Smoked Cheese Pasta Bake
Ingredients:

• 1 pound uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked farmer or mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Heat marinara sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, and spinach, stirring until blended; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in cooked pasta.
Spoon half of pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine sour cream, smoked cheese, and basil; spread over pasta mixture in dish. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture over sour cream mixture; sprinkle evenly with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Servings: 8 (serving size: about 1 cup)
Nutritional Information: CALORIES 395(25% from fat); FAT 10.8g (sat 7.5g,mono 2g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 19.1g; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 310mg; SODIUM 419mg; FIBER 4.4g; IRON 2.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 54.9g

Twisted Mac Chicken & Cheese

HARD ROCK CAFE'S TWISTED MAC CHICKEN & CHEESE

2 cups cavatappi pasta (any pasta works)
1/3 cup whole milk
4 oz Velveeta
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey jack
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup diced roasted red bell pepper
2 tsp seasoned breadcrumbs (Italian style)
2 tsp grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp finely minced parsley
1. Use a large saucepan to cook pasta following the directions on the package, then drain
2. Combine milk, Velveeta, cheddar cheese, jack cheese, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in the same saucepan, and heat over low heat for about 10 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Add pasta and roasted pepper to the pan, and then toss to coat pasta.
3. Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and parsley in small bowl.
4. Pour pasta into a serving bowl and then sprinkle Parmesan breadcrumbs over the top.
Serves 4

Macaroni and Cheese

*Taken from menus4moms.com

2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard (optional)
1/4 tsp pepper
2-1/2 C. milk
2 Tbsp. butter
2 C. (8 oz) shredded American or Cheddar cheese, divided
8 oz Mueller's Elbows (about 2 cups), cooked 5 minutes and drained

In medium saucepan combine corn starch, salt, dry mustard and pepper; stir in milk. Add margarine. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 3/4 cups (425 ml) cheese until melted. Add elbows. Pour into greased 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake uncovered in 375* oven 25 minutes or until lightly browned. This can be prepared ahead of time and kept refrigerated until you are ready to bake. Add 5-7 minutes to the cooking time if cold.

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

Once you eat this sauce...you'll never go back to jarred sauce again!

In heavy 2 qt. saucepan, combine:

1 lb. hamburger w/onion (I use a Tbsp of dried minced onion)
3 (8 oz) cans of tomato sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
I tsp basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

Simmer for 20 minutes.

If you like meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef
3/4 C. bread crumbs
1 egg
1/3 C. chopped onion
salt & pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 c. milk

Brown meatballs and add to sauce