Quick-Baked Pasta Family Style - Recipe #43

In my normal meal routine, my goal is to have at least half of my dinners be vegetarian or pescatarian. The recipe challenge is throwing a wrench into that scheme, as I have now cooked most of my non-meat main course loose recipes. So far this month, I've eaten just one vegetarian dinner - but I plan to make up for it by using more of the side dish/dessert recipes as the month continues and making a few of the recipes from Bold Vegan, the book that inspired the Vegan Cooking Extravaganza with my mom (and written by some of my brother's friends).

But back to this decidedly non-vegetarian recipe...

My aunt and uncle really came through for me the year I asked for favorite recipes for Christmas. Strangely, I had not made a single one until now - probably because many of them call for one or two ingredients that I don't normally stock (and in some cases am not even sure of the best source for them). In this recipe it was the "good brown gravy" that scared me off. I have never made my own gravy (outside of a mushroom one) and I wasn't exactly sure what constituted "good". However, I took a leap of faith at the grocery store and bought a jar. This is also a far cry from the Cooking Light approach. Tasty, but probably not one that will go into my normal rotation (though Trent agrees I should make it again).

Quick-Baked Pasta Family Style (Frugal Gourmet)

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 lb. lean coarse ground beef
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3/4 c. red marinara or spaghetti sauce (good way to use up the leftover sauce from manicotti-making)
• 3/4 c. good brown gravy
• 1/2 c. half and half
• 1/4 c. Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 t. dried whole oregano
• 1/2 t. dried wle. rosemary
• salt and pepper, freshly ground, to taste
• 3/4 lb. penne pasta
• Topping: 1 c. Mozzarella or Swiss cheese

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Heat a large frying pan and add the oil, beef, and garlic. Saute until the meat is tender and then drain excess fat. Add all remaining ingredients except the cheese for topping and the pasta. Simmer the mixture while the pasta cooks until just barely tender. Drain the pasta and mix it with the sauce. Poor all into a 3 quart rectangular glass baking dish and top with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until all is bubbly hot.