Well I am not really one for following directions so here is a bonus video from my experiment this weekend. I was asked to make a short (<5 min) video that featured Newman's Own products in a quick recipe (<30 min) and what did I do? Well I picked a recipe that had to cook in the oven after you prepped 4 or 5 different ingredients.... and I took over 10 min explaining it! I was able to trim it down a little and I must say that they were absolutely delicious. While I don't think that I can call it a quick dinner for after work definitely find the time to make these individual pasta bakes. They freeze wonderfully and are perfect to have on hand when you want something homemade but don't have the time to make it right now.
Dinners like this are a favorite in my house because while we eat meat (or rather everything) we have lots of vegetarian friends.... so I try to make food that is adaptable to different eaters. This is the perfect dish to make double of and save one for a "rainy" day. Oh and for the record it should take you about 20 min to prep all the ingredients and then you just need to let them bake for about 20-30 min so dinner will be on the table in less than an hour!
Click the link to get the full ingredient and recipe
Flexitarian Pasta Bakes
1 box whole wheat rotini - cooked according to directions then drained and rinsed with cold water
3 to 4 1/2" thick slice of pancetta (you can find this at some deli counters or some places will have it pre-cubed)
1 jar Newman's Own Tomato & Basil Bombalini Sauce
1 large zucchini diced
1 8oz box baby bella mushrooms sliced
1/2 spanish onion diced
1 c Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian Dressing
2 lb part skim ricotta cheese
1 c grate parmesean cheese
2 tbsp fresh parsley - diced
1 egg
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cans canellini beans
sliced mozzarella
salt & pepper
olive oil
1) Marinade the vegetables in the Newman's Own dressing
2) Prep the pasta according to the instructions, drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking then toss with some olive oil to prevent sticking
3) Fry up the pancetta cubes - once browned let sit on paper towels to drain excess fat
4) Prepare the cheese mix by mixing together ricotta, grated cheese, parsley, egg, granulated garlic, nutmeg and some salt and pepper.
5) Saute the vegetables by dumping the entire bag (with dressing) into a pan and letting them soften
6) Assemble pasta dishes using the ingredients you like
- vegetarian option: pasta, ricotta mix, vegetables, canellini beans and Newman's Own Sauce
- meat lovers option: pasta, ricotta mix, vegetables, canellini beans, pancetta and Newman's Own Sauce
- low carb option: replace 75% of pasta with canellini beans
7) Place a slice of the mozzarella on the top of each casserole dish and cook in oven at 350F for 20 -30 min or until bubbling
As I mentioned in my last post, I am very excited to be able to bring you these video posts due to the generosity of FoodBuzz's Featured Publisher Program and Newman's Own... thank you both!
