Baked Mostaccioli

Now that the hubby and I have sold the house, life has sort of returned to normal. If normal means we can once again mess up the kitchen while we try to sort out the details of this moving debacle.

(And speaking of organizational nightmares, I got a new phone this week. It has a little Post-It notes app that just might keep me sane. Yay Windows Phone 7!)

I threw together this casserole the other night and left it in the fridge before tossing it in the oven after work. I'm a huge fan of pasta bakes, but the hubby typically says, "Meh." This one has a homemade sauce, and not as much sauce or cheese as I typically use. The hubby had two helpings and told me to make it again sometime. So it's healthier AND hubby approved.

Baked Mostaccioli
Serves 6

8 oz. uncooked mostaccioli or other pasta (I used rotini; that's 8 fewer ounces of pasta to pack up for the move!)
3/4-1 lb. lean ground beef
Salt, pepper, onion salt, and garlic salt
1 14 1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
2/3 cup water
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 c. cottage cheese (I used 2%)
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 11"x7" baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions.

3. Add ground beef to a large skillet or saucepan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion salt, and garlic salt, and brown over medium to medium-high heat. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese and marjoram; set aside.

5. Drain pasta. Spread 1/2 c. sauce in bottom of baking dish. Layer with half the pasta, sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

Please pretend there is mozzarella in this photo. Thanks, The Management.

6. Top with cottage cheese mixture.

7. Layer with remaining pasta, sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

8. Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Try to remember to take a picture before four servings have been eaten out of the dish.

Oops

My goodness, has it been that long? Wow.

In the past month, the hubby, the little man, and I:

• Finished the latest in a series of brutal, work-related deadlines. OK, so that was mainly me. But the hubby and the little man have to put up with me during those times. That's hard work, too.


• Spent a week in sunny Florida! We ate a lot of good food. And the hubby hired a personal chef to spend the afternoon with me. But more about that another time. When I find the pictures.


• Put our house on the market. The house always had to be sparkly clean. Kitchens get messed up pretty easily. For the past month, my kitchen has basically been for decoration only. It's been torture.


• Sold our house! That just happened this week. I made bars to celebrate. I resisted the urge to throw the batter all over the kitchen, just because I could. Instead, I rebelled by leaving my towel on the floor of the bathroom. Ha! Take that, Mr. Home Inspection Man!

And now, I'm going to bed.