The ingredients are:
2-3 cups of Penne pasta
1/4 Cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 C shredded mozzarella
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar of your favorite marinara or pasta sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
The herbs I added to my pasta sauce are:
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
Add any other herbs you like, these are just my favorites
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Get your salted pasta water boiling so it's ready when you are.
Brown your ground beef in a large sauce pan or deep frying pan and drain off the fat.
Put it back in the pan and add your pasta sauce, herbs and garlic. Bring it to a simmer and cover. Let it simmer 10-15 minutes stirring occasionaly, to get the herb flavors infused into the pasta.
Cook your pasta to just chewy stage, it should still be kind of firm. Don't cook it the full length of time called for on the packaging. The pasta will cook more when it's in the oven, you don't want it mushy.
Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce tossing it in well so all the pasta is covered with sauce.
Grease or butter your baking dish and fill it with half of your pasta and sauce. Top the layer with some fresh parmesan cheese and then some of the mozzarella.
Then put the rest of the pasta into the dish and top it with the remaining parmesan and mozzarella.
Bake it for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden.
I made enough to fill a small disposable foil pan, topped it with some cheeses and then wrapped it tightly with aluminum foil. I labeled it with "Baked Penne" and the instructions for baking it, using a black marker.
Then I placed it in the freezer and when I want the next meal I just take it out and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
