Baked Penne With Spinach Roasted Peppers And Bacon Recipes

BAKED PENNE WITH MUSHROOMS, BACON AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• Cook pasta as directed on package. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta; return to stockpot. Add cream; toss. Set aside.
• Spray 12-inch sauté pan or skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add bacon; cook until crisp. With slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan to plate; set aside.
• Add onions, salt and pepper to bacon drippings in pan; cook and stir 4 to 7 minutes or until translucent. Add mushrooms; cook 6 to 10 minutes longer or until browned and liquid evaporates. Add spinach and reserved pasta cooking water; cook and stir 1 minute.
• Pour mushroom mixture over pasta; toss to coat. Pour into baking dish. Top evenly with both cheeses. Cover dish tightly with foil.
• Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil; top with reserved bacon. Bake uncovered 5 minutes longer.

PENNE AND SPINACH BAKE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Saute onion and garlic in 1 T butter until tender.
• Add flour and stir to coat onions.
• Add milk and cook over medium low until bubbly and slightly thickened.
• Remove from heat; add 1/4 c cheese and seasonings.
• Combine pasta, sauce, 1 c cheese, tomatoes and spinach in large bowl.
• Spoon into greased 13x9 baking dish.
• Combine bread crumbs, 2 T cheese and 1 T butter.
• Sprinkle over pasta.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

BAKED PENNE WITH SPINACH, ROASTED PEPPERS, AND BACON

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9x13-inch pan (or other 2 1/2-quart baking dish) with nonstick spray. 2. Prepare sauce: Heat soup and milk in a medium saucepan until small bubbles begin to form around the edges (just until hot). In a larger saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add flour and stir well. Continue to cook, stirring, until thick and smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly begin adding hot soup/milk mixture to the large saucepan, whisking constantly while adding. Sauce will start out lumpy and become smooth as the liquid is incorporated. 3. Assemble the dish: In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with the sauce. Break apart the spinach with your fingers and add it to the bowl. Also add red peppers, provolone cheese and 3/4 cup of Parmesan. Stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with bacon crumbles and top with remaining Parmesan cheese. Finish with a good dose of freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of kosher salt. 4. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until sauce is bubbling around the edges and the center is hot (about 10 minutes more). Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Tips: *Pacific Natural Foods Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup can usually be found in your market's natural food's aisle. *Don't use generic pasta for this recipe. In baked pasta recipes, generic pasta tends to overcook. Make sure that you only cook the pasta to "al dente" state- about 5 minutes for penne. It will cook more in the baking process and become more tender. *Substitutions: You can sub mozzarella for the Provolone, but the provolone will give the dish more flavor. Try using Applewood Smoked Bacon in this recipe too... so delicious. *I kept the salt low in this recipe- using salted butter & a sprinkle of kosher salt on top of the pasta. Add more salt if you'd like.