Four Cheese Baked Penne

Who likes pasta?  I do!  Who likes cheese?  I do!  Who likes four cheese pasta from Self Magazine, so it’s somewhat light and healthy?  I do!  I do!

I actually made this recipe for the first time a few months ago, but I recently made it again and remembered that I never blogged about it.  How silly of me! 

This pasta is creamy, delicious and comes together fairly quickly.  By using reduced fat cheeses, it’s lighter than most pastas and when paired with a green salad, you’ve got a delicious and healthy meal.  Plus, it feeds a lot.  Both times that I’ve made this, I’ve cut the recipe in half and we’ve had leftovers for 2 days.  Surprise, surprise…when making this I actually didn’t make any substitutions!  Well, except I used dried parsley, instead of fresh parsley because why would I just buy fresh parsley…what would I use it for besides this?  Anyway, I recommend this yummy and cheesy pasta, if you’re looking for a lighter pasta option.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

 

Hot out of the oven.

Ready to eat.

Four Cheese Baked Penne, by Self.com

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups small-curd lowfat cottage cheese
• 1 1/4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 pound whole-wheat penne
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (8 oz) no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 400°.

2. Combine cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ricotta and parsley in a bowl.

3. Cook pasta until tender but still firm; drain.

4. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

5. Add garlic; cook, stirring, 30 seconds more.

6. Add tomatoes, sauce, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper flakes and pepper.

7. Bring to a boil; reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

8. Add pasta; turn off heat. Stir in cheese-parsley mixture.

9. Coat a 9" x 13" glass baking dish with cooking spray; transfer pasta mixture to dish. Top with remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella and Parmesan.

10. Bake until heated through and cheese melts, 30 minutes.