Pronto Pasta Bake

My friend Beth sent me this recipe to try and it was very good! It's similar to lasagna only with different noodles. I need to apologize to Beth right up front, as I kindof mutilated the recipe (misread the part about the cheeses) and used different noodles (the kind I had on hand), but it turned out well anyway and was devoured by my family!

Pronto Pasta Bake

12 oz rotini pasta, cook according to package directions (I didn't have rotini so used a mixture of macaroni and bowtie pasta instead). Drain.


2 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed (I minced)
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used 32 oz)
1 tsp basil
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (I used Kraft, not fresh)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 lb hamburger, browned (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Combine garlic, zucchini, spaghetti sauce, and basil (and hamburger if using). In 9"x13" casserole pan layer noodles, spaghetti mixture, and then half of each of the cheeses. I messed up here and I mixed all the parmesan cheese in with my spaghetti sauce mixture and had just the mozzarella to layer with. It still turned out great!

Repeat layers with the remaining pasta, sauce, and cheeses. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 5 more minutes.



Verdict: My family really liked this! Two of the boys were not thrilled with the zucchini being in there, so I probably should have chopped them smaller. Next time I'll use my one cup food processor to make really small chunks. My husband loved it, and he ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. Will definitely make again. Thanks Beth!