Chili Pasta Bake

Tuesday night I needed a simple dinner because I knew ahead of time it was going to be a long day for me. Typically on a day like this I have been trying to use my slow cooker. Well, on Sunday I got a wild hair, and started cleaning out my pantry (I think I have a bit of a Spring cleaning bug right now), and I came across a recipe on the back of a can of diced tomatoes. Considering I already had everything on the ingredients list (with some tweaking), I figured it was a no brainer.

To save myself some time, I actually made this dish Monday night and refrigerated it. Then on Tuesday, when I got home, I whipped together a simple green salad, and toasted up some Italian bread we had left over from Sunday.  I can't quite rave about this dish. I'm not sure why. It was fine. It definitely cooked up really well. I split it into two containers (one went into my freezer), which is nice and knowing I have a home cooked meal in the freezer is always a plus.

I have to say I enjoyed the leftovers more than I did the original dish. It's probably because I topped the leftovers with sliced avocado (what doesn't taste better with avocado?) and sour cream (I can bathe in this stuff). I think because the dish is warm, and is really made from pantry staples, the hit of something fresh, like avocado and sour cream, really helps, and takes this recipe to the next level.  As is, I'd give the recipe a B. With the avocado and sour cream a B+.

Chili Pasta Bake
Yields 6 servings
Original recipe c/o S&W with some adjustments by me

10 oz. penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 lb. ground beef (I used Morningstar Farms Crumbles)
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chili powder (I only used 1 tablespoon)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup salsa
1 can (7 oz.) diced green chiles, drained
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese (I used white cheddar)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

2. Cook "meat" and onion in a large skillet; if using ground beef, drain.

Melty cheesy perfection

3. Add chili powder, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, and chiles.  Cook 5 minutes.

4. Toss pasta and sauce. Spoon into 13 x 9 baking dish***.  Top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

***Note: I split this dish between two 2-qt casserole dishes (baked one and froze the other).

Optional: Top with sour cream, diced green onions, avocado - really anything that you like on chili I think you could throw on top of this, to make it your own. Seriously, sour cream. It's the best.

Dinner is served