Easy Baked Penne Pasta with Cheese

Life is busy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have tasty, home cooked meals.

Pasta dishes are both hearty and comforting.

This recipe does'nt take much time to prepare.

All prep-up and set to go into the oven..

Out from the oven, hot and bubbly and cheezy...

Plate it up and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

You can easily add extra, seasonal vegetables to this dish, but you don’t have to.

A quick and creamy pasta bake that can be reheated for lunch the next day - if you manage to have any left!

Easy Baked Pasta with Cheese
Ingredients
1/2 packet Penne Pasta

2 tbsp olive oil
1 bulb white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Jar Prego sauce (the small one)

1 packet Chicken sausage - slice horizontally (not so thin)
1 cup grated Mozzarella Cheese

1 cup grated Ceddar Cheese
1 tsp freshly ground Black pepper
salt to taste

Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 deg.
Boil the pasta until it is slightly el-dente. Drain .

Toss the pasta with 1 tbs. of oil, and then set aside.
Heat 1 tbs. of oil in a pan, and sauté the onions, garlic, pepper, and salt for about 2 minutes.
Add Prego sauce to the onion mixture and stir for 2 minutes.

Add Penne pasta into the sauce - stir well

Pour half of the Penne pasta into a greased baking dish - arranged the sliced sausages and sprinkle with Mozzarella and Cheddar. Then do a second layer - pour the remaining Penne pasta on top, arrange sliced sausages and sprinkle with Mozzarella and Cheese and black pepper

Bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese becomes bubly.
Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

OK, what dessert to go with this Meal..???

I know..... its time for KOOKY's Super Choc Fudge.!

Pasta Salad & Bruschetta...

I learned how to make a pasta salad when I visited my friend in Amsterdam in year ....hmm... lets see.... yes..2004... In those days we called it 'leftover kraft dinner'...!

As time goes by, I became 'more sophisticated' and minimised the ingredients and still have a great tasting dish. They make great side salads or full meals.

If the heat of the Ramadhan is getting to you, this is a lovely cold pasta salad for a hot day.

I made this fettucini pasta early in the afternoon and then let it marinate all afternoon in the fridge. By Buka Puasa time, it was a snap to quickly pull together.

It is easy to prepare, and even the novice cook can put together this delicious salad.

... and ...it is hearty enough to serve as the main course...

...and this is what we had for our Buka Puasa yesterday...

"An easy, yet very yummy pasta salad. Almost any type of pasta may be used. Best if left to sit overnight."

COLD FETUCCINI PASTA SALAD
Fettuccine Pasta

Shredded roasted chicken (leftovers will do)

Ripe Tomato - chopped (keep the juice)

Basil leaves - chopped (fresh tastes better)

Cilantro (Corriander leaves)

Extra Virgin Oil

Cloves of Garlic

Ground Pepper

Salt to taste

Method:

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.

Throw in the pasta and cloves of garlic, boil until al dente, drain and run under cold water to cool. Put the garlic to one side for dressing.

Place the pasta into a bowl.

Chop the tomatoes, basil, cilantro and add to the bowl.

Add shredded roasted chicken.

Squash the garlic cloves out of their skins and mush in a pestle and mortar.

Add the extra virgin oil, salt and pepper.

Drizzle this over the salad, adding a little more seasoning to taste.

... and for Buka Puasa Appetizer, we had...BRUSCHETTA

Bruschetta is one of the simplest things in the world to make, and can be very satisfying if you have good extra virgin oil.

With an appetizer this simple, quality ingredients are key - use ripe tomatoes, extra virgin oil and Baguette (a long thin loaf of French bread" ). I customized the recipe to my own taste (isn't that almost the case..!) and use riped tomateos and chopped them by hand, rather than in food proccessor.

BRUSCHETTA

1 Baquette French Bread

2 ripe Tomatoes - chopped

1 clove of garlic - minced

1 tbspn Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh Basil leaves - chopped

Cilantro (corriander leaves) - chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice the baquette on a diagonal about 1/2 inc thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on cooking sheet - olive oil side down. Toast until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

While bread is toasting. Prepare the toppings. In a mixing bowl, add chopped tomatoes, basil, corriander, garlic and olive oil and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive side up. Top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Done..! How easy is that..!