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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Quick and Easy Pasta Casserole

Tonight was a very busy night for me with a doctors appointment at 4.30pm and my Zumba class at 7pm so needless to say something quick to prepare was required and I did not want to buy takeaway because it's easy to do that but never what we want and not very often do we enjoy our purchases as much as home cooked meals.

I came across this recipe when menu planning and thought it would be perfect. I know pasta is always a hit with the kids but was a little worried about the taste due to the simplicity of the ingredients.

But from the first mouthful the kids had there was silence so I knew it must be good. In fact the kids loved it and for something quite simple I thought it was nice too. There was a faint hint of the chillis without much heat and the added vegetables made it a one dish dinner without having to cook extra side vegetables, but your could if you wanted too. Saying this made the serving sizes were large and very filling. A perfect cook, serve and eat meal - nothing extra really required to cook.



Quick and Easy Pasta Casserole
(recipe adapted from WW Recipe Collection 2000)

Serves: 8
Points per serve: 7.5

375 grams pasta shapes
cooking spray
1 teaspoon minced chilli
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 onion, sliced
1 red capsicum, sliced and halved
500 grams extra lean beef mince
1/2 cup tomato paste
800 grams tinned diced tomatoes
1 x 440 gram tin corn kernels, drained
100 grams baby spinach leaves
salt
freshly ground black pepper
200 grams grated reduced fat tasty cheese

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Coat a large lasagne or baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook the pasta according to the packet directions. Drain.

Coat a large frying pan with cooking spray, heat and add chilli, garlic and onions. Cook until the onions are soft. Add the mince and cook, stirring, until mince is browned. Add capsicums and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, corn, spinach leaves and pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Spoon half the mince mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat with remaining mince and cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and dish is heated through.


(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

2 comments:

My Restaurants Melbourne said...

quick and easy are great, I almost need quick and easy recipes every night!! pasta is a great idea too because you can do so many different flavours

Katie@Cozydelicious said...

I love how you managed to sneak in so many veggies into a quick and easy dinner!