25 min or so until warmed through. ENJOY!