Meaty Penne Recipes

PENNE WITH MEATY RAGU

Steps:

• Put the garlic, celery, carrot, onion and oregano leaves in a food processor and pulse to chop into small pieces.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the chopped vegetables and cook, stirring once or twice, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the pork, beef, tomato paste, and some salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until the meat is browned, about10 minutes.
• Add the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and basil sprigs. Bring the sauce to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Just before the sauce is done, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and cook the penne until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and return to the pasta pot. Spoon about 1 cup of sauce into the penne and stir to coat. Serve the penne topped with more sauce, some torn basil and a sprinkle of Parmesan.

BAKED PENNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brown meat with vegetables in large nonstick skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce, 3/4 cup cooking creme and 1/2 cup mozzarella: cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted. Add pasta; mix lightly.
• Spoon into 2-qt. casserole; top with remaining cooking creme and mozzarella. Cover.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 15 min.

BAKED PENNE WITH MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, wine or tomato juice, dried oregano, pepper and crushed red pepper. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Stir tomato mixture into meat mixture in skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta, and olives.
• Divide the pasta mixture among six 10 to 12 ounce individual casseroles. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. (Or spoon all of the pasta mixture into a 2-quart casserole. Bake, covered to 30 minutes). Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

HEARTY PENNE BEEF

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, breaking it into crumbles. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in tomato puree, broth, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. , Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, 10-15 minutes. Add spinach; cook until wilted, 1-2 minutes. , Drain pasta; stir into beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and cook until cheese is melted, 3-4 minutes. Freeze option: Freeze cooled pasta mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add broth or water if necessary.