Monday, October 22, 2012

Spinach and Cheese Casserole

So, this isn't really a casserole (I don't even know what a casserole actually consists of), but ever since I can remember my grandmother has called this baked ziti dish "casserole".  I didn't really care what she called it when she made it though, because baked pasta is an absolute favorite of mine!

Normally, she just uses ricotta, mozzarella, and pasta as the main ingredients, but I decided to add some spinach in because I love it (and I also had some left over in the freezer).


Ingredients

1 small pack frozen spinach (thawed)
1 box pasta of your choice (I used penne)
1 small carton of fat free ricotta
about 6 slices of part skim mozzarella
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Bring a pot of water to boil to cook the pasta in (add salt obviously).  Cook just under al dente.  In a baking dish, drizzle some olive oil to coat the dish to prevent the pasta from sticking.

In a large bowl combine the spinach, ricotta, cooked pasta, and a dash of pepper.  You can use more salt at your discretion, I used just a bit to salt the spinach and ricotta.  Mix together then transfer into the baking dish.  Drizzle with more oil (as it serves as a kind of make-shift sauce) and place the slices of mozzarella on top. Bake in the over for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and started to crisp.

Enjoy!!