Meatlessitalianmacaronibake Recipes

MEATLESS ITALIAN MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
• 2. In a 3-quart saucepan, cook the macaroni in boiling water until tender. Drain well. (If you decide to use Rotini pasta in place of the elbow macaroni, be sure to use at least 2-1/2 cups, and cook the pasta for 10 minutes.)
• 3. Add the drained macaroni back into the pan, then add in the mayonnaise, stewed tomatoes, a 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella, and the Italian seasoning; stir the ingredients.
• 4. Pour the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish.
• 5. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella over the casserole, and bake uncovered in the oven for 20 minutes.
• 6. Before serving, I lightly sprinkle a bit of dried parsley flakes on top the casserole. Also, you'll notice this recipe doesn't state to add any salt or pepper. I add those spices to my plate when seated at the table.
• 7. *Note: When making this casserole, you can substitute another type of pasta for the macaroni. Sometimes I'll use Radiatore Pasta, or even Rotini. (I do however, cook the Radiatore Pasta for 10 minutes.) I have also prepared this meatless casserole using a four cheese blend, instead of the mozzarella cheese. Surprisingly it turned out to be quite good. (See additional photos which I added.) One more thing, you can also substitute a can of diced tomatoes (which has basil, garlic & oregano in it), for the stewed tomatoes.

MEATLESS ITALIAN MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked marcaroni, stewed tomatoes, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, italian seasoning and mayonnaise --.
• Spoon the mixture into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish; Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese --.
• Bake in the preheated 350°F oven for approximately 20 min (your time may vary) until warm and all cheese is melted --.
• Note:Do NOT substitute anything else for the mayonnaise, i.e. NO salad dressing, NO Miracle Whip, as the recipe is specifically tailored to the result that is created by the use of mayonnaise --.
• Variation: Use a different pasta such as rotini or penne rigati.

BAKED ITALIAN MACARONI & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Cook pasta as package directs; drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp; remove and crumble;set aside.
• Pour off all drippings except one tablespoon.
• Add garlic; cook and stir until tender.
• Gradually stir in milk, beat in eggs and Italian seasonings.
• Cook and stir until hot and slightly thickened.
• Stir in cheddar and fontina cheeses; cook and stir until melted.
• Stir in parmesan cheese, pasta and bacon.
• Spoon mixture into a greased 13x9-inch baking dish.
• Top with the bread crumbs.
• Bake 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
• Let stand 10 minutes.