Cheesy Baked Pasta Recipe

I had a few people tell me how amazing the baked pasta dish looked that I posted in my week in photos, so I decided that a recipe post was in order! Normally I steer way clear of recipe posts for a couple of reasons:

They’re a lot of work, yo. And I am like a mad scientist in the kitchen most of the time, just throwing things together and hoping it comes out edible, so creating a recipe from that is kind of hard.

But this creamy baked pasta dish was so good (even my toddler ate it, can I get a hallelujah?), I made myself sit down and remember the insanity that lead to such deliciousness. I hope you like it!

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz box of your favorite pasta {i threw my box away, so i’m guessing here. a little more or less won’t hurt this recipe though}
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup onion, minced {about half of a large onion should do it}
• 1 lb hamburger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced {i am a garlic fanatic so i used two giant cloves}
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 cups cheese, grated {any cheese that melts nicely will work great. i used a Mexican blend}
• 1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 pan.
2. Start a big pot of water for your pasta
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the onions are softened. Add hamburger to the pan and cook until brown.
4. While your hamburger cooks, boil pasta according to package directions, then drain.
5. Once your hamburger is brown, add diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Stir and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. After the meat mixture has simmered, add the sour cream and cream cheese to the pan. Mix until the cream cheese is melted and combined. Stir your pasta into the creamy meat mixture.
7. Add half the pasta mixture into your greased pan, then top with 1 cup of cheese and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Repeat with the rest of your pasta and cheese.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese gets nice and bubbly.

Notes:

Be sure to taste as you go and add more seasoning if needed. A little more garlic and basil never killed anyone. I don’t think.