Baked Bow Tie Pasta

Pasta and bread are my comfort foods.  (Must be the Italian in me.)  There is nothing like sitting down to a big bowl of pasta topped with the very best Parmesan cheese and a thick slice of freshly baked Italian bread to go with it.  Unfortunately, consuming that amount of carbs in one meal means that I have to do even more insanity workouts to burn them off.   (Worth it.)  Even though the carbs are hard for me to burn, the kids love them and they crave pasta and bread.  With their super active schedules, they need the carbs for energy so I try and incorporate big pasta dinners into our menu at least twice a month.  (It's a great a excuse for me to eat them too.)

I've made this baked bow tie pasta for several years now and it's really good.  You can substitute your favorite pasta for the farfalle to make it your own.  Trust me - when this dish comes out of the oven, bubbling over with cheese - you will hardly be able to wait for it to cool before you dig in.

Baked Bow Tie

1 pound cottage cheese                              28 ounces tomato sauce

2 eggs                                                          14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
3 ounces Parmesan cheese                          1 teaspoon oregano
1 pound bow tie pasta                                 ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil                               1 teaspoon sugar
5 cloves garlic, minced                               ¾ teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream                                      8 ounces mozzarella cheese, diced

Whisk together eggs, cottage cheese and 1 cup Parmesan.

 

Cook pasta 5-7 minutes.  Drain.  

 

Heat garlic in oil in skillet.  

 

Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano.  Simmer 10 minutes.  

Remove from heat and add basil, salt and pepper.  Stir cornstarch into cream.  Pour into empty pasta pot and simmer until thickened.  (3-4 minutes)  

Remove from heat and add cottage cheese, 1 cup tomato sauce and ¾ cup mozzarella.  

Add pasta.  Transfer mixture to a 9x13 dish.

Spread tomato sauce over top.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.  

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350.  Remove foil and bake 3- more minutes.

 

There is something about pasta that has been baked with cheese that I just can't resist.  This is so good. 

Ciao!

Baked Bow Tie

 1 pound cottage cheese                              28 ounces tomato sauce

2 eggs                                                          14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
3 ounces Parmesan cheese                          1 teaspoon oregano
1 pound bow tie pasta                                 ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil                               1 teaspoon sugar
5 cloves garlic, minced                               ¾ teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream                                      8 ounces mozzarella cheese, diced

Whisk together eggs, cottage cheese and 1 cup Parmesan.  Cook pasta 5-7 minutes.  Drain.  Heat garlic in oil in skillet.  Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano.  Simmer 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add basil, salt and pepper.  Stir cornstarch into cream.  Pour into empty pasta pot and simmer until thickened.  (3-4 minutes)  Remove from heat and add cottage cheese, 1 cup tomato sauce and ¾ cup mozzarella.  Add pasta.  Transfer mixture to a 9x13 dish and spread tomato sauce over top.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.  Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350.  Remove foil and bake 3- more minutes.